Capitalism and Schizophrenia - Deleuze and Guattari

*Capitalism and Schizophrenia* is a two-volume project comprising *Anti-Oedipus* (1972) and *A Thousand Plateaus* (1980), written by philosopher Gilles Deleuze and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari. The work functions as a "universal history" of desire, seeking to understand how human drives are organized, repressed, or liberated within social and economic systems. ## Desiring-Production and the Critique of Lack The authors introduce the concept of **desiring-production**, arguing that desire is not a psychological "lack" or a search for a missing object (as posited by Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis). Instead, desire is a primary, productive force that functions like a machine, constantly connecting to other machines to create reality. In this framework, the social field is directly invested by desire; there is no distinction between the "individual" psyche and the "collective" socio-economic structure. ## The Dual Movement of Capitalism Deleuze and Guattari argue that capitalism occupies a unique historical position because of its relationship with **territorialization**. 1. **Deterritorialization**: Capitalism functions by breaking down traditional barriers, sacred rituals, and rigid social hierarchies (decoding flows). It seeks to make everything exchangeable and fluid to facilitate the movement of capital. 2. **Reterritorialization**: To prevent total collapse into chaos, capitalism simultaneously creates new, artificial boundaries. It recodes flows through the state, the nuclear family, and consumer identity. The "Schizophrenic" in this context is not merely a clinical diagnosis but a process. The "schizo" represents the limit of capitalism—a movement that deterritorializes further than the system can manage, breaking away from the "molar" (rigid, centralized) structures of the state and the ego. ## Rhizomes and Assemblages In the second volume, the authors move toward a non-hierarchical epistemology. They contrast the **arborescent** model of thought—which is linear, hierarchical, and rooted in a single "trunk" of truth—with the **rhizome**. A rhizome is a decentralized network where any point can connect to any other point. This concept underpins their theory of **assemblages**, which are temporary constellations of bodies, ideas, and technologies that produce specific effects without a central governing logic. ## Promising Directions for Exploration 1. **The Body without Organs (BwO)**: How does this concept of a "limit-surface" describe the potential for humans to resist being organized into functional, productive units by the state? 2. **State Apparatus vs. War Machine**: What is the distinction between the "State," which seeks to capture and internalize flows, and the "War Machine," which exists exterior to the state and operates through nomadic movement? 3. **Minor Literature and Politics**: How can marginalized groups utilize "minor" languages or practices to subvert the dominant, "major" cultural frameworks?

The **Body without Organs (BwO)** is perhaps the most provocative concept in the Deleuzo-Guattarian corpus. While the Foundation established it as a "limit-surface," a deeper analysis reveals it is not an object but a practice of experimentation aimed at dismantling the **organism**. ## Organism versus Organs A crucial distinction must be made: the BwO is not the enemy of the organs themselves, but of the **organism**. The organism is defined as a specific, hierarchical organization of the body’s parts, designed to fulfill a predetermined function (reproduction, labor, or social utility). The BwO seeks to liberate the organs from these functional constraints. By "dismantling the organism," an individual allows their body to become a "plan of consistency"—a smooth space where biological and psychological forces can connect in non-linear ways. It is the body viewed as a field of pure potentiality before it is captured by the State, the family, or the ego. ## The Flow of Intensities On the BwO, there are no "objects," only **intensities**. These are pre-individual forces—such as temperature, pressure, or emotion—that move across the surface of the body without being anchored to a specific identity. 1. **Stasis and Movement**: The BwO acts as a "glacial" surface. It is the point where the frantic movement of desiring-production slows down enough to be perceived, yet remains fluid enough to prevent the formation of a rigid identity. 2. **The Egg Analogy**: Deleuze and Guattari often compare the BwO to a biological egg (the morula or blastula). In this state, the embryo is a field of intensities where organs have not yet "taken place." It represents a state of becoming where any part could potentially become anything else. ## The Three Modalities of the BwO Experimentation with the BwO is dangerous and requires "extreme caution," as the authors famously warned. They identify three distinct ways a BwO can manifest: - **The Full BwO**: The "healthy" version. It is a productive surface that allows for the free circulation of intensities and the creation of new ways of living without collapsing into chaos. - **The Empty BwO**: Associated with the clinical catatonic or certain states of drug addiction. Here, the body is so thoroughly "deterritorialized" that all flows are blocked. It becomes a void or a desert where nothing can happen. - **The Cancerous BwO**: This occurs when the body falls into a repetitive, "fascist" pattern. Instead of allowing for new connections, the cancerous BwO obsessively reproduces the same rigid cell or thought pattern, leading to total stagnation or destruction. ## Practical Applications: The Masochist’s Program To illustrate the BwO as a "program" rather than a state of being, the authors point to the practice of **Masochism**. For the masochist, the goal is not "pleasure" in the traditional sense. Rather, the elaborate rituals and physical constraints are a way to reach a plateau of intensity where the ego is suspended. The masochist uses their body to create a BwO—a space where desire no longer functions through "lack" or "discharge" but through a sustained, continuous vibration of sensation.