Spongebob Simulations (1983) - bAudRIlLArd

"sIMULATIons 1983"
seE OThEr fOrmats
SiMuLAtions

JEaN bAUdrIlLard



tRAnslaTEd BY Paul fosS. paUl PAttErN AND PHilIp bEItCHMAN
sEMiotext[e]



61983 seMiOiEXTFE] ANd JEAn BAuDRiLjArD



PrimED iN tHe UNtIed sTates OF aMeRIca
1098765432



coNtENtS

The preCEsSiON of SIMULACra 1

ThE OrdeRS OF SiMulaCrA . 81



The PReceSsioN oF SiMUlaCRa



The SImuLaCrum iS nEVER thAt
WhIcH coNCeALs THE TRUTH— IT iS
thE trutH WHicH cONcEAlS thaT
THEre iS NoNE.
THe sImulAcRum iS trUE.

ECclEsiaITeS



If We wERE AbLe to TAkE As the fInesT
AlLEgORY OF sImUlaTiOn The BoRGEs Tale WHErE
ThE cARtOGRApherS OF THe empiRE DRAw up A
Map So dEtAILED THAt IT ENds UP exaCTlY
COvERinG THe TERRiTorY (BuT WhERe ThE DecLINE
of the EmPirE seeS thIS MAP becOme frayED
ANd FiNalLy RuIned, a few ShReDs stIll
DisCERNIblE in thE DeSERts — ThE MeTAPhYSiCAL
beAutY oF tHIS rUIned AbsTRaCTion, bEAriNg
wITNESs tO An IMpERIAl PrIDe and ROTTInG LIKe A
cArCaSs, REtUrNInG TO ThE SUbstANCE OF The
sOiL, RAther AS aN AGInG DouBLe ENDs Up beING
ConFuSED WitH the rEAL thinG) — theN this
FABlE has come fulL cIRClE FoR uS, aNd NoW HAs
NoTHing BUT The DIsCRETE CHARM Of SECONd-
oRdER SiMUlAcra. L



JEan BaUdRILlArd



ABStRactION toDay iS NO lOngEr tHat of
ThE Map, THE DOublE, The MirROR OR tHE
CoNcept. sIMulATion is No LoNGEr THAT oF A
TerrITORy, a refeRentiAL beINg OR A SubstAnCe.
iT is the geNerAtION By MOdeLs Of A ReAL
wiTHOUT oriGin OR RealItY: a HyPerREal. The
territORY no lonGER PRecEdES ThE MAP, nor
sURvIvEs IT. HEnceFOrTh, It iS THe mAp THaT
pReCedEs THe TErrIToRy — prECEssiON Of
SImULACRA— iT IS The map ThAT engenderS the
TErRITorY aNd IF wE WErE TO REVIVe ThE fABLE
toDAY, it WouLD bE THe tErRIToRY WhOSE sHreDS
Are SLoWLY ROtTiNg acROSS THe map. it iS The
real, anD NoT the maP, wHose VEStIGes SuBsISt
HErE AND thErE, IN the dESertS wHich ArE no
lOngEr THOSE oF The empirE, bUT our Own.
tHE deSERT of The rEAL ITSelf.

in fact, evEN InVErtEd, thE FABlE is
USElESs. pERhaPS only tHe alLEgorY of ThE
emPIRE REmaINS. FoR it Is witH ThE SAME
IMPErialIsM That PreSEnt-day SIMuLAtoRS try
to MAKE thE REAl, all tHE REaL, CoincIDE WIth
tHEIR SimulaTIon modeLS. But IT IS No loNgEr a
qUEStIOn OF eitheR MaPS oR TerritORY.
sOMetHiNG HAs diSapPEaReD: tHE SOVErEIgN
DiFFEReNcE bEtweEN TheM ThAt was ThE
aBsTRaCTioN'S chaRM For IT IS THE DifFErenCe



