Baudrillard Evidence

7/27/2019 Baudrillard Evidence

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BaudrillardCritiques

The Catastrophe Fix.......................................2Catastrophe Fix 2NC Overview......................5

Catastrophe Fix 2NR Overview......................6Disaster Porn..................................................7Disaster Porn Overview..................................9Commodifiation of !"fferin#........................$%&e !earh for 'ma#es..................................$2N"(ear )*perrea(it*.....................................$+N"(ear )*perrea(it* 2NC Overview............ .$7N"(ear )*perrea(it* 2NR Overview............ .$,Pro(iferation !tops &ar.................................$9Pro(iferation !tops &ar Overview.................2%'(("sion of &ar...............................................2$'(("sion of &ar Overview...............................2+-iosphere 2..................................................2-iosphere 2/NC0 Overview.......................... .26-iosphere 2/NR0 Overview.......................... .271a(efient o(o#*........................................2,1a(efient o(o#* 2NC Overview................+$1a(efient o(o#* 2NR Overview................+21a(efient v. Deep o(o#* $3R..................++!entimenta(it* to 3nima(s.............................+!entimenta(it* to 3nima(s Overview..............+4(oa( v. niversa(.......................................+64(oa( v. niversa( 2NC Overview................+,4(oa( v. niversa( 2NR Overview................%4(oa(iation of 8io(ene..............................$4(oa(iation of 8io(ene Overview..............5!pirit of Terrorism.........................................6!pirit of Terrorism Overview.........................,'nfetion of Demora*................................ .9C"(t"re Crash...............................................5$C"(t"re Crash Overview................................5+

!hadow-oxin# the !*stem..........................5!hadow-oxin# Overview.............................55!trate#i Passivit*........................................56!trate#i Passivit* Overview........................57'nfinite Remainder........................................5,

Feminist P(asti !"r#er*...............................6%Feminist P(asti !"r#er* Overview...............6+'mp(osion of the !tate...................................6'mperia(ism as 3nti'mperia(ism....................668ira( Comm"nism.........................................6,Power :ashin# O"t.......................................7%Power :ash O"t Overview............................7$The Det.......................................................72Det Overview..............................................7!im"(ation of Po(itis.....................................751edia 'nformation !";s..............................77-anishin# the Ri#ht.......................................7,-anishin# the Ri#ht Overview.......................,$Disne* &or(d................................................,2 ....................................................................,+Radia( Tho"#ht 3(ternative..........................,O"r Framewor;.............................................,6Framewor; Overview....................................,,

3ff Doesn....................................... .932= Need a Text"a( 3(ternative.....................9532= Disaster Porn.......................... ............. ..961"st n#a#e !*stem....................................97

3(ternative Fai(s............................................9,

Jean Baudrillard is a professor of philosophy of culture and media criticism at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.


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The Catastrophe Fix

The images of catastrophe and destruction they present are like a drug, used bythe first world nations to feed off the suffering of the rest of the world. Theirefforts to solve these problems are coproductive with the disasters themselves,

and this constant search for new spectacle will lead to the destruction of thehuman species as the ultimate reality TV show.audrillard in !"[Jean, The Illusion of the End p. 66-71]We have long denouned the apitalisti, eono!i e"ploitation of the pove#t$ of the %othe# half of the

&o#ld% [[%aut#e !onde]. We !ust toda$ denoune the !o#al and senti!ental exploitation of thatpove#t$ - ha#it$ anni'alis! 'eingworse than opp#essive violene . The e"t#ation and hu!anita#ian#ep#oessing of a destitution &hih has 'eo!e the e(uivalent of oil deposits and gold !ines. Thee"to#tion of the spetale of pove#t$ and, at the sa!e ti!e, of ou# ha#ita'le ondesension) a

&o#ld&ide app#eiated su#plus of fine senti!ents and 'ad onsiene. We should, in fat, see this notas the e"t#ation of #a& !ate#ials, 'ut as a &aste-#ep#oessing ente#p#ise. Thei# destitution and ou#'ad onsiene a#e, in effet, all pa#t of the &aste-p#oduts of histo#$- the !ain thing is to #e$lethe! to p#odue a ne& ene#g$ sou#e.We have he#e an esalation in the ps$hologial 'alane of te##o#. Wo#ld apitalist opp#ession is no&!e#el$ the vehile and ali'i fo# this othe#, !uh !o#e fe#oious, fo#! of !o#al p#edation. *ne !ightal!ost sa$, ont#a#$ to the +a#"ist anal$sis, that !ate#ial e"ploitation is onl$ the#e to e"t#at thatspi#itual #a& !ate#ial that is the !ise#$ of peoples, &hih se#ves as ps$hologial nou#ish!ent fo# the#ih ount#ies and !edia nou#ish!ent fo# ou# dail$ lives.The %ou#th Wo#ld% &e a#e no longe# dealing &ith a %developing% Thi#d Wo#ld is one again'eleague#ed, this ti!e as a atast#ophe-'ea#ing st#atu!. The West is &hite&ashed in the#ep#oessing of the #est of the &o#ld as &aste and #esidue. /nd the &hite &o#ld #epents and see0sa'solution - it, too, the &aste-p#odut of its o&n histo#$.The outh is a natu#al p#odue# of #a& !ate#ials, the latest of &hih is atast#ophe. The 2o#th, fo# itspa#t, speiali3es in the #ep#oessing of #a& !ate#ials and hene also in the #ep#oessing ofatast#ophe. 4loodsu0ing p#otetion, hu!anita#ian inte#fe#ene, +edeins sans f#ontie#es,

inte#national solida#it$, et. The last phase of olonialis!) the 2e& enti!ental *#de# is !e#el$ thelatest fo#! of the 2e& Wo#ld *#de#. *the# people%s destitution 'eo!es ou# adventu#e playground.Thus, the hu!anita#ian offensive ai!ed at the 5u#ds - a sho& of #epentane on the pa#t of theWeste#n po&e#s afte# allo&ing adda! ussein to #ush the! - is in #ealit$ !e#el$ the seond phaseof the &a#, a phase in &hih ha#ita'le inte#vention finishes off the &o#0 of e"te#!ination. We a#e theonsu!e#s of the eve# delightful spetale of pove#t$ and atast#ophe, and of the !oving spetale ofou# o&n effo#ts to alleviate it &hih, in fat, !e#el$ funtion to seu#e the onditions of reproductionof the atast#ophe !a#0et the#e, at least, in the o#de# of !o#al p#ofits, the +a#"ist anal$sis is &holl$applia'le) &e see to it that e"t#e!e pove#t$ is #ep#odued as a s$!'oli deposit, as a fuel essentialto the !o#al and senti!ental e(uili'#iu! of the West.In ou# defene, it !ight 'e said that this e"t#e!e pove#t$ &as la#gel$ of ou# o&n !a0ing and it isthe#efo#e no#!al that &e should p#ofit '$ it.

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The#e an 'e no fine# p#oof that the dist#ess of the #est of the &o#ld is at the #oot of Weste#n po&e#and that the spetale of that dist#ess is its #o&ning glo#$ than the inaugu#ation, on the #oof of the

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/#he de la ?efense, &ith a su!ptuous 'uffet laid on '$ the ondation des ?#oits de l%ho!!e, of ane"hi'ition of the finest photos of &o#ld pove#t$. hould &e 'e su#p#ised that spaes a#e set aside inthe /#he d% /lliane. fo# unive#sal suffe#ing hallo&ed '$ avia# and ha!pagne@Just as the eono!i #isis of the West &ill not 'e o!plete so long as it an still e"ploit the #esou#esof the #est of the &o#ld, so the s$!'oli #isis &ill 'e o!plete onl$ &hen it is no longe# a'le to feedon the othe# half%s hu!an and natu#al atast#ophes Easte#n Eu#ope, the Aulf, the 5u#ds, 4angladesh,et.. We need this d#ug, &hih se#ves us as an aph#odisia and halluinogen. /nd the poo# ount#ies

a#e the 'est supplie#s - as, indeed, the$ a#e of othe# d#ugs. We p#ovide the!, th#ough ou# !edia, &iththe !eans to e"ploit this pa#ado"ial #esou#e, Bust as &e give the! the !eans to e"haust thei#natu#al #esou#es &ith ou# tehnologies. *u# &hole ultu#e lives off this atast#ophi anni'alis!,#ela$ed in $nial !ode '$ the ne&s !edia, and a##ied fo#&a#d in !o#al !ode '$ ou# hu!anita#ianaid, &hih is a &a$ of enou#aging it and ensu#ing its ontinuit$, Bust as eono!i aid is a st#ateg$ fo#pe#petuating unde#-develop!ent. Cp to no&, the finanial sa#ifie has 'een o!pensated ahund#edfold '$ the !o#al gain. 4ut &hen the atast#ophe !a#0et itself #eahes #isis point, inao#dane &ith the i!plaa'le logi of the !a#0et, &hen dist#ess 'eo!es sa#e o# the !a#ginal#etu#ns on it fall f#o! ove#e"ploitation, &hen &e #un out of disaste#s f#o! else&he#e o# &hen the$ anno longe# 'e t#aded li0e offee o# othe# o!!odities, the West &ill 'e fo#ed to p#odue its o&natast#ophe fo# itself, in o#de# to !eet its need fo# spetale and that voracious appetite fo# s$!'ols

&hih ha#ate#i3es it even !o#e than its vo#aious appetite fo# food. It &ill #eah the point &he#e itdevou#s itself. When &e have finished su0ing out the destin$ of othe#s, &e shall have to invent onefo# ou#selves. The A#eat D#ash, the s$!'oli #ash, &ill o!e in the end f#o! us Weste#ne#s, 'ut onl$

&hen &e a#e no longe# a'le to feed on the halluinogeni !ise#$ &hih o!es to us f#o! the othe#half of the &o#ld.et the$ do not see! 0een to give up thei# !onopol$. The +iddle East, 4angladesh, 'la0 /f#ia andFatin /!e#ia a#e #eall$ going flat out in the dist#ess and atast#ophe sta0es, and thus in p#ovidings$!'oli nou#ish!ent fo# the #ih &o#ld. The$ !ight 'e said to 'e ove#doing it) heaping ea#th(ua0es,floods, fa!ines and eologial disaste#s one upon anothe#, and finding the !eans to !assa#e eahothe# !ost of the ti!e. The %disaste# sho&% goes on &ithout an$ let-up and ou# sa#ifiial de't to the!fa# e"eeds thei# eono!i de't. The !ise#$ &ith &hih the$ gene#ousl$ ove#&hel! us is so!ething

&e shall neve# 'e a'le to #epa$. The sa#ifies &e offe# in #etu#n a#e laugha'le a to#nado o# t&o, afe& tin$ holoausts on the #oads, the odd finanial sa#ifie and, !o#eove#, '$ so!e infe#nal logi,these &o#0 out as !uh g#eate# gains fo# us, &he#eas ou# 0indnesses have !e#el$ added to the

natu#al atast#ophes anothe# one i!!easu#a'l$ &o#se) the de!og#aphi atast#ophe, a ve#ita'leepide!i &hih &e deplo#e eah da$ in pitu#es.In sho#t, the#e is suh disto#tion 'et&een 2o#th and outh, to the s$!'oli advantage of the outh ahund#ed thousand I#a(i dead against asualties nu!'e#ed in tens on ou# side) in eve#$ ase &e a#ethe lose#s, that one da$ eve#$thing &ill '#ea0 do&n. *ne da$, the West &ill '#ea0 do&n if &e a#e notsoon &ashed lean of this sha!e, if an inte#national ong#ess of the poo# ount#ies does not ve#$(ui0l$ deide to sha#e out this s$!'oli

