Perspectives on guilt in modern capitalism: a dialogue between Deleuze-Guattari and Walter Benjamin

Abstract

Abstract This article reflects on the connections that can be established between the characterization that Deleuze and Guattari make of the “civilized capitalist machine” in their Anti-Oedipus and Walter Benjamin’s analyses of the “capitalist religious structure” in his fragment entitled Capitalism as religion, especially with regard to the concept of guilt. As can be seen, what seems to be different in Benjamin’s thought compared to the Deleuze-Guattarian approach is the fact that the German philosopher initially presents capitalism as having an intrinsically religious nature - capitalism is a religion in itself. This aspect does not seem to find similarities with the Deleuze-Guattarian conception of the “civilized capitalist machine,” although the latter admits the “divine character of capital.” Religion, for Deleuze and Guattari, has the clear role of helping in the repression and shaping of human desire.