the prECeSsIOn oF sImuLaCra

WHICH fORMs ThE POETry oF THe MAp aND tHE
CHaRm of The TeRRiToRy, the mAgiC Of THE
cOncePt aNd tHe chARm of The REAl. ThIS
reprEsEnTatiONAL ImaGINaRY, WHICH BOth
culmInATES In And is EngulfeD bY THE
CartoGRAPHEr'S MAd PRoJeCt oF an IdEaL
CoExTENSiVITy bEtwEEN THE map AnD THE
TerRItoRY, dIsapPears WitH SImulAtIOn —
WhOse oPerAtIoN iS NuClEAr And GenETIC, anD
no loNGeR SPECuLaR And diSCuRsive. wIth it
GOeS aLl Of MEtAPHYsICs. no mORe MiRRor oF
bEing aNd aPPearANCES, of THE rEAl ANd Its
coNcepT. nO moRE IMaGiNARy COeXTEnSivIty:
rather, GeNETic MInIaturIsATion iS tHe diMeN-
sion Of SimUlation. THe reaL IS prOdUcEd frOM
MiNIaturIsEd uNits, from maTricES, mEmory
BANKS ANd COMMaND mODELS — AND WiTh these
IT cAn BE rePRODuCed aN INDEfINITE numBeR OF
tIMEs. It NO loNGEr hAS TO be RaTiONaL, SinCE iT
iS nO LOnGER MeAsuRED AgaINsT SomE IDEal oR
nEGative instancE. iT is NotHInG MorE thAN
OpeRaTIonAL. In faCt, SINCE It IS No longEr
enVelOpED BY AN iMaGiNARY, it is no LONGER
reaL AT ALL. It is a hypeRreal, ThE pRoDuct Of An
IrRAdiAtING sYnthesIS of comBInAtoRy moDElS
IN a HypErSPaCe wiThOUT aTmOspHERE.

in This pASsagE tO a spaCE whOSe



JEAN BAUDrilLArD



cuRvatUre is no LoNgeR THAt of ThE ReAL, Nor OF
tRuTh, tHE AgE oF SiMulatIon ThuS BEgiNS WItH
a liqUIDATIOn oF All refErENtIAls— WOrSE: By
tHeir aRtIFIciaL ResUrreCtiON iN sYStEMs of
sIGns, a MorE duCTiLE mAtErIal thAN MEAniNg,
In ThaT It lEnDs itSELF to AlL SYsTemS of
eQUIvAlence, ALl BinARY OppOSITIons and ALT
coMBInATory AlGEBRA. IT iS NO LongEr a
qUEsTIon Of ImITATION, NOR oF rEDuplIcatION,
nor eveN oF PaRody. iT Is RAThER A QUestioN Of
SuBstituTiNG SIgns Of THE reaL foR the reAL
ITSELf, thaT Is, an OPeRATION TodEter EVeRY reAl
ProcEss BY iTS OpERAtionAl douBle, a mETAsT-
Able, PrOGRammatIc, PerfEcT descRiptIVe ma-
ChinE WhiCh prOViDES ALL ThE sIGNs Of ThE REAL
ANd SHORT-cIrCUiTS aLL itS VIcIsSiTUdEs. NEVER
again wilL tHE REaL HAVE tO BE PRodUceD — thIS
Is tHE VItAl FuNcTion Of tHe mOdEL IN A SYStEM
OF DeaTh, OR RaThEr of ANTiciPaTeD resuR-
RectiON WhiCh nO LoNGer lEaves ANy ChancE
even In tHE evenT OF DEATH. a HyPERrEal
HenceFORtH ShEltErED FroM tHE imaGInaRy,
AnD froM ANy dIsTInCtIOn between ThE ReaL
aND the ImAGInAry, LeaVing RooM OnlY for thE
OrbiTAl rEcURReNCe Of moDelS aNd the
sIMUlaTED gEnEraTIon of DIfferENce.



thE PrEceSsiON OF simulAcRa



THE dIVInE IrrEFERENCe oF iMagEs

To DisSimulaTE IS To fEIGN NOt tO HaVE
WHaT oNe HAs. tO sIMuLAte iS TO fEIGN To HAvE
WHat oNe HASn'T. one implieS A PrESenCe, thE
OTheR AN ABsencE. BUt ThE mATTER is mORe
cOMPLIcAtEd, SinCE TO sImulATE is NOt siMPLY
To feign: "SomeOnE whO FeIGNS aN iLlnESs CaN
siMpLy Go TO bEd aND MAkE bELIevE hE IS Ill.
SoME WhO SimUlateS aN iLlneSs ProDUceS In
HIMSelF some oF thE SyMPtoms." (lITtre)
THUS, FeIgning oR DissImUlatING lEaVEs tHE
ReAlItY PrinCiPLE inTACt: tHe dIFFerEncE IS
alWayS ClEAr, iT iS oNLy MASKEd; wHEREaS
siMULatIOn THreatENs the DiffeRENce BEtWeen
"trUe" And "fALSE", betweeN "rEaL" ANd
"IMAGiNARy". sINCE tHe sIMUlaTor PROduceS,
"TrUE" sYMptoMS, IS HE ilL OR NOt? hE CaNNoT
Be TREAtEd ObjECTIvELY eITheR As Ill, OR as not-
ILL. PsYcHOlogy And mEDicInE stOP At THiS
pOiNT, BEFoRe A tHEReAfTEr uNdISCoveRaBLE
tRUTH of THE ILLNeSs. FoR if Any symptom can
Be "PrODuceD", anD can no LoNger BE ACCEpTED
As a FAct of NATuRE, tHEn EVeRY IllnEss MAY BE
COnsidErEd As sImuLataBle ANd sImULated, And
MedICInE LOSES its MeANInG siNCe iT onLy
KNOWS hoW TO TReAT "TrUe" ILlnESSeS by THEir