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p#ivilege of !ise#$ and atast#ophe. It is of ou#se no#!al, sine &e #efuse to allo& the sp#ead ofnulea# &eapons, that the$ should #efuse to allo& the sp#ead of the atast#ophe &eapon. 4ut it is not#ight that the$ should e"e#t that !onopol$ indefinitel$.In an$ ase, the unde#-developed a#e onl$ so '$ o!pa#ison &ith the Weste#n s$ste! and its p#esu!edsuess. In the light of its assu!ed failu#e, the$ a#e not unde#-developed at all. The$ a#e onl$ so in te#!sof a do!inant evolutionis! &hih has al&a$s'een the &o#st of olonial ideologies. The a#gu!ent he#e is that the#e is a line of o'Betive p#og#ess andeve#$one is supposed to pass th#ough its va#ious stages &e find the sa!e e$e&ash &ith #ega#d to theevolution of speies and in that evolutionis! &hih unilate#all$ santions the supe#io#it$ of the hu!an

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#ae. In the light of u##ent upheavals, &hih put an end to an$ idea of histo#$ as a linea# p#oess, the#ea#e no longe# eithe# developed o# unde#-developed peoples. Thus, to enou#age hope of evolution - al'eit'$ #evolution - a!ong the poo# and to doo! the!, in 0eeping &ith the o'Betive illusion of p#og#ess, totehnologial salvation is a #i!inal a'su#dit$. In atual fat, it is thei# good fo#tune to 'e a'le to esapef#o! evolution Bust at the point &hen &e no longe# 0no& &he#e it is leading. In an$ ase, a !aBo#it$ of thesepeoples, inluding those of Easte#n Eu#ope, do not see! 0een to ente# this evolutionist !ode#nit$, andthei# &eight in the 'alane is e#tainl$ no s!all fato# in the West%s #epudiation of its o&n histo#$, of its o&nutopias and its o&n !ode#nit$. It !ight 'e said that the #outes of violene, histo#ial o# othe#&ise, a#e 'eingtu#ned a#ound and that the vi#uses no& pass f#o! outh to 2o#th, the#e 'eing eve#$ hane that, fivehund#ed $ea#s afte# /!e#ia &as on(ue#ed, 1::< and the end of the entu#$ &ill !a#0 the o!e'a0 ofthe defeated and the sudden #eve#sal of that !ode#nit$.The sense of p#ide is no longe# on the side of &ealth 'ut of pove#t$, of those &ho - fo#tunatel$ fo# the! -have nothing to #epent, and !a$ indeed glo#$ in 'eing p#ivileged in te#!s of atast#ophes. /d!ittedl$, thisis a p#ivilege the$ ould ha#dl$ #enoune, even if the$ &ished to, 'ut natu#al disaste#s !e#el$ #einfo#e thesense of guilt felt to&a#ds the! '$ the &ealth$ G '$ those &ho! Aod visi'l$ so#ns sine he no longe#even st#i0es the! do&n. *ne da$ it &ill 'e the Whites the!selves &ho &ill give up thei# &hiteness. Itis a good 'et that #epentane &ill #eah its highest pith &ith the five-hund#edth annive#sa#$ of theon(uest of the /!e#ias. We a#e going to have to lift the u#se of the defeated - 'ut s$!'oliall$vito#ious - peoples, &hih is insinuating itself five hund#ed $ea#s late#, '$ &a$ of #epentane, into thehea#t of the &hite #ae.

2o solution has 'een found to the d#a!ati situation of the unde#-developed, and none &ill 'e foundsine thei# d#a!a has no& 'een ove#ta0en '$ that of the ove#developed, of the #ih nations. Theps$hod#a!a of ongestion, satu#ation, supe# a'undane, neu#osis and the '#ea0ing of 'lood vessels

&hih haunts us - the d#a!a of the e"ess of !eans ove# ends G alls !o#e u#gentl$ fo# attention thanthat of penu#$, la0 and pove#t$. That is &he#e the !ost i!!inent dange# of atast#ophe #esides, inthe soieties &hih have #un out of e!ptiness. /#tifiial atast#ophes, li0e the 'enefiial aspets ofivili3ation, p#og#ess !uh !o#e (ui0l$ than natu#al ones. The unde#developed a#e still at thep#i!a#$ stage of the natu#al, unfo#eseea'le atast#ophe. We a#e al#ead$ at the seond stage, that ofthe !anufatu#ed atast#ophe - i!!inent and fo#eseea'le - and &e shall soon 'e at that of the p#e-p#og#a!!ed atast#ophe, the atast#ophe of the thi#d 0ind, deli'e#ate and e"pe#i!ental. /nd,pa#ado"iall$, it is ou# pu#suit of the !eans fo# ave#ting natu#al atast#ophe - the unp#edita'le fo#! ofdestin$ - &hih &ill ta0e us the#e. 4eause it is una'le to esape it, hu!anit$ &ill p#etend to 'e theautho# of its destin$. 4eause it annot aept 'eing onf#onted &ith an end &hih is une#tain o#gove#ned '$ fate, it &ill p#efe# to stage its o&n death as a species.

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Catastrophe Fix #$C %verview

&hy is reality television so popular' (eople don)t like to exist in their own lives* the vicarious experience of other)s problems is one of the great +oys of themodern age. xtend our audrillard !" evidence.

audrillard says that images of destruction, catastrophe and disaster areexaggerated by the media and used to give pleasure to those in the first worldat the expense of everyone else. -s a society, we export death and import backits image, drawing satisfaction from the exploitation of other people andcultures and our efforts to solve the problems that we actually en+oy so much.The affirmative is a perfect example of this process * their harms detail disasterin the status quo which they provide a simulated solution to through fiat, all inan effort to make themselves feel powerful in this exchange of suffering.

Their supposed solution is a part of this process * they will never actually fix allthe problems they claim, because then they would be left without a source ofen+oyment. ven if their solution does work, it will have the side effect ofcreating more suffering to continue the cycle. - perfect example of this is raq *

we get all worked up over what a terrible person /addam is and the damage hecould cause, so we go remove him to improve the situation, but now there)sbeen an explosion of porn, drugs and violence in raq after the invasion so wecan continue to consume the images of disorder and trouble and +ustify evenmore interventions, which makes their harms are inevitable.

-lso, this quest for more sources of suffering is a constantly expanding

process. %nce we run fix some problems, we have to generate more to keep theimages flowing, encouraging artificial tragedies to replace natural ones. Thismindset ends in human extinction as the ultimate spectacle.

f you buy into this system of representation by giving them the ballot, you)rehelping the cycle of catastrophe to continue. nstead, strategic indifference isrequired. 0on)t acknowledge their images. &hen there is no more demand forsuffering, the supply will decrease as well, making the problems obsolete.

$ote that we don)t ask you to ignore suffering in the real world * audrillard hasno problem with helping people out. t)s only in the context of this debate roundand the illusion of fiat, which has no relevance to the real world, that you shouldrefuse to be moved by images of catastrophe. -lso, we can advocate the planas a good idea minus the images they present * the affirmative can)t sever outof the discourse they already used, but we can advocate the rest of the plan asa good idea and get the same advantages.

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Catastrophe Fix #$1 %verview

xtend the audrillard !" evidence. They miss some key points from my lastoverview, so extend2

First, their harms are exaggerated by the media to get a response from thepeople, so their harms are either completely false or at best not as bad as theyclaim.

/econd, their claims of disaster going on in the status quo are part of a processwhere we use the suffering of the rest of the world for our own vicariousen+oyment. ecause they require this suffering to feel powerful by supposedlysolving it, their plan is masking the problem at best, while perpetuating theexchange of pain and death that makes all their harms possible.

Third, if they do solve their harms, they will require new catastrophes to keepgetting their fix, so solving the case requires the creation of a new area ofdisaster to be acted upon, which makes the case harms self3replicating.

Fourth, this constant search for new sources of suffering terminates in humanextinction as an artificial catastrophe and the ultimate spectacle. That)s animmediate reason to re+ect the affirmative.

Fifth, the only way out is strategic indifference and refusing to be moved bytheir images of disaster. 4iving them the ballot acknowledges the harms andlets the cycle continue * only by not giving them recognition can we escape.

This is particularly applicable to debate, which is exclusively simulation, so youcan still authentically help people in the real world, +ust don)t buy their imagesin here.

/ixth, you can still get all the advantages of their case with a negative ballot.1emoving the demand for catastrophe decreases the supply as well, and moreimportantly, you can advocate the plan without advocating the images by goingnegative * they)re stuck with their discourse, but we can say plan itself is agood idea, even if the +ustifications for it aren)t. That)s an easy negative ballotright there, even if the 5 case turns above weren)t.

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0isaster (orn

0eath and disaster are employed by the media to shock and titillate the viewer,which turns the event itself into a form of mass entertainment that loses anyreference to the real world but must constantly be given credibility by new

images of destruction.audrillard in !"[Jean, The Illusion of the End p. HH-H]In the ase of the o!anian #evolution, it &as the fa0ing of the dead in Ti!isoa#a &hih a#oused a0ind of !o#al indignation and #aised the p#o'le! of the sandal of %disinfo#!ation% o#, #athe#, ofinfo#!ation itself as sandal.It &as not the dead that &e#e the sandal, 'ut the o#pses 'eing p#essed into appea#ing 'efo#e thetelevision a!e#as, as in the past dead souls &e#e p#essed into appea#ane in the #egiste# of deaths.It &as thei# 'eing ta0en hostage, as it &e#e, and ou# 'eing held hostage too, as !$stified TK vie&e#s.4eing 'la0!ailed '$ violene and death, espeiall$ in a no'le and #evolutiona#$ ause, &as felt to 'e

&o#se than the violene itself, &as felt to 'e a pa#od$ of histo#$./ll the !edia live off the p#esu!ption of atast#ophe and of the suulent imminence of death. /photo in Fi'e#ation, fo# e"a!ple, sho&s us a onvo$ of #efugees %&hih, so!e ti!e afte# this shot &as

ta0en, &as to 'e atta0ed '$ the I#a(i a#!$%. /ntiipation of effets, !o#'id si!ulation, e!otional'la0!ail. It &as the sa!e on D22 &ith the a##ival of the uds. 2othing is ne&s if it does not passth#ough that ho#i3on of the vi#tual, that h$ste#ia of the vi#tual - not in the ps$hologial sense, 'ut inthe sense of a o!pulsion fo# &hat is p#esented, in all 'ad faith, as #eal to 'e onsu!ed as unreal.In the past, to sho& so!ething up as a fa0e, &e said) %It%s Bust pla$-ating%, %It%s all #o!aneL%, %It%s puton fo# the a!e#asL%. This ti!e, &ith o!ania and the Aulf Wa#, &e &e#e a'le to sa$, %It%s Bust TKL%Mhotog#aphi o# ine!a i!ages still pass th#ough the negative stage and that of p#oBetion, &he#easthe TK i!age, the video i!age, digital and s$ntheti, a#e i!ages &ithout a negative, and hene

&ithout negativit$ and &ithout #efe#ene. The$ a#e vi#tual and the vi#tual is &hat puts an end to allnegativit$, and thus to all #efe#ene to the #eal o# to events. /t a st#o0e, the ontagion of i!ages,engende#ing the!selves &ithout #efe#ene to a #eal o# an i!agina#$, itself 'eo!es vi#tuall$ &ithoutli!its, and this li!itless engende#ing p#odues information as catastrophe. Is an i!age &hih #efe#s

onl$ to itself still an i!age@ o&eve# this !a$ 'e, that i!age #aises the p#o'le! of its indiffe#ene tothe &o#ld, and thus of ou# indiffe#ene to it - &hih is a politial p#o'le!. When television 'eo!es thest#ategi spae of the event, it sets itself up as a deadl$ self-#efe#ene, it 'eo!es a 'ahelo#!ahine. The #eal o'Bet is &iped out '$ ne&s G not !e#el$ alienated, 'ut a'olished. /ll that #e!ainsof it a#e traces on a monitoring screen .+an$ o!anian e$e&itness aounts spea0 of 'eing dispossessed of the event in this &a$, dep#ivedof the lived e"pe#iene the$ have of it '$ 'eing su'!e#ged in the !edia net&o#0, '$ 'eing plaedunde# house a##est in f#ont of thei# television s#eens. petato#s then 'eo!e e"ote#is of thes#een, living thei# #evolution as an e"otiis! of i!ages, the!selves e"ogenous, tou#isti spetato#sof a virtual history. #o! the !o!ent the studio 'eo!es the st#ategi ent#e, and the s#een theonl$ site of appea#ane, eve#$one &ants to 'e on it at all osts, o# else gathe#s in the st#eet in thegla#e of the a!e#as, and these, indeed, atuall$ fil! one anothe#. The st#eet 'eo!es an e"tensionof the studio,

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that is, of the non-site of the event, of the vi#tual site of the event. The st#eet itself 'eo!es a vi#tualspae. ite of the definitive onfusion of !asses and !ediu!, of the #eal-ti!e onfusion of at andsign.

