From Surplus-Value to Surplus-Enjoyment

This talk considers the ways in which Marx’s notion of “surplus-value” bears on Jacques Lacan’s idea of a “surplus-enjoyment” which, rather than a simple stepping up of pleasure, designates an additional pleasure obtained by its very deferral. These insights, it will be shown, bear crucially on the relevance of Marx’s critique of political economy to our contemporary political moment. Pomona College, Los Angeles