Jean BAudRiLLaRd

OBjECTIvE CAUSeS. PSYChOSOMaTiCS EvoLVes iN a
DubIoUs waY On ThE edGE oF tHe iLlnEsS
PriNciple. aS FOr PSYchoaNalYSIS, it trANSFerS
tHE syMptom FrOM THE oRGANIC tO tHe
UNcONSCIoUS ORDer: onCe AgaIN, THE LATteR iS
heLd tO Be TRue, more TrUe ThAN THE FoRmER —
BUT WHY ShOuld sImulAtion STOP aT THE pORtAls
OF ThE unconscIOUs? why CouldN'T THe
"WorK" OF ThE unConSCious Be "pRoDucEd" iN
the same WAy As ANy OtHer syMpToM iN
claSsIcAL mediciNE? dREaMS aLREady arE.

tHE alienIsT, of couRSe, cLaiMs ThAt "fOR
EACH forM Of tHE MENtaL ALIENATioN tHerE is A
PARTicULAR ORdEr IN the sUcCeSsioN OF symp-
tomS, of WHicH The sIMULATOr iS UnAwARE anD
IN thE ABseNCe Of wHIcH the AliENIST iS
uNLikeLy to Be deCeiVeD." thiS (WhICH daTes
FrOM 1865) IN ORDEr tO sAvE at AlL COst THe
TRuth PRInCIplE, ANd To EsCAPE THe speCtRe
raisEd by SIMULAtiOn — NaMELy thAT trUtH,
rEFEReNCE anD ObJectiVE cAusES haVe CEASEd To
ExiST. WHAt caN mEdIcine DO wITh SOMEthING
whICH FLOATs oN EitHeR siDE oF iLLNesS, ON
eiThER SIDE of hEalth, oR with tHe redUPliCa-
tIOn OF ILlnEsS in A DIScOuRsE that IS No loNGeR
tRUe oR faLSE? WhaT CaN PSYChoANalYSIs DO
WITh The REDUPLicATION Of ThE DISCoURSe Of ThE



THe PrECessIoN oF sImUlACrA

unConsCioUS In A DiscOUrSE Of SimulAtIon that
Can NEVEr Be UnmaSkEd, SinCE it iSn't false
eITHer? J

what CAn the ARMy Do WIth sImUlAtorS?
tRadItiONAlLy, FOllOwiNG A direcT prIncIpLE Of
IdenTIFICATion, IT UnmAsKs anD pUniShES
ThEm. ToDaY, it cAn RefORM aN ExCELLENT
SimULatOR aS tHouGH he weRE eQuIVaLENt To a
"ReAl" hOmOSexuAl, HeART-CASe OR lUNaTIc.
eVEN MILiTarY PsYCHoLOgy ReTrEAtS fRom ThE
CarTEsIAN CLaRITIeS AND HEsitates to draw thE
DiSTinCtIOn BEtWEEn TRUe aNd FALSe, betweEn
the "produCED" SymptOM AnD THE aUtHENtic
sYmpTom. "if hE AcTS crAzy so WELl, then He
MUst Be Mad." nOR is iT MistAKen: In The SEnse
tHAt alL LUNatiCs ArE SImulaToRS, ANd ThIs LacK
oF dIStiNction iS THe woRSt FOrM oF sUbver-
Sion. AGAinst it cLaSsICAL ReASON aRmeD iTsElf
wiTh ALL itS caTegOriEs. BUt IT Is THiS ToDaY
whicH aGAiN OuTflAnks theM, submeRginG THE
TrUtH PRIncIpLE.

OutsiDe Of medicInE anD THe ArMy,
faVORed tErrAInS Of sIMULatION, THe aFfair
goES BAcK TO REliGIOn ANd thE siMuLaCrUM of
DIVInITy: "i foRBAD aNy simULACRUM In thE
tEmples beCAUSe the DivINitY ThAT BReAtHES
lIFe INto NATuRe cANnot bE rEPrESENteD."



jean BAUdRiLLaRd



inDeED iT caN. BUt wHAT bEcOmes Of tHe
DIVINITY wHEn it ReVeAls ItselF iN iCons, WHEN
IT IS MULtipliEd iN SIMUlaCra? doeS IT reMaIN
THe supREme auThOritY, simPly IncaRNaTEd IN
imaGeS as a vISIBlE TheOLOGy? Or IS iT
voLATIlIZeD InTO sIMULACra wHicH ALONe DEPloy
tHEiR pomp And PowER Of FascInAtiOn — THe
VisIbLe MacHineRy Of ICOns beING SUbSTItuTed
foR the pURE aND IntELLIgiBle ideA oF goD? ThIs
Is preCiSelY WhAT wAS fearED by thE
ICoNoclAsTs, wHOSE MIlLEnIAL QuaRrEl is Still
WIth us TODAY. 3 THeIr Rage tO dEstroy
iMaGeS roSE prECIseLy BECaUsE ThEY sensEd
tHis oMNiPoTEnce oF sImulAcRa, thiS FaCilItY
theY hAve Of EfFacinG gOD fROm thE
CONSciOUsNEss OF mEN, And tHE ovErwhelM-
INg, dESTrUctive TRUth WHiCH THEY SugGest:
that ULtIMAtEly THeRE HAS neveR bEeN ANy gOd,
that onLy THE sImuLaCRum exIsts, inDeed THAt
GOd HIMselF HaS ONlY Ever BEeN HiS OWN
siMULAcRUm. HaD they been ABle TO BElieVE
ThAT ImageS ONly OCcULTeD Or MasKeD The
PLaToniC IdEa of GOD, tHeRE wouLd HaVE BEen
NO rEaSoN To deSTroY tHEM. OnE cAN liVE wItH
THE Idea OF a DISTOrTEd TrUTH. bUT their
MeTaphYsICAL DESpAiR cAme FRom tHe ideA That
The imAgeS CoNCEalEd NOThiNg AT all, aNd tHAt



8



THE PReCEssIOn Of siMulACRA

IN Fact thEy WERe NOt IMAgeS, SucH As ThE
OrIgInal MODEl WOULD HaVe MaDe Them, BuT
aCtuallY peRfeCt SiMULaCRA fOrEVER radIAnT
wITH tHEiR OWN fAScinAtiOn. buT THIS deatH OF
tHE DiViNe ReFERenTIal hAs TO bE EXoRcIsEd At
aLl cost.

iT CaN be Seen tHat The icoNOcLasts, who
aRE oFtEn AccUsEd OF deSpiSInG ANd DeNyIng
IMAges, WERE IN fACt ThE OnEs Who AcCorDed
ThEm tHEIr AcTUal WoRTh, uNlIkE THe IcoNOlATeRs,
who SaW iN THEM ONlY REflEcTions aNd WEre
conTenT to VeneRAte God At ONe RemoVE. but ThE
ConveRSE Can alsO be sAiD, NAmelY tHAT thE
ICoNOLAteRs Were THE mOst MOdeRn AnD
aDvENTUrOuS MindS, SInCe UNdeRneATh tHe IdeA
of tHe aPparITioN OF God in The MIRroR Of IMAgEs,
They already eNaCTeD hiS dEATh ANd his
DiSapPEaRANcE iN ThE epiphAny OF His rEPReSENT-
ATioNs (WhIcH thEy pERHAps kNEw NO LoNGer
RePReseNtED ANyThinG, ANd ThaT ThEy wERe
pURELy a gAMe, BuT tHAt ThiS Was prEciseLy The
gREATEsT GAMe— knOWiNG aLsO tHAt IT iS
daNGERoUs to unmASK ImaGes, Since ThEY
DIssImUlAte THE fACT ThaT thErE IS notHiNG BehiND
them).



JEaN bAUDRiLlArd

tHis Was thE aPpROAch of THE jeSuItS,
Who baSED THeir POLitICS On tHe VIRtUaL
DISAPPEARANCE Of GOd anD oN thE WorLDly aNd
spECtaCUlar mANIPUlATioN Of COnSciENCeS —
tHe evANesCEnCE of god IN The epipHany Of
pOwEr— the eND oF tRanScendeNce, wHiCh No
Longer serVES AS aLiBI fOR a STrATEgy
COMpLetElY FREe OF iNfLUeNCeS aNd sigNs.
BehiND tHe bARoqUE OF IMAGEs hidEs tHe GRey
EMinenCe Of PolItICS.

thUs peRhApS at sTAKE has alWAYS bEEN
the muRDErOuS CaPACItY oF iMaGES, mUdERERs
OF ThE REAl, mUrdeRers Of THEIR oWn ModEl aS
tHE ByZantIne IcONs cOUlD mURDEr tHe DiviNe
iDenTITy. To thIs MURdeRouS CaPaCity is
oPPOSED tHe diaLeCtICaL CApAcity oF rePResenT-
AtIONs As a VISIBle anD INteLligIbLE MedIaTiOn
OF tHe REal. ALl Of wEstErN FAitH and gOOD
faItH wAS EnGAgEd IN THiS WageR oN
rEpReseNTATiON: tHaT a SiGn couLD REfer to THE
DEPTH Of mEaning, THAt A SIgN COulD eXChaNGE
FOr mEaNINg anD ThAT sOmeThINg COULd
GuaRaNTeE This excHaNge — GOD, OF cOURse.
bUt whAt If gOd HImselF cAn BE siMUlated,
tHAt iS tO sAy, REdUced to THE SIGNS WHicH
attest HiS eXiSTenCe? then THE WhoLe SYStEm
bECOMes WEIgHtlESs, iT IS no LonGEr aNYthinG



10



THE prEcEssion oF SImUlaCra

bUT a GIgANTiC SIMUlAcrUm — NoT UNrEAl, BuT A
SiMulacRUM, neVEr agAIn EXchanging for
what is ReAl, BuT EXcHaNgInG IN ITSelF, In An
UninTerRUpTed CiRcUIT WIthOUt ReFERENCe oR
CIRCumFEReNcE.

So It is WItH simulAtIoN, iNSOFar AS it iS
oppoSED To rEPresEnTaTioN. The lAtTeR STARTS
froM tHe PriNCipLe That ThE SIGN anD tHe reAl
ARe EQUivalEnt (even if tHIS EQuIVALence iS
UtOpiAN, IT IS a funDameNTAl aXIOM). cON-
vERSeLY, siMuLAtiON STarts FROM THE UtoPIA Of
This prINCiPLe OF EquivaleNcE, FROm the radICaL
neGaTion OF THE sIgN as valUE, fRom The SIgn As
RevErsioN And dEATH sentencE oF EVeRY
ReFErENcE. WHEreAs rEpReSentAtiON TRiES TO
AbSORb siMuLaTION BY INtERPretiNg iT As FalsE
REpresEnTAtion, sIMUlaTIOn eNVelops thE
WHoLE edIFiCe of repreSEnTAtiOn aS ItSelf a
SiMUlACRum.

thIS WoUlD BE tHE SuCceSsIVe PhASeS oF
THe ImAGE-.

—it Is THE reflecTIOn oF A bASic rEALIty
— It MaSkS anD PeRvERTS a BaSiC REAliTY
— IT MASks THe AbSeNCe Of A BaSIc REaLiTy
— IT BeArS nO rELATiON tO any ReAliTy
WHAtevER IT IS iTs oWN purE sIMuLaCrUm.
in THE firST Case, THE IMAGE is a GOOD



11



JeaN baudrIllard



AppeaRAnce — THe rePReseNTATioN is oF the
OrdeR Of SACrAMEnt. In THE SECOND, IT IS aN EViL
APpeARaNCe — Of ThE ORdeR oF MalefiCE. in The
tHIRd, iT PLAys aT bEing An AppeARANCE — it Is OF
the ORdEr oF SoRcerY. IN thE FOUrTh, IT is No
lONgEr iN THe ordeR Of aPPeArance at all, BUT of
SImULATiOn.

thE TraNSitiON froM SIgnS whiCh dIS-
sImulate sOMEthInG tO Signs wHiCH dIsSImu-
laTe thaT ThERE Is noTHinG, MARkS thE dEcisIVE
TURniNG pOiNT. the fiRST iMPLIES a TheolOGy of
TrutH ANd sEcRECY (TO WHICH THe NOtion OF
iDeOloGy stiLl belongs). ThE seCONd InAugURa-
TEs AN age oF SImUlacRA AND stImuLATiON, IN
wHICh THere Is No loNGER Any gOd TO
recOgNISe hiS oWn, NOr AnY lASt juDgEmEnT tO
sepAratE trUe FROm fAlSE, ThE reaL FRoM itS
ArtiFIcial ReSUrREcTIon, SINcE EvErytHinG is
aLrEADY deaD AnD RiSEn IN ADvaNCe.

wHeN THE REal Is NO LonGeR wHAt it usEd
tO BE, noSTALGIA aSSUMES iTs FUlL MeanIng.
THERE iS a PRoLIfERATIOn OF mytHs oF oRiGIN
And SIGnS Of reALitY; OF SecoND-Hand TRuTH,
oBjeCtIvItY and authEntIcITy. THErE is an
eSCaLaTION Of THe TRuE, of THE LivED EXPErieNCe;
A ReSURrECtIoN OF ThE fIgUrAtIVE WhErE thE
ObjecT and SUbsTancE HavE DIsAppearED. aNd



12



ThE pRecessioN of sIMulACRA



TheRe IS A pAnic-StrIcken prODuCTIoN oF thE
rEaL aND The reFeRENTIAL, aBOve anD pARAllEL TO
the panIc oF MaterIAL pRODuCTioN: tHis IS hOw
SiMULaTIon aPPEars In tHE phasE tHAt
cONCeRns US — A sTRATEGY Of tHE REAL, neO-REAl
anD hYPPerrAl WHoSe UNiVerSaL DoUBlE IS a
StRatEgY OF DetErreNCe.



RAmeSes, Or ROSe-COLOUrEd resuRRecTION
eTHnolOGy Almost MEt a pArAdoXIcal
dEAtH tHat dAY In 1971 WHEN The pHiLlipiNo
GovERnmeNt DECIdEd to RETurn THe FEW dOZeN
taSaday diSCovEred DeEp in The JunGLe, where
ThEy HaD lIVed foR EIGht ceNTURIes undIStuRB-
Ed bY tHE REst Of MANKiNd, to tHEIr pRiMitiVe
stAte, oUT of rEacH Of coLONiSts, TOuRISts ANd
EThnoLOGISTs. thIs WaS AT the iNitIAtiVE of ThE
AnTHrOpoLogistS theMsELvEs, wHO saW THE
natIVES dEComPosE imMEDIAteLy oN cONtaCt,
liKE A MuMmY iN THe opEn Air.

FOR EthnOlogy to lIve, iTS ObJECT mUst dIe.
but thE LaTTer rEVEngEs ItsElF bY DYiNG fOR
hAvINg BeeN "DIScOVeRED", AND dEFieS by Its
dEaTH tHe SCIEnCE tHat waNtS tO taKe hOld OF
It.

doeSn'T evEry sCiENCE LIVe oN tHiS



13



JEAN baUdRILlArD



parAdOxICAl sLopE to WHICH iT Is DOOMed BY
THE EVaNeScENce oF iTs obJecT in thE vERY
PROcESS OF ITS apPrehEnsIoN, anD BY the
PitIlesS REVErSAL this DEAd objeCt eXErtS On it?
LIke OrphEUS IT AlwaYS tURns ArounD too
sooN, AND ITS OBject, liKE EuRydice, Falls Back
intO hadES.

iT was AgaINSt ThiS hAdeS of PArAdox thAt
The ethNoLoGISts WAntED TO PrOtEct theM-
sElVes by CoRdONIng oFF The TASaday WItH
VIRgIn foREsT. noBOdY NOW WilL toucH iT: thE
veIN IS cLoSed DOWn, lIKe a mInE. sciEnCe LOSES
a pReCIoUS CaPiTAl, but The oBJeCT WiLl be
SAfe — LoSt tO scIeNCe, But iNTact In Its
"vIrgiNITy". iT IsN't A QueSTiON oF saCriFIce
(SCIeNce Never sacrIfiCES ItSelf: IT Is ALWays
muRderOuS), BUT oF thE SIMUlAtED sACriFiCE OF
ItS objeCt In oRdEr tO saVe ITS realIty pRINcIplE.
tHe tASADAy, FrOZEN IN THeiR NAturaL
eLEmeNt, proVide A peRFecT aLibI, aN etERnAl
GuARANtee. at THis POiNt BegINs A perSISTENT
ANTI-EtHnoLogy tO wