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Eugene W. Holland, "Perversions of the Market: Sadism, Masochism, and the Culture of Capitalism" (SUNY Press, 2024)

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Feb 21, 2025

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Eugene W. Holland

Eugene W. Holland, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University, dives into the dark dynamics of capitalism in his latest work. He explores how capitalism cultivates sadistic and masochistic patterns as societal norms, transforming economic interactions. Holland discusses the paradox of pleasure and pain in consumerism and probes the psychological impacts of these relationships. He analyzes literature and film to highlight the damaging effects of capitalism, urging a shift to eliminate destructive social behaviors for a better future.

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ANECDOTE

Baudelaire's Transition

Baudelaire transitioned from masochism to narcissism during his life.
This shift mirrored the transformation of French society from monarchy to capitalism.

insights

INSIGHT

Capital's Perversion of Markets

Markets existed before capitalism, but capital perverts them.
Capital transforms markets into systems focused on endless surplus value production.

insights

INSIGHT

Sadism and Masochism as Systems

Sadism and masochism in a socio-historical context describe institutionalized behavior patterns, not individual proclivities.
They diagnose how systems, like capitalism, function, rather than labeling individuals.

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Perversions of the Market

Sadism, Masochism, and the Culture of Capitalism

Eugene W. Holland

Eugene W. Holland's "Perversions of the Market" examines the intertwining of sadism and masochism within the framework of capitalism. The book explores how global capitalism distorts free markets, leading to societal patterns of sadistic production and masochistic consumption. Holland uses Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalysis to analyze the psychodynamics of the capitalist market, integrating Freud's and Lacan's perspectives. He argues that these perverse relations must be addressed to prevent capitalism's destructive impact. The book's historical and theoretical analysis offers a critical perspective on modern culture.

Perversions of the Market: Sadism, Masochism, and the Culture of Capitalism (SUNY Press, 2024) argues that capitalism fosters sadism and masochism--not as individual psychological proclivities but as widespread institutionalized patterns of behavior. The book is divided into two parts: one historical and the other theoretical. In the first, Eugene W. Holland shows how, as capital becomes global in scale and drives production and consumption farther and farther apart, it perverts otherwise free markets, transforming sadism and masochism into borderline conditions and various supremacisms. The second part then turns to Deleuze and Guattari's 'schizoanalysis,' explaining how it helpfully embeds Freud's analysis of the family and Lacan's analysis of language within an analysis of the capitalist market and its psycho-dynamics. Drawing on literature and film throughout to illuminate the discontents of modern culture, Holland maintains that the sadistic relations of production and masochistic relations of consumption must be eliminated to prevent capitalism from destroying life as we know it.

Nathan Smith is a PhD candidate in Music Theory at Yale University

nathan.smith@yale.edu

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