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The#e is no &ill to o!!uniate in all this. The onl$ i##esisti'le d#ive is to oup$ this non-site, thise!pt$ spae of #ep#esentation &hih is the s#een. ep#esentation politial #ep#esentation too isu##entl$ a t#ough of dep#ession - !eteo#ologial dep#ession - &hih the !edia fill up &ith thei#tu#'ulenes, &ith the sa!e onse(uenes as ou# &hen an$ 0ind of spae is suddenl$dep#essu#i3ed. The highest p#essu#e of ne&s o##esponds to the lo&est p#essu#e of events and #ealit$[Ie #eel].The sa!e un#ealis! in the Deausesu t#ial. It is not the Budiial p#oedu#e itself &hih is sandalous

'ut the video tape, unaepta'le as the onl$, 'loodless t#ae of a 'lood$ event. In the e$es of the&hole &o#ld, this &ill #e!ain an event fo#eve# suspet, fo# the sole #eason of its - st#angel$ o'sene -seni a'dution. This hidden Bu#$, its voie st#i0ing out against the aused, these defendants &e a#efo#ed to see even though the$ a#e vi#tuall$ dead, these dead p#isone#s shot a seond ti!e to !eetthe needs of ne&s. *ne !ight even &onde# &hethe# the ato#s in this staged event &e#e notdeli'e#atel$ t#$ing to !a0e the!selves see! suspet in the e$es of &o#ld opinion, as though pla$ingat sa'otaging thei# i!age. /t the sa!e ti!e, the Deausesu t#ial &aspulled off pe#fetl$ as a video p#odution, 'et#a$ing a sha#p sense of the i!age funtion, the'la0!ail-funtion, the dete##ene- funtion. ?eep do&n, the intuitive g#asp of these things has g#o&n!o#e sophistiated ove# the#e, in the shado& of ditato#ship, than it has &ith us. We have nothing toteah the!. o#, if the o!anians the!selves got high on this !edia speulation &hih se#ved the!as a #evolutiona#$ aph#odisia, the$ also d#agged all the Weste#n !edia into the sa!e ne&sde!agog$. 4$ !anipulating the!selves, the$ aused us spontaneousl$ to s&allo& thei# fition. We'ea# the sa!e #esponsi'ilit$ as the$ do. *#, #athe#, the#e is no #esponsi'ilit$ an$&he#e. The (uestionof #esponsi'ilit$ annot even 'e #aised. It is the evil genius of ne&s &hih p#o!otes suh staging.When info#!ation gets !i"ed in &ith its sou#e, then, as &ith sound &aves, $ou get a feed'a0 effet- an effet of inte#fe#ene and une#taint$. When de!and is !a"i!al and eve#$&he#e toda$ thede!and fo# events is !a"i!al, it short3circuits the initial situation and p#odues an unont#olla'le#esponse effet. That is, ulti!atel$, &h$ &e do the o!anians an inBustie &hen &e ause the! of!anipulation and 'ad faith. 2o one is #esponsi'le. It is all an effet of the infe#nal $le of #edi'ilit$.The ato#s and the !edia sensed o'su#el$ that the events in Easte#n Eu#ope had to 'e given#edi'ilit$, that that #evolution had to 'e lent #edi'ilit$ '$ an e"t#a dose of dead bodies. /nd the!edia the!selves had to 'e lent #edi'ilit$ '$ the #efe#ene to the people. Feading to a viious i#leof #edi'ilit$, the #esult of &hih is the de#edi'ili3ing of the #evolution and the events the!selves. Thelogial se(uene of ne&s and histo#$ tu#ns 'a0 against itself, '#inging, in its $lial !ove!ent, a

0ind of deflation of histo#ial onsiousness.The /!e#ians did Bust the sa!e in the Aulf Wa#. 4$ the e"essive natu#e of thei# deplo$!ent andstage#aft, '$ putting thei# po&e# and ne&s ont#ol so e"t#avagantl$ to the test, the$ de#edi'ili3ed'oth &a# and ne&s. The$ &e#e the C'us of thei# &n po&e#, Bust as the o!anians &e#e the C'us ofthei# o&n !potene. E"ess itself engende#s the pa#od$ &hih invalidates the fats. /nd, Bust as thep#iniple of eono!is is e0ed '$ finanial speulation, so the p#iniple of politis [Ie politi(ue] andhisto#$ is e0ed '$ !edia speulation.

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0isaster (orn %verview

xtend our audrillard !" evidence. 6ere)s the argument.

The media transforms real events, death, destruction, etc. into the unreal, as

part of your TV screen and newspaper, images to be consumed by masses ofpeople. This devalues the event, because it is reduced to a spectator sportinstead of a unique occurrence. Their plan is a perfect example of this * theyoutline all sorts of terrible problems in the status quo in an effort to get you, the

+udge, to believe them as the 7real.8 Their playing the role of the mediaimplicates them in the production of the real to be consumed as unreal.

This process creates the information itself as the catastrophe, and devalues thelives of those who are actually dying due to the harms they outline. -lso, thedemand for death to lend credibility to their political program of choice leads to

an increase in its supply * the more destruction people want to see, the morewill be provided, guaranteeing their harms will be reproduced far into the futureas a result of the destructive images they present.

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Baudrillard Page of

Commodification of /uffering

ereft of values, our society demands images of suffering from others toreplenish our moral sentiment. &e exchange our pity for their pain, in aprocess that guarantees the suffering must continue.

audrillard in !" [Jean, epte!'e#


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Commodification of /uffering

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s&apping thei# #espetive !ise#$) one th#o&ing up o##uption and sandals, the othe# its pu#poselessonvulsions and its ine#tia. Thus, not so long ago, one ould &itness 4ou#dieu and /''e Mie##eoffe#ing the!selves as televisual slaughte#ing la!'s t#ading &ith eah othe# patheti language and

soiologial ga#'le a'out pove#t$.*u# &hole soiet$ is thus on its &a$ to&a#ds No!!ise#ationN in the !ost lite#al sense of the &o#dunde# the loa0 of eu!enial 'athos. It loo0s li0e as if &e a#e in the !idst of an i!!ense feeling ofguilt, sha#ed '$ intelletuals and politiians ali0e, and &hih is lin0ed to the end of histo#$ and thedo&nfall of values. Then, it has 'eo!e neessa#$ to #eplenish the pond of values, the pond of#efe#enes, and to do so '$ using that s!allest o!!on deno!inato# &hih is the suffe#ing of the

&o#ld, and in doing so, #eplenishing ou# ga!e #ese#ves &ith a#tifiial fo&ls. N/t the !o!ent, it has'eo!e i!possi'le to sho& an$thing else than suffe#ing in the ne&s '#oadasts on televisionN, #epo#ts?avid hneide#!ann. *u#s is a viti!-soiet$. I gathe# that soiet$ is !e#el$ e"p#essing its o&ndisappoint!ent and longing fo# an i!possi'le violene against itself. Eve#$&he#e, a 2e& Intelletual*#de# is follo&ing on the heels of the 2e& Wo#ld *#de#. Eve#$&he#e, &e see dist#ess, !ise#$ andsuffe#ing 'eo!ing the 'asi stuff of the p#i!itive sene. The status of viti!hood, pai#ed &ith hu!an

#ights is the sole fune#al ideolog$. Those &ho do not di#etl$ e"ploit it do it '$ p#o"$ - the#e is nodea#th of !ediato#s &ho ta0e so!e su#plus value of finanial o# s$!'oli natu#e along the &a$. Fossand suffe#ing, Bust li0e the glo'al de't, a#e negotia'le and fo# sale on the speulative !a#0et, that is,the intelletual-politial !a#0et - &hih is in no &a$ unde#!ining the military3industrial complex ofold O siniste# da$s.

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&e /earch for mages

9embers of our culture are in constant search of new global, hyperreal imagesas a way to escape the body and satisfy the bored eye.:roker in #;;#[/#thu#, +a#h


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Baudrillard Page of

$uclear 6yperreality

-. The scenario for nuclear escalation and war they imagine will always beprevented by deterrence. 6owever, the fear of nuclear war is used to +ustify astate security apparatus that free[Jean, i!ula#a and i!ulation p. >H]The apotheosis of si!ulation) the nulea#. o&eve#, the 'alane of te##o# is neve# an$thing 'ut thespetaula# slope of a s$ste! of dete##ene that has insinuated itself f#o! the inside into all the#a0s of daily life. 2ulea# suspension onl$ se#ves to seal the t#iviali3ed s$ste! of dete##ene that isat the hea#t of the !edia, of the violene &ithout onse(uenes that #eigns th#oughout the &o#ld, ofthe aleato#$ appa#atus of all the hoies that a#e !ade fo# us. The !ost insignifiant of ou# 'ehavio#sis #egulated '$ neut#ali3ed, indiffe#ent, e(uivalent signs, '$ 3e#o-su! signs li0e those that #egulate theNst#ateg$ of ga!esN 'ut the t#ue e(uation is else&he#e, and the un0no&n is p#eisel$ that va#ia'le ofsi!ulation &hih !a0es of the ato!i a#senal itself a h$pe##eal fo#!, a si!ula#u! that do!inateseve#$thing and #edues all Ng#ound-levelN events to 'eing nothing 'ut ephemeral scenarios,t#ansfo#!ing the life left us into su#vival, into a sta0e &ithout sta0es not even into a life insu#ane

poli$) into a poli$ that al#ead$ has no value.It is not the di#et th#eat of ato!i dest#ution that pa#al$3es ou# lives, it is dete##ene that gives the!leu0e!ia. /nd this dete##ene o!es f#o! that fat that even the #eal ato!i lash is p#eluded-p#eluded li0e the eventualit$ of the #eal in a s$ste! of signs. The &hole &o#ld pretends to 'elieve inthe #ealit$ of this th#eat this is unde#standa'le on the pa#t of the !ilita#$, the g#avit$ of thei# e"e#iseand the disou#se of thei# Nst#ateg$N a#e at sta0e, 'ut it is p#eisel$ at this level that the#e a#e nost#ategi sta0es. The &hole o#iginalit$ of the situation lies in the i!p#o'a'ilit$ of dest#ution.?ete##ene p#eludes &a#-the a#hai violene of e"panding s$ste!s. ?ete##ene itself is the neut#al,i!plosive violene of !etasta'le s$ste!s o# s$ste!s in involution. The#e is no longe# a su'Bet ofdete##ene, no# an adve#sa#$ no# a st#ateg$-it is a planeta#$ st#utu#e of the annihilation of sta0es./to!i &a#, li0e the T#oBan Wa#, &ill not ta0e plae. The #is0 of nulea# annihilation onl$ se#ves as ap#ete"t, th#ough the sophistiation of &eapons a sophistiation that su#passes an$ possi'le o'Betive

to suh an e"tent that it is itself a s$!pto! of nullit$, fo# installing a unive#sal seu#it$ s$ste!, aunive#sal lo0up and ont#ol s$ste! &hose dete##ent effet is not at all ai!ed at an ato!i lash&hih &as neve# in (uestion, e"ept &ithout a dou't in the ve#$ initial stages of the old &a#, &henone still onfused the nulea# appa#atus &ith onventional &a# 'ut, #athe#, at the !uh g#eate#p#o'a'ilit$ of an$ #eal event, of an$thing that &ould 'e an event in the gene#al s$ste! and upset its'alane. The 'alane of te##o# is the te##o# of 'alane.?ete##ene is not a st#ateg$, it i#ulates and is e"hanged 'et&een nulea# p#otagonists e"atl$ as isinte#national apital in the o#'ital 3one of !oneta#$ speulation &hose flutuations suffie to ont#ol allglo'al e"hanges. Thus the !one$ of dest#ution &ithout an$ #efe#ene to #eal dest#ution, an$ !o#ethan floating apital has a #eal #efe#ent of p#odution that i#ulates in nulea# o#'it suffies to controlall the violene and potential onflits a#ound the &o#ld.What is hathed in the shado& of this !ehanis! &ith the p#ete"t of a !a"i!al, No'Betive,N th#eat,and than0s to ?a!oles% nulea# s&o#d, is the pe#fetion of the 'est s$ste! of ont#ol

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that has eve# e"isted. /nd the p#og#essive satelli3ation of the &hole planet th#ough this h$pe#!odel ofseu#it$. The sa!e goes fo# peaeful nulea# po&e# stations. Maifiation does not distinguish'et&een the ivil and the !ilita#$) eve#$- &he#e &he#e i##eve#si'le appa#atuses of ont#ol a#e

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ela'o#ated, eve#$&he#e the notion of seu#it$ 'eo!es o!nipotent, eve#$&he#e &he#e the no#!#eplaes the old a#senal of la&s and violene inluding &a#, it is the s$ste! of dete##ene thatg#o&s, and a#ound it g#o&s the histo#ial, soial, and politial dese#t. / giganti involution that !a0eseve#$ onflit, eve#$ finalit$, eve#$ onf#ontation ont#at in p#opo#tion to this 'la0!ail that inte##upts,neut#ali3es, f#ee3es the! all. 2o longe# an an$ #evolt, an$ sto#$ 'e deplo$ed ao#ding to its o&nlogi 'eause it #is0s annihilation. 2o st#ateg$ is possi'le an$ longe#, and esalation is onl$ a puerilegamegiven ove# to the !ilita#$. The politial sta0e is dead, onl$ si!ula#a of onflits and a#efull$

i#u!s#i'ed sta0es #e!ain.The Nspae #aeN pla$ed e"atl$ the sa!e #ole as nulea# esalation. This is &h$ the spae p#og#a!&as so easil$ a'le to #eplae it in the 1:6Ps 5enned$=5h#ushhev, o# to develop onu##entl$ as afo#! of Npeaeful oe"istene.N 4eause &hat, ulti!atel$, is the funtion of the spae p#og#a!, of theon(uest of the !oon, of the launhing of satellites if not the institution of a !odel of unive#salg#avitation, of satelli3ation of &hih the luna# !odule is the pe#fet e!'#$o@ M#og#a!!ed !i#oos!,

&he#e nothing an 'e left to hane. T#aBeto#$, ene#g$, alulation, ph$siolog$, ps$holog$,envi#on!ent-nothing an 'e left to ontingenies, this is the total unive#se of the no#!-the Fa& nolonge# e"ists, it is the ope#ational i!!anene of eve#$ detail that is la&. / unive#se pu#ged of all th#eatof !eaning, in a state of asepsis and &eightlessness-it is this ve#$ pe#fetion that is fasinating. Thee"altation of the #o&ds &as not a #esponse to the event of landing on the !oon o# of sending a !aninto spae this &ould 'e, #athe#, the fulfill!ent of an ea#lie# d#ea!, #athe#, &e a#e du!'-founded '$the pe#fetion of the p#og#a!!ing and the tehnial !anipulation, '$ the i!!anent &onde# of thep#og#a!!ed un- folding of events. asination &ith the !a"i!al no#! and the !aste#$ of p#o'a'ilit$.Ke#tigo of the !odel, &hih unites &ith the !odel of death, 'ut &ithout fea# o# d#ive. 4eause if thela&, &ith its au#a of t#ansg#ession, if o#de#, &ith its au#a of violene, still taps a pe#ve#se i!agina#$, theno#! fi"es, fasinates, stupefies, and !a0es eve#$ i!agina#$ involute. *ne no longe# fantasi3esa'out the !inutiae of a p#og#a!. Just &athing it p#odues ve#tigo. The ve#tigo of a &o#ld &ithoutfla&s.2o&, it is the sa!e !odel of p#og#a!!ati infalli'ilit$, of !a"i!u! seu#it$ and dete##ene that toda$ont#ols the sp#ead of the soial. The#e lies the t#ue nulea# fallout) the !etiulous ope#ation oftehnolog$ se#ves as a !odel fo# the !etiulous ope#ation of the soial. e#e as &ell, nothing &ill 'eleft to hane, !o#eove# this is the essene of soiali3ation, &hih 'egan entu#ies ago, 'ut &hihhas no& ente#ed its aele#ated phase, to&a#d a li!it that one 'elieved &ould 'e e"plosive#evolution, 'ut &hih fo# the !o!ent is t#anslated '$ an inve#se, i!plosive, i##eve#si'le p#oess) the

gene#ali3ed dete##ene of hane, of aident, of t#ansve#salit$, of finalit$ of ont#adition, #uptu#e, o#o!ple"it$ in a soialit$ illu!inated '$ the no#!, doo!ed to the des#iptive t#anspa#en$ of!ehanis!s of info#!ation. In fat, the spatial and nulea# !odels do not have thei# o&n ends)neithe# the disove#$ of the !oon, no# !ilita#$ and st#ategi supe#io#it$. Thei# t#uth is to 'e the !odelsof si!ulation, the !odelveto#s of a s$ste! of planeta#$ ont#ol &he#e even the supe#- po&e#s of this sena#io a#e not f#ee-the &hole &o#ld is satelli3ed.

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. The true damage of nuclear weapons is not the war that could result, but inthe fear and mental destruction that fear of them demands. nstead of trying toavoid the catastrophe, we need to embrace its simulation and break the mentalchains of deterrence.

audrillard in =>[Jean, i!ula#a and i!ulation p. HH-H7]4eause an e"plosion is al&a$s a promise, it is ou# hope) note ho& !uh, in the fil! as ina##is'u#g, the &hole &o#ld &aits fo# so!ething to 'lo& up, fo# dest#ution to announe itself and#e!ove us f#o! this unna!ea'le pani, f#o! this pani of dete##ene that it e"e#ises in the invisi'lefo#! of the nulea#. That the Nhea#tN of the #eato# at last #eveals its hot po&e# of dest#ution, that it#eassu#es us a'out the p#esene of ene#g$ al'eit atast#ophi, and 'esto&s its spetale on us.4eause unhappiness is &hen the#e is no nulea# spetale, no spetale of nulea# ene#g$ in itselfi#oshi!a is ove#, and it is fo# that #eason that it is #eBeted-it &ould 'e pe#fetl$ aepted if it lentitself to spetale as p#evious fo#!s of ene#g$ did. Ma#ousia of atast#ophe) su'stantial food fo# ou#!essiani li'ido.4ut that is p#eisel$ &hat &ill neve# happen. What &ill happen &ill neve# again 'e the e"plosion, 'utthe i!plosion. 2o !o#e ene#g$ in its spetaula# and patheti fo#!-all the #o!antiis! of the

e"plosion, &hih had so !uh ha#!, 'eing at the sa!e ti!e that of #evolution-'ut the old ene#g$ ofthe si!ula#u! and of its distillation in ho!eopathi doses in the old s$ste!s of info#!ation.What else do the !edia d#ea! of 'esides #eating the event si!pl$ '$ thei# p#esene@ Eve#$onede#ies it, 'ut eve#$one is secretly fascinated '$ this eventualit$ . uh is the logi of si!ula#a, it isno longe# that of divine p#edestination, it is that of the p#eession of !odels, 'ut it is Bust asine"o#a'le. /nd it is 'eause of this that events no longe# have !eaning) it is not that the$ a#einsignifiant in the!selves, it is that the$ &e#e p#eeded '$ the !odel, &ith &hih thei# p#oesses onl$oinided. Thus it &ould have 'een !a#velous to #epeat the s#ipt fo# The Dhina $nd#o!e atessenhei!, du#ing the visit offe#ed to the Bou#nalists '$ the E? #enh Elet#i Do!pan$, to#epeat on this oasion the aident lin0ed to the !agi e$e, to the p#ovoative p#esene of the!edia. /las, nothing happened. /nd on the othe# hand $esL so po&e#ful is the logi of si!ula#a) a

&ee0 afte#, the unions disove#ed fissu#es in the #eato#s. +i#ale of ontagions, !i#ale of analogihain #eations.Thus, the essene of the fil! is not in an$ #espet the Wate#gate% effet in the pe#son of Jane onda,not in an$ #espet TK as a !eans of e"posing nulea# vies, 'ut on the ont#a#$ TK as the t&in o#'itand t&in hain #eation of the nulea# one. 4esides, Bust at the end-and the#e the fil! is un#elenting in#ega#d to its o&n a#gu!ent-&hen Jane onda !a0es the t#uth e"plode di#etl$ !a"i!u! Wate#gateeffet, he# i!age is Bu"taposed &ith &hat &ill ine"o#a'l$ follo& it and effae it on the s#een) ao!!e#ial of so!e 0ind. The 2et&o#0 effet goes fa# 'e$ond the Wate#gate effet and sp#eads!$ste#iousl$ into the a##is'u#g effet, that is to sa$ not into the nulea# th#eat, 'ut into the si!ulationof nulea# atast#ophe.o, it is si!ulation that is effetive, neve# the #eal. The si!ulation of nulea# atast#ophe is thest#ategi #esult of this gene#i and unive#sal unde#ta0ing of dete##ene) austo!ing the people to theideolog$ and the disipline of a'solute seu#it$-to the !etaph$sis of fission and fissu#e. To this endthe fissu#e !ust 'e a fiction. / #eal atast#ophe &ould dela$ things, it &ould onstitute a #et#og#ade

inident, of the e"plosive 0ind &ithout hanging the ou#se of things) did i#oshi!a pe#epti'l$ dela$,dete#, the unive#sal p#oess of dete##ene@.

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In the fil!, also, #eal fusion &ould 'e a 'ad a#gu!ent) the fil! &ould #eg#ess to the level of a disaste#!ovie-&ea0 '$ definition, 'eause it !eans #etu#ning things to thei# pu#e event. The Dhina $nd#o!e,itself, finds its st#ength in filte#ing atast#ophe, in the distillation of the nulea# spete# th#ough theo!nip#esent he#t3ian #ela$s of info#!ation. It teahes us one again &ithout !eaning to that nulea#atast#ophe does not ou# is not !eant to happen, in the #eal eithe#, an$ !o#e than the ato!i lash

&as at the da&ning of the old &a#. The e(uili'#iu! of te##o# #ests on the eternal deferral of theato!i lash. The ato! and the nulea# a#e !ade to 'e disse!inated fo# dete##ent ends, the po&e# of

atast#ophe !ust, instead of stupidl$ e"ploding, 'e disse!inated in ho!eopathi, !oleula# doses, inthe ontinuous #ese#voi#s of info#!ation. The#ein lies the t#ue onta!ination) neve# 'iologial and#adioative, 'ut, #athe#, a !ental dest#utu#ation th#ough a !ental st#ateg$ of atast#ophe.If one loo0s a#efull$, the fil! int#odues us to this !ental st#ateg$, and in going fu#the#, it evendelive#s a lesson dia!et#iall$ opposed to that of Wate#gate) if eve#$ st#ateg$ toda$ is that of !entalte##o# and of dete##ene tied to the suspension and the ete#nal si!ulation of atast#ophe, then the onl$!eans of !itigating this sena#io &ould 'e to !a0e the atast#ophe a##ive, to p#odue o# to #ep#oduea #eal atast#ophe. To &hih 2atu#e is at ti!es given) in its inspi#ed !o!ents, it is Aod &ho th#oughhis atal$s!s un0nots the e(uili'#iu! of te##o# in &hih hu!ans a#e i!p#isoned. Dlose# to us, this is

&hat te##o#is! is oupied &ith as &ell) !a0ing #eal, palpa'le violene su#fae in opposition to theinvisi'le violene of seu#it$. 4esides, the#ein lies te##o#is!%s a!'iguit$.

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$uclear 6yperreality #$C %verview

xtend our two cards from audrillard =>. 6ere)s the argument.

$uclear war is and always will be an act of the imagination, because deterrence

prevents escalation from occurring in the real world, and systems of nuclearlockdown and control will always proceed faster than their explosive potential.The effects of nuclear weapons are instead seen on the social plane, throughthe imagination of their use. The constant nuclear threat is used to free


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Baudrillard Page of

$uclear 6yperreality #$1 %verview

xtend our - and cards from audrillard in =>. They miss some key points inthe last overview, so extend2

First, nuclear war won)t happen, because deterrence works, and systems ofcontrol always proceed faster than the explosive use of the weapons. Thatmeans their harms will never be true in the real world.

/econd, images and fear of nuclear war that they present have negative effects2states use the population)s fear of nuclear war to free


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Baudrillard Page of

(roliferation /tops &ar

(ossession of nuclear weapons free[Jean, i!ula#a and i!ulation p. >:-;P]This is &h$ nulea# p#olife#ation does not in#ease the #is0 of eithe# an ato!i lash o# an aident-

save in the inte#val &hen the N$oungN po&e#s ould 'e te!pted to !a0e a nondete##ent, N#ealN use ofit as the /!e#ians did in i#oshi!a-'ut p#eisel$ onl$ the$ had a #ight to this Nuse valueN of the'o!', all of those &ho have a(ui#ed it sine &ill 'e dete##ed f#o! using it '$ the ve#$ fat ofpossessing it. Ent#$ into the ato!i lu', so p#ettil$ na!ed, ve#$ (ui0l$ effaes as unioni3ation doesin the &o#0ing &o#ld an$ inlination to&a#d violent inte#vention. esponsi'ilit$ ont#ol, ensu#e, self-dete##ene al&a$s g#o& !o#e #apidl$ than the fo#es o# the &eapons at ou# disposal) this is the se#etof the soial o#de#. Thus the ve#$ possi'ilit$ of pa#al$3ing a &hole ount#$ '$ fli0ing a s&ith !a0es itso that the elet#ial enginee#s &ill neve# use this &eapon) the &hole !$th of the total and#evolutiona#$ st#i0e #u!'les at the ve#$ !o!ent &hen the !eans a#e availa'le-'ut alas p#eisel$'eause those !eans a#e availa'le. The#ein lies the &hole p#oess of dete##ene. It is thus pe#fetl$p#o'a'le that one da$ &e &ill see nulea# po&e#s e"po#t ato!i #eato#s, &eapons, and 'o!'s toeve#$ latitude. Dont#ol '$ th#eat &ill 'e #eplaed '$ the !o#e effetive st#ateg$ of paifiation th#oughthe 'o!' and th#ough the possession of the 'o!'. The NlittleN po&e#s, 'elieving that the$ a#e 'u$ing

thei# independent st#i0ing fo#e, &ill 'u$ the vi#us of dete##ene, of thei# o&n dete##ene. The sa!egoes fo# the ato!i #eato#s that &e have al#ead$ sent the!) so !an$ neut#on 'o!'s 0no0ing out allhisto#ial vi#ulene, all #is0 of e"plosion. In this sense, the nulea# eve#$&he#e inaugu#ates anaele#ated p#oess of i!plosion, it f#ee3es eve#$thing a#ound it, it a'so#'s all living ene#g$.The nulea# is at one the ul!inating point of availa'le ene#g$ and the !a"i!i3ation of ene#g$ont#ol s$ste!s. Fo0do&n and ont#ol in#ease in di#et p#opo#tion to and undou'tedl$ even faste#than li'e#ating potentialities. This &as al#ead$ the apo#ia of the !ode! #evolution. It is still thea'solute pa#ado" of the nulea#. Ene#gies f#ee3e in thei# o&n fi#e, the$ dete# the!selves. *ne an nolonge# i!agine &hat p#oBet, &hat po&e#, &hat st#ateg$, &hat su'Bet ould e"ist 'ehind thisenlosu#e, this vast satu#ation of a s$ste! '$ its o&n fo#es, no& neut#ali3ed, unusa'le, unintelligi'le,none"plosive-e"ept fo# the possi'ilit$ of an e"plosion to&a#d the ente1 of an i!plosion &he#e allthese ene#gies &ould 'e a'olished in a atast#ophi p#oess in the lite#al sense, that is to sa$ in the

sense of a #eve#sion of the &hole $le to&a#d a !ini!al point, of a #eve#sion of ene#gies to&a#d a!ini!al th#eshold.

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(roliferation /tops &ar %verview

xtend audrillard =>, proliferation stops war. 6ere)s how.

-s soon as countries acquire nuclear weapons, they are given a sense of power

and responsibility which leads to a reciprocal increase in restraint when usingthose weapons, due to international norms and deterrence theory. $o state isexempt from this, in fact, if we were to give nuclear weapons to every country inthe world, it could prevent war forever. The more nuclear armaments a countryhas, the more power it has over its people and its weapons, which guarantees a

war will never occur.

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llusion of &ar

&ar in the modern era exists more in the image of it being fought than in reality?wars are conducted via public opinion polls, the media, and so on, with militaryaction +ust as an afterthought. To avoid war, we must oppose its simulation * to

give it authority through images is to make it real.audrillard in !"[Jean, The Illusion of the End p. 6


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llusion of &ar

884aud#illa#d :; ontinued99

The (uestion is not &hethe# one is fo# o# against &a#, 'ut &hethe# one is fo# o# against the reality of&a#. /nal$sis !ust not 'e sa#ified to the e"p#ession of ange#. It has to 'e di#eted in its enti#et$against #ealit$, against !anifestness - he#e against the !anifest #ealit$ of this &a#. The tois ontest

the ve#$ self-evidene of pain, &hen the 'od$%s onfusion is at its height. e#e, &e !ust ontest theve#$ self-evidene of &a#, &hen the onfusion of the #eal is at its height. We !ust hit out at theweakpoint of #ealit$. It%s too late afte#&a#ds) $ou%#e stu0 &ith the %ats of violence@, stu0 in #ealista'Betion.In a little ti!e, as &e get so!e distane f#o! it, o# even no&, &ith a little i!agination, it &ill 'epossi'le to #ead Fa gue##e du Aolfe n%a pas eu lieu Q as a siene-fition novel, as the antiipation,#ight in the thi0 of things, of the event as a fitional sena#io - so!ething into &hih it &ill su#el$ 'etu#ned late#. Fi0e 4o#ges% h#oniling of ultu#es &hih neve# e"isted. 4$ !a0ing t#anspa#ent the non-event of the &a#, $ou give it fo#e in the i!agination - so!e&he#e othe# than in the %#eal ti!e% of ne&s

&he#e it si!pl$ peters out. ou give fo#e to the illusion of &a#, #athe# than 'eo!e an aessso#$ toits false #ealit$. /n$ho&, the 'oo0 has fallen - (uite logiall$ - into the sa!e 'la0 hole as the &a#. Ithas faded as (ui0l$ as the event &hose a'sene it denouned. It &as a suessful non-event, li0e

the /gen$, li0e appea#ing on television. /ll this is as it should have 'een sine it dealt &ithso!ething &hih did not ta0e plae.It &as the si!ula#u! of elen that &as at the hea#t of the T#oBan Wa#. The Eg$ptian p#iests had heldon to the o#iginal &e do not 0no& &hat 'ea!e of it &hen she set out again &ith Ma#is fo# T#o$. 4ut,even &ithout the !agi of the p#iests, elen &as in an$ ase !e#el$ a si!ula#u!, sine the unive#salfo#! of 'eaut$ is as un#eal as gold, the unive#sal fo#! of all o!!odities. Eve#$ unive#sal fo#! is asi!ula#u!, sine it is the si!ultaneous e(uivalent of all the othe#s - so!ething it is i!possi'le fo#an$ #eal 'eing to 'e.The#e a#e !an$ analogies 'et&een the T#oBan and Aulf &a#s. 4efo#e the e"pedition, +enelaus alledall the &a##io#s of the A#ee0 &o#ld to a#!s, Bust as 4ush did &ith all the nations of the %f#ee &o#ld%. Theinu'ation pe#iod of the &a# &as ve#$ long seven $ea#s in the ase of T#o$, seven !onths fo# theAulf Wa# and the final phase &as ve#$ #apid in 'oth ases. The A#ee0 vito#$ &as &on at g#eat ostto the vito#s, &ho! the gods punished #elentlessl$ the !u#de# of /ga!e!non, Dl$tae!nest#a,

*#estes, et.. What &ill 'e the fate of the %vito#s% of the Aulf Wa#@ /d!ittedl$, this ti!e the &a# didnot ta0e plae. This diffe#ene leaves the /!e#ians so!e hope, the gods having no #eal ause toavenge the!selves.If the elen of the T#oBan Wa# &as a si!ula#u!, &hat &as the Aulf Wa#%s elen@ Whe#e &as the#esi!ula#u! he#e, e"ept in the si!ula#u! of &a# itself@

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llusion of &ar %verview

xtend audrillard !". 6ere)s the argument.

The scenario they present is a description of real world events, a simulation of

reality. They accept war as real through the authority of its image. &ar in themodern era is fought in the arena of representation before it becomes reality *for war to occur, governments depend on public recognition of its existence, soenough public opinion can be generated for war)s reality to proceed. Theirscenario, which gives the illusion of war, aids the recreation of war in the real

world, which turns all their impacts. 1efusing to buy their image of war helpsprevent it from actually happening outside the round, so don)t aid theirrepresentations of war with the support of your ballot.

#$0 %verview

xtend the audrillard !" card, and these points from the last overview *

First, their disadvantage is a simulation of reality based on images of war,which may or may not be true, so all their scenario claims are inherentlyunreliable and there)s only a slight chance they)ll occur.

/econd, images of war are what allows actual war to occur, because politicalactors looking to +ustify a policy of war need the public to recogni


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Baudrillard Page of

iosphere #

-. They treat the natural world as an experiment to be managed, a sphere inwhich human life must be preserved eternally, which paradoxically removes thevalue of life itself. &e need the accident and randomness of the natural world

to smash their simplified construction in order to escape.audrillard in !"[Jean, The Illusion of the End p. H-]The finest e"a!ple of &hat the hu!an speies is apa'le of infliting upon itself is 4iosphe#e < - thefi#st 3oologial ga#dens of the speies, to &hih hu!an 'eings o!e to &ath the!selves su#vive, asone the$ &ent to &ath apes opulate. *utside Tuson, in /#i3ona, #ight in the !iddle of the dese#t,a geodesi glass and !etal st#utu#e ao!!odating all the planet%s li!ates in !iniatu#e, &he#eeight hu!an 'eings fou# !en and fou# &o!en, of ou#se a#e to live self-suffiientl$, in a losedi#uit, fo# t&o $ea#s, in o#de# - sine &e a#e not a'le to hange ou# lives - to e"plo#e the onditions fo#ou# su#vival. / !ini!al #ep#esentation of the speies in an e"pe#i!ental situation, in a 0ind ofspaeship allego#$. /s a !useu! !o0-up of the futu#e, 'ut of an unp#edita'le futu#e - a entu#$hene, a thousand $ea#s, !illions. . . &ho 0no&s@ - it fo#!s a pendant to the ?ese#t +useu! so!esi"t$ !iles a&a$, &hih #et#aes the geologial and ani!al histo#$ of t&o hund#ed !illion $ea#s. The

point of onve#gene 'et&een the t&o 'eing the idea of the onse#vation and opti!al !anage!ent of#esidues - of the #elis of the past fo# the ?ese#t +useu!, the antiipated #elis of the futu#e fo#4iosphe#e < - not to !ention the !agial dese#t site &hih allo&s the p#o'le! of su#vival to 'ee"a!ined, 'oth that of natu#e and that of the speies &ith e(ual #igou#.uh a ve#$ /!e#ian halluination this oean, this savannah, this dese#t, this vi#gin fo#est#eonstituted in !iniatu#e, vit#ified 'eneath thei# e"pe#i!ental 'u''le. In the t#ue spi#it of ?isne$land%satt#ations, 4iosphe#e < is not an e"pe#i!ent, 'ut an e"pe#i!ental att#ation. The !ost a!a3ing thingis that the$ have #eonstituted a f#ag!ent of a#tifiial dese#t #ight in the !iddle of the natu#al dese#t a'it li0e #eonstituting oll$&ood in ?isne$&o#ld. *nl$ in this a#tifiial dese#t the#e a#e neithe#so#pions no# Indians to 'e e"te#!inated the#e a#e onl$ e"t#ate##est#ials t#ained to su#vive in the ve#$plae &he#e the$ dest#o$ed anothe#, fa# 'ette# adapted #ae, leaving it no hane. The &holehu!anist ideolog$ - eologial, li!ati, !i#o-os!i and 'iogeneti - is su!!ed up he#e, 'ut this is

of no i!po#tane. *nl$ the side#eal, t#anspa#ent fo#! of the edifie !eans an$thing - 'ut &hat@?iffiult to sa$. /s eve#, a'solute spae inspi#es enginee#s, gives !eaning to a p#oBet &hih hasnone, e"ept the !ad desi#e fo# a !iniatu#i3ation of the hu!an speies, &ith a vie& pe#haps to afutu#e #ae and its e!e#gene, of &hih &e still d#ea!. . .The a#tifiial p#o!isuit$ of li!ates has its ounte#pa#t in the a#tifiial i!!unit$ of the spae) theeli!ination of all spontaneous gene#ation of ge#!s, vi#uses, !i#o'es, the auto!ati pu#ifiation ofthe &ate#, the ai#, the ph$sial at!osphe#e and the !ental at!osphe#e too, pu#ified '$ siene. Theeli!ination of all se"ual #ep#odution) it is fo#'idden to #ep#odue in 4iosphe#e


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Baudrillard Page of

plastiit$, its elastiit$, the #eve#si'le se(uening of all its ope#ations. The#e is, then, 'ehind thisa#hai !odel, 'eneath its futu#isti e"te#io#, a gigantic h$pothetial e##o#, a fie#e ideali3ationdoo!ed to failure.In fat, the %t#uth% of the ope#ation lies else&he#e, and $ou sense this &hen $ou #etu#n f#o! 4iosphe#e < to%#eal% /!e#ia, as $ou do &hen $ou e!e#ge f#o! ?isne$land into #eal life) the fat is that the i!agina#$, o#e"pe#i!ental, !odel is in no &a$ diffe#ent f#o! the #eal funtioning of this soiet$. Just as the &hole of/!e#ia is 'uilt in the i!age of ?isne$land, so the &hole of /!e#ian soiet$ is a##$ing on - in #eal ti!e

and out in the open - the sa!e e"pe#i!ent as 4iosphe#e < &hih is the#efo#e onl$ falselye"pe#i!ental, Bust as ?isne$land is onl$ falsel$ i!agina#$. The #e$ling of all su'stanes, theinteg#ation of flo&s and i#uits, non-pollution, a#tifiial i!!unit$, eologial 'alaning, ont#olleda'stinene, #est#ained Bouissane 'ut, also, the #ight of all speies to su#vival and onse#vation - andnot Bust plant and ani!al speies, 'ut also soial ones. /ll atego#ies fo#!all$ '#ought unde# the oneu!'#ella of the la& - this latte# setting its seal on the ending of natu#al seletion.It is gene#all$ thought that the o'session &ith su#vival is a logial onse(uene of life and the #ight tolife. 4ut, !ost of the ti!e, the t&o things a#e contradictory. Fife is not a (uestion of #ights, and &hatfollo&s on f#o! life is not su#vival, &hih is a#tifiial, 'ut death. It is onl$ '$ pa$ing the p#ie of a failu#eto live, a failu#e to ta0e pleasu#e, a failu#e to die that !an is assu#ed of su#vival. /t least in p#esentonditions, &hih the 4iosphe#e p#iniple perpetuates.This !i#o-unive#se see0s to e"o#i3e atast#ophe '$ !a0ing an a#tifiial s$nthesis of all the ele!ents ofatast#ophe. #o! the pe#spetive of su#vival, of #e$ling and feed'a0, of sta'ili3ation and

!etasta'ili3ation, the ele!ents of life a#e sa#ified to those of su#vival eli!ination of ge#!s, of evil, ofse". eal life, &hih su#el$, afte# all, has the #ight to disappea# o# !ight the#e 'e a pa#ado"ial li!it tohu!an #ights@, is sa#ified to a#tifiialsu#vival. The #eal planet, p#esu!ed onde!ned, is sa#ified inadvane to its !iniatu#i3ed, ai#-onditioned lone have no fea#, all the ea#th%s li!ates a#e ai#-onditioned he#e &hih is designed to van(uish death '$ total si!ulation. In da$s gone '$ it &as thedead &ho &e#e e!'al!ed fo# ete#nit$ toda$, it is the living &e e!'al! alive in a state of su#vival. +ustthis 'e ou# hope@ aving lost ou# !etaph$sial utopias, do &e have to 'uild this p#oph$lati one@What, then, is this speies endo&ed &ith the insane p#etension to su#vive - not to t#ansend itself '$ vi#tueof its natu#al intelligene, 'ut to su#vive ph$siall$, 'iologiall$, '$ vi#tue of its a#tifiial intelligene@ Is the#ea speies destined to esape natu#al seletion, natu#al disappea#ane - in a &o#d, death@ What os!iussedness !ight give #ise to suh a tu#na'out@ What vital #eation !ight p#odue the idea of su#vival atan$ ost@ What !etaph$sial ano!al$ !ight g#ant the #ight not to disappea# - logial ounte#pa#t of the#e!a#0a'le good fo#tune of having appea#ed@ The#e is a 0ind of aberration in the atte!pt toete#nali3e the speies - not to i!!o#tali3e it in its ations, 'ut to ete#nali3e it in this fae-lifted coma,in the glass coffin of 4iosphe#e


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iosphere #A$CB %verview

xtend the audrillard !" evidence. This is the argument *

iosphere # is the second version of the world, described and controlled by

scientific processes. verything there is logical and coherent, as opposed toiosphere >, which is the natural world as we know it wild. The affirmative is anexample of human action based on iosphere. Their harms and solvencyevidence display nature as a machine to be fixed, not as a unique process of itsown.

This scientific mindset will inevitably fail * iosphere >, which is the reality,does not relate at all to the experimental world of the plan. $atural chaos andchance occurrences will cause their simplified view of the world to fail when itis applied, which turns case.

-dditionally, their focus on human survival within this perfectly managedexperiment displays a mindset that in order to survive, people must beconstantly monitored by science, so that to live one must not live naturally.This makes human life meaningless and dehumani


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iosphere #A$1B %verview

xtend our audrillard !" evidence. They miss some key analysis from the lastoverview, so extend these points2

First, their plan depends on a scientific and artificial vision of the natural worldthat can be acted upon like an experiment with their plan. That)s one link.

/econd, their effort to preserve the existence of human life displays a mindsetof scientific examination of human life in order to preserve it, like living in theTruman /how, where every action is controlled by the operation of theexperiment. That mindset destroys the value of human life and must be on3facere+ected.

Third, scientific abstractions of nature fail, because the randomness of the

natural world is never fully accounted for by the theories of their plan. Thatmeans their solvency will inevitably fail, turning case.

Fourth, the way out is to allow the simulation of their harms to occur within thecontext of the debate round, which has no relation to reality but is the perfectforum to oppose this destructive mindset. -llowing their harms to occur breaksnature out of the scientific prison.

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9aleficent cology

4ranting sub+ectivity and rights to nature is handing it a poisoned chalice,entering it into a competition it can never effectively play, which inevitablyresults in disaster, and the more we are reconciled with nature, the less we can

be reconciled with ourselves, resulting in mass extermination through nuclearor biological means.audrillard in !"[Jean, The Illusion of the End p. P-;]ene the #eent p#oposal, follo&ing this sa!e logi, f#o! the !o!ent it ahieved the status of vi#tual

&aste-p#odut, to ao#d natu#e inte#national #eognition of its #ights, to elevate it to the status of asu'Bet in la&. Thus the %ont#at natu#e=NN a!ounts to a definitive #eognition of natu#e as &aste. Justas, in '$gone da$s, the #eognition of the #ights of the unfo#tunate !eant not thei# e!anipation asiti3ens, 'ut thei# li'e#ation as the unfo#tunate. It is al&a$s the sa!e &ith #ights) the #ight to &ate#, the#ight to ai#, the #ight to e"istene, et. It is &hen all these fine things have disappea#ed that the la&a##ives to g#ant thei# disappea#ane offiial #eognition. The la& is li0e #eligious faith. If Aod e"ists,the#e is no need to 'elieve in i!. If people do 'elieve in i!, this is 'eause the self-evidene of hise"istene has passed a&a$.Thus, &hen people o'tain the #ight to life, the fat is that the$ a#e no longe# a'le to live. When natu#eis #eogni3ed as a su'Bet in la&, as it is '$ +ihel e##es, &e have o'Betified it to death, and thiseologial ove# !e#el$ asse#ts ou# #ight to go on doing so./ll this has 'een '#ought a'out '$ the highl$ du'ious &a$ in &hih the onept of natu#e has evolved.What &as initiall$ !atte# 'ea!e ene#g$. The !ode#n disove#$ of natu#e onsists in its li'e#ation asene#g$ and in a !ehanial t#ansfo#!ation of the &o#ld. /fte# having fi#st 'een !atte#, and thenene#g$, natu#e is toda$ 'eo!ing an inte#ative su'Bet. It is easing to 'e an o'Bet, 'ut this is'#inging it all the !o#e su#el$ into the i#uit of sub+ection. / d#a!ati pa#ado", and one &hih alsoaffets hu!an 'eings) &e a#e !uh !o#e o!p#o!ised &hen &e ease to 'e o'Bets and 'eo!esu'Bets. This is a t#i0 that &as pulled on us long ago, in the na!e of a'solute li'e#ation. Fet%s notpull the sa!e one on natu#e. o# the ulti!ate dange# is that, in an inte#ativit$ 'uilt up into a totals$ste! of o!!uniation, the#e is no othe# the#e a#e onl$ su'Bets - and, ve#$ soon, onl$ su'Bets

&ithout o'Bets. /ll ou# p#o'le!s toda$ as ivili3ed 'eings o#iginate he#e) not in an e"ess ofalienation, 'ut a disappea#ane of alienation in favou# of a !a"i!u! t#anspa#en$ 'et&een su'Bets./n un'ea#a'le situation, all the !o#e so fo# the fat that, in foisting on natu#e the status of a su'Bet inla&, &e a#e also foisting on it all the vies of su'Betivit$, de0ing it out, in ou# o&n i!age, &ith a 'adonsiene, &ith nostalgia fo# a lost o'Bet &hih, in this ase, an onl$ 'e us, &ith a #ange of d#ives- in pa#tiula#, an i!pulse fo# revenge. The %'alane% &e hea# so !uh of in eolog$ %out of 'alane%is not so !uh that of planeta#$ #esou#es and thei# e"ploitation as the !etaph$sial one 'et&eensu'Bet and o'Bet. 2o&, that !etaph$sial su'Bet o'Bet 'alane is 'eing upset and the su'Bet,a#!ed as he is &ith all the tehnologies of advaned o!!uniation tehnologies on &hose ho#i3onthe o'Bet has disappea#ed, is the 'enefiia#$.

88ontinued99

9aleficent cology

884aud#illa#d :; ontinued 99

*ne that 'alane is dis#upted, it inevita'l$ spa#0s violent reactions on the pa#t of the o'Bet. Just asindividuals ounte# the t#anspa#en$ and vi#tual #esponsi'ilit$ inflited on the! as su'Bets &ith

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une"plaina'le ats, ats of #esistane, failu#e, delin(uen$ and olletive diso#de#, so natu#e ounte#sthis enfo#ed p#o!otion, this onsensual, o!!uniational 'la0!ail, &ith va#ious fo#!s of 'ehaviou#that a#e #adiall$ othe#, suh as atast#ophes, upheavals, ea#th(ua0es and haos. It &ould see! thatnatu#e does not #eall$ feel a sense of #esponsi'ilit$ fo# itself, no# does it #eat to ou# effo#ts to give itone. We a#e, ad!ittedl$, indulging inN a 'ad eologial onsiene and atte!pting, '$ this !o#alviolene, to stave off possi'le violene on natu#e%s pa#t. 4ut if, '$ offe#ing it the status of su'Bet, &ea#e handing it the sa!e poisoned chalice as &e gave to the deoloni3ed nations, &e ought not to 'e

su#p#ised if it 'ehaves i##ationall$ !e#el$ so as to asse#t itself as suh. Dont#a#$ to the unde#l$ingousseauist ideolog$, &hih a#gues that the p#ofound natu#e of the li'e#ated su'Bet an onl$ 'e goodand that natu#e itself, one e!anipated, annot 'ut 'e endo&ed &ith natu#al e(uili'#iu! and all theeologial vi#tues, the#e is nothing !o#e a!'iguous o# pe#ve#se than a su'Bet. 2o&, natu#e is alsoge#!s, vi#uses, haos, 'ate#ia and so#pions, signifiantl$ eli!inated f#o! 4iosphe#e < as thoughthe$ &e#e not !eant to e"ist. Whe#e a#e the deadl$ little so#pions, so 'eautiful and so t#ansluent,

&hih one sees in the ?ese#t +useu! not fa# a&a$, so#pions &hose !agial sting e#tainl$ pe#fo#!sa highe#, invisi'le G 'ut neessa#$ - funtion &ithin ou# 4iosphe#e 1) the ina#nation of evil, of theveno!ous evil of hane, the !o#tal innoene of desi#e the desi#e fo# death in the e(uili'#iu! ofliving 'eings@What the$ have fo#gotten is that &hat 'inds living 'eings togethe# is so!ething othe# than aneologial, 'iosphe#ial solida#it$, so!ething othe# than the ho!eostati e(uili'#iu! of a s$ste!) it isthe $le of !eta!o#phoses. +an is also a so#pion, Bust as the 4o#o#o a#e a#a#as and, left to hi!selfin an e"pu#gated unive#se, he 'eo!es, hi!self, a so#pion.In sho#t, it is not '$ e"pu#gating evil that &e li'e#ate good. Wo#se, '$ li'e#ating good, &e also li'e#ateevil. /nd this is onl$ #ight) it is the #ule of the s$!'oli ga!e. It is the insepa#a'ilit$ of good and evil

&hih onstitutes ou# t#ue e(uili'#iu!, ou# t#ue 'alane. We ought not to ente#tain the illusion that &e!ight sepa#ate the t&o, that &e !ight ultivate good and happiness in a pu#e state and e"pel evil andso##o& as &astes. That is the te##o#isti d#ea! of the t#anspa#en$ of good, &hih ve#$ (ui0l$ ends inits opposite, the t#anspa#en$ of evil. We !ust not #eonile ou#selves &ith natu#e.It see!s that the !o#e the hu!an #ae #eoniles itself &ith natu#e, the less it is #eoniled &ith itself./'ove and 'e$ond the violene it inflits on othe#s, the#e is a violene speifi to the hu!an #ae ingene#al, a violene of the speies against itself in &hih it t#eats itself as a #esidue, as a su#vivo# -even in the p#esent - of a o!ing atast#ophe. /s if it too &e#e #ead$ to #epent of an evolution &hihhas '#ought it suh p#ivileges and a##ied it to suh e"t#e!es. This is the sa!e onBuntu#e as the one

to &hih Danetti #efe#s, in &hih &e stepped out of histo#$, e"ept that he#e &e have not stepped outof histo#$, 'ut have passed a point 'e$ond &hih nothing is eithe# hu!an o# inhu!an an$ longe# and

&hat is at sta0e, &hih is even !o#e i!!ense, is the totte#ing of the speies into the void.It is (uite possi'le that, in this p#oess, the speies itself is o!!ening its o&n

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disappea#ane, eithe# '$ disenhant!ent &ith - o# #essenti!ent to&a#ds - itself, o# out of a deli'e#ateinlination &hih leads it he#e and no& to !anage that disappea#ane as its destin$. u##eptitiousl$, inspite of ou# supe#io#it$ o# pe#haps 'eause of it, &e a#e a##$ing ove# on to ou# o&n speies thet#eat!ent &e !ete out to the othe#s, all of &hih a#e vi#tuall$ d$ing out. In an ani!al !ilieu &hih has#eahed satu#ation point, speies a#e spontaneousl$ dissuaded f#o! living. The effets p#odued '$the finite natu#e of the ea#th, fo# the fi#st ti!e ont#asting violentl$ &ith the infinit$ of ou# develop!ent,a#e suh that ou# speies is auto!atiall$ s&ithing ove# to olletive suiide. Whethe# '$ e"te#nalnuclearB violence o# inte#nal biologicalB virulence.

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We a#e su'Beting ou#selves as a hu!an speies to the sa!e e"pe#i!ental p#essu#e as the ani!alspeies in ou# la'o#ato#ies. +an is &ithout p#eBudie) he is using hi!self as a guinea-pig, Bust as he isusing the #est of the &o#ld, ani!ate o# inani!ate. e is hee#full$ ga!'ling &ith the destin$ of his o&nspeies as he is &ith that of all the othe#s. In his 'lind desi#e to 0no& !o#e, he is p#og#a!!ing hiso&n dest#ution &ith the sa!e ease and fe#oit$ as the dest#ution of the othe#s. e annot 'eaused of a supe#io# egois!. e is sa#ifiing hi!self, as a speies, to an un0no&n e"pe#i!entalfate, un0no&n at least as $et to othe# speies, &ho have e"pe#iened onl$ natu#al fates. /nd, &he#eas

it see!ed that, lin0ed to that natu#al fate, the#e &as so!ething li0ean instint of self-p#ese#vation - long the !ainsta$ of a natu#al philosoph$ of individuals and g#oups -this e"pe#i!ental fate to &hih the hu!an speies is onde!ning itself '$ unp#eedented, a#tifiial!eans, this sientifi p#efigu#ing of its o&n disappea#ane, s&eeps a&a$ all ideas of a self-p#ese#vation instint. The idea is, indeed, no longe# disussed in the hu!an sienes &he#e thefous of attention &ould see!, #athe#, to 'e on the death d#ive and this disappea#ane f#o! the fieldof thought signals that, 'eneath a f#en3$ fo# eologial onse#vation &hih is #eall$ !o#e to do &ithnostalgia and #e!ose, a &holl$ diffe#ent tenden$ has al#ead$ &on out, the sa#ifiing of the speiesto 'oundless e"pe#i!entation.

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9aleficent cology #$C %verview

xtend the audrillard !" card. 6ere)s the argument.

4ranting rights to nature is an excuse to further exploit it, because the rights

are only necessary once destruction is already complete. Claiming to respectnature is +ust a mask to guarantee its further exploitation. Covering up thesmall problems allows the larger problems to keep occurring.

This also turns nature into a sub+ect, treating it like an individual we can respectand awe. 6owever, nature is worse off as a sub+ect than an ob+ect, because

when the sub+ect)s power is increased, it forces violent reactions by the ob+ectto maintain the balance * in nglish, the more we pretend to respect nature, themore it will be necessary to destroy it to preserve our dominance, which turnstheir arguments.

-dditionally, once nature becomes a sub+ect random acts become reasons totake revenge upon it. f there is a natural disaster, for example, nature can beblamed and retribution can be taken because sub+ects are assumed to beresponsible for all their actions. This puts nature into a rigged game, where it isasked to play by rules it cannot follow, and we destroy it for non3compliance.

-lso, more understanding of nature trades of with understanding for ourselves,because the concern trades off. ust like the $a


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xtend our audrillard !" evidence, and this analysis from the last overview2

First, respecting nature is a mask for its continued exploitation, because rights

are always granted after its too late for them to be useful, which turns theirarguments.

/econd, treating nature as a sub+ect that can be respected upsets the balanceand creates violent reaction by the ob+ect to restore it, further entrenchingnature)s destruction.

Third, sub+ect)s are assumed to be responsible for their actions, so vengeancecan be sought from nature for harm done to humans * if there)s a hurricane, wecan go cut down a rain forest to get even Awhich is +ust an example, but displaysthe harm of the mindsetB.

Fourth, the more we understand nature the less we understand humans.1especting nature requires the production of humanity as a waste product to beexterminated, culminating in genocide and mass death, which is a reason tore+ect their mindset.

Fifth, instead of treating nature with awe and respect, we should displayindifference, which solves all the harms created by calling nature a sub+ect.

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9aleficent v. 0eep cology >-1

xtend audrillard !". 6is argument is that when they grant rights and respectto nature, it provides a mask for more domination, and only happens when it)stoo late to prevent human influence, so the critique can never solve. -lso,

treating nature as a sub+ect increases our domination of it because it is seen asa sub+ect to be controlled. This causes more violence against nature, and alsodemands human retribution for natural occurrences, putting nature into arigged game and turning their alternative. Finally, more understanding ofnature trades off with respect for our own species, which results in treatinghumanity as a waste that must be disposed of, which +ustifies any atrocity andis an on3face reason to re+ect the critique. %ur advocacy, which treats nature

with indifference instead of awe, solves the impacts of their critique and allowsthe case solvency as well.

-nd, kicking it now won)t get them out of it * our argument is not +ust againsttheir advocacy, it)s against the discourse and images they use to support it.ven if they drop the advocacy, they can)t take back what they say. That)s bestfor debate because it requires them to defend all the +ustifications to theirarguments so we can have deeper and more informed clash. That means that ifthey don)t answer this turn, they lose the round.

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/entimentality to -nimals

/entimentality towards animals degrades their status and places them evenfarther below humans, as not even deserving our respect, +ustifyingexperimentation and destruction.

audrillard in =>[Jean, i!ula#a and i!ulation p. 1>;-1>6]In pa#tiula#, ou# senti!entalit$ to&a#d ani!als is a su#e sign of the disdain in &hih &e hold the!. Itis p#opo#tional to this disdain. It is in p#opo#tion to 'eing #elegated to i##esponsi'ilit$, to the inhu!an,that the ani!al 'eo!es &o#th$ of the hu!an #itual of affetion and p#otetion, Bust as the hild doesin di#et p#opo#tion to 'eing #elegated to a status of innoene and hildishness. enti!entalit$ isnothing 'ut the infinitel$ deg#aded fo#! of 'estialit$, the #aist o!!ise#ation, in &hih &e #idiulousl$loa0 ani!als to the point of #ende#ing the! senti!ental the!selves.Those &ho used to sa#ifie ani!als did not ta0e the! fo# 'easts. /nd even the +iddle /ges, &hih onde!nedand punished the! in due fo#!, &as in this &a$ !uh lose# to the! than &e a#e, &e &ho a#e filled &ith ho##o#at this p#atie. The$ held the! to 'e guilt$) &hih &as a &a$ of hono#ing the!. We ta0e the! fo# nothing, and itis on this 'asis that &e a#e Nhu!anN &ith the!. We no longe# sa#ifie the!, &e no longe# punish the!, and &ea#e p#oud of it, 'ut it is si!pl$ that &e have do!estiated the!, &o#se) that &e have !ade of the! a #aiall$

infe#io# &o#ld, no longe# even &o#th$ of ou# Bustie, 'ut onl$ of ou# affetion and soial ha#it$,no longe#

&o#th$ of punish!ent and of death, 'ut onl$ of e"pe#i!entation and e"te#!ination li0e !eat f#o! the'uthe#$.It is the #ea'so#ption of all violene in #ega#d to the! that toda$ fo#!s the !onst#osit$ of 'easts. The violene ofsa#ifie, &hih is one of Ninti!a$N 4ataille, has 'een sueeded '$ the senti!ental o# e"pe#i!ental violenethat is one of distane. +onst#osit$ has hanged in !eaning. The o#iginal !onst#osit$ of the 'east, o'Bet ofte##o# and fasination, 'ut neve# negative, al&a$s a!'ivalent, o'Bet of e"hange also and of !etapho#, insa#ifie, in !$tholog$, in the he#aldi 'estia#$, and even in ou# d#ea!s and ou# phantas!s-this !onst#osit$,#ih in eve#$ th#eat and eve#$ !eta!o#phosis, one that is se#etl$ #esolved in the living ultu#e of !en, and thatis a fo#! of alliane, has 'een e"hanged fo# a spetaula# !onst#osit$) that of 5ing 5ong enhed f#o! his

Bungle and t#ansfo#!ed into a !usi-hall sta#. o#!e#l$, the ultu#al he#o annihilated the 'east, the d#agon, the!onste#-and f#o! the spilt 'lood plants, !en, ultu#e &e#e 'o#n toda$, it is the 'east 5ing 5ong &ho o!es tosa0 ou# indust#ial !et#opolises, &ho o!es to li'e#ate us f#o! ou# ultu#e, a ultu#e dead f#o! having pu#geditself of all #eal !onst#osit$ and f#o! having '#o0en its pat &ith it &hih &as e"p#essed in the f il! '$ the

p#i!itive gift of the &o!an. The p#ofound sedution of the fil! o!es f#o! this inve#sion of !eaning) allinhu!anit$ has gone ove# to the side of !en, all hu!anit$ has gone ove# to the side of aptive 'estialit$, and tothe #espetive sedution of !an and of 'east, !onst#ous sedution of one o#de# '$ the othe#, the hu!an andthe 'estial. 5ong dies fo# having #ene&ed, th#ough sedution, this possi'ilit$ of the !eta!o#phosis of one #eigninto anothe#, this inestuous p#o!isuit$ 'et&een 'easts and !en though one that is neve# #eali3ed, e"ept ina s$!'oli and #itual !ode.In the end, the p#og#ession that the 'east follo&ed is not diffe#ent fo#! that of !adness and hildhood, of se" o#neg#itude. / logi of e"lusion, of #elusion, of dis#i!ination and neessa#il$ in #etu#n, a logi of #eve#sion,#eve#si'le violene that !a0es it so that all of soiet$ finall$ aligns itself on the a"io!s of !adness, of hildhood,of se"ualit$ and of infe#io# #aes pu#ged, it !ust 'e said, of the #adial inte##ogation to &hih, f#o! the

ve#$ hea#t of thei# e"lusion, the$ lent i!po#tane. The onve#gene of p#oessesof ivili3ation isastounding. /ni!als, li0e the dead, and so !an$ othe#s, have follo&ed this uninte##upted p#oess ofanne"ation th#ough e"te#!ination, &hih onsists of li(uidation, then of !a0ing the e"tint speiesspea0, of !a0ing the! p#esent the onfession of thei# disappea#ane. +a0ing ani!als spea0, as one has !adethe insane, hild#en, se" ouault spea0. This is even deluded in #ega#d to ani!als, &hose p#iniple ofune#taint$ &hih the$ have aused to &eigh on !en sine the #uptu#e in thei# alliane &ith !en, #esides in thefat that the$ do not spea0.

/entimentality to -nimals %verview

xtend our audrillard => card. 6ere)s the argument.

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Treating animals with care and being sentimental about their feelings is adegradation of their status. Their discourse treats animals as children that haveto be protected by the wise humans, and imparts sentimental feelings on themthat are +ust an illusion. nstead of being worthy of respect, this reducesanimals to merely the sub+ects of domestication and experimentation, wherethey can be destroyed in our endless quest for knowledge, which turns their

arguments.

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se"ual indeen$, the si!ple e"istene of this inte#ative opulation is all it ta0es. /t theend of thisp#oess, the#e is no longe# an$ diffe#ene 'et&een the glo'al and the unive#sal. The unive#sal is itselfglo'alised, de!o#a$, hu!an #ights i#ulate in e"atl$ the sa!e &a$, th#ough e"atl$ the sa!ehannels as an$ global product) li0e oil o# apital.

What happens &ith the passage f#o! the unive#sal to the glo'al is at one a ho!ogenisation and aninfinite f#ag!enting of the s$ste!. The glo'al inte#onnetion of net&o#0s is dou'led '$ a disloation of the

f#ag!ents !oving fu#the# and fu#the# apa#t f#o! eah othe# - li0e a s0$ #o0et that e"plodes and shatte#s atits highest point then satte#s in a thousand f#ag!ents. What ta0es the plae the ent#al is not the loal, it%sthe dis-loated. What ta0es the plae of the enent#i is not the de-ente#ed 'ut the offente#.?isinteg#ation of the unive#sal. Ki#tual totalita#ianis!) N&&&)== i3ation of the &o#ldN and f#ag!entation.

Alo'alisation is 'oth ho!ogenisation and in#easing dis#i!ination. +a#ginalisation and e"lusion,a#e no aident) the$ a#e in the ve#$ logi of glo'alisation &hih, unli0e the unive#sal, '#ea0s apa#t thee"isting st#utu#es, all the 'ette# to assimilate the! . *n eve#$ level the gaps g#o& &ide#, 'eo!ei##eve#si'le. / little li0e the unive#se &he#e the gala"ies a#e !oving a&a$ f#o! one anothe# at suhp#odigious speeds. If this is the ase, one !ight &ell as0 &hethe# the unive#sal hasn%t al#ead$ suu!'edunde# the &eight of its o&n #itial !ass, &hethe# it eve# had an$ #eal e"istene othe# than in offiialdisou#se and !o#al odes. In an$ event, fo# us, the !i##o# of the unive#sal is shatte#ed one ould evensee it as a 0ind of !i##o# stage of hu!anit$. 4ut this is pe#haps a good thing 'eause, in the f#ag!ents of

this shatte#ed !i##o# of the unive#sal, all singula#ities reemerge. Those that &e 'elieved th#eateneda#e su#viving those &e 'elieved had disappea#ed a#e o!ing 'a0 to life. Japan, one again, is a#e!a#0a'le ase in point. Japan, 'ette# than an$ othe# ount#$, has !ade a suess of glo'alisation tehnial,eono!i, finanial &ithout going th#ough the phase of the unive#sal the suession of !iddle-lass ideologiesand fo#!s of politial o#ganisation and &ithout losing an$thing of its singula#it$, despite &hat is said to theont#a#$. *ne ould even sa$ that it is p#eisel$ 'eause Japan &as neve# lu!'e#ed &ith the onept of theunive#sal that it sueeded so &ell tehniall$ and glo'all$, '$ '#inging togethe# the singula# the po&e# oft#adition and the glo'al the po&e# of the vi#tual, that is, the inte#net #evolution .

4ehind the in#easingl$ fie#e #esistane to glo'alisation, soial and politial #esistane &hih an see! li0e ana#hai #efusal of !ode#nit$ at all osts, one annot 'ut #ead a #eation against the do!ination of the unive#sal,a 0ind of painful #evisionis! in #espet to the ahieve!ents of !ode#nit$, and in #espet to the idea of p#og#essand of isto#$, a #eBetion not onl$ of the infa!ous glo'al tehno-st#utu#e, 'ut of the unde#l$ing

!onoultu#alis!, the !ental st#utu#e that plaes all ultu#es, f#o! eve#$ ontinent unde# the one sign of theunive#sal. This #esu#gene, o#, one !ight even sa$, this Ninsu##etionN of singula#it$ an ta0e on violent,ano!alous, i##ational fo#!s f#o! the pe#spetive of so-alled NenlightenedN thought ethni, #eligious, linguisti,'ut also on an individual level, fo#!s of neu#osis and pe#sonalit$ diso#de#. 4ut it &ould 'e a !onu!ental e##o#the sa!e e##o# &hih an 'e seen in the !o#alisti o#hest#ation of politial o##etness o!!on to all po&e#st#utu#es and the!aBo#it$ of NintelletualsN to ite off these !ove!ents of #evolt as populist, a#hai, o# evente##o#ist. Eve#$ event that !a0es its !a#0 in the &o#ld toda$, does so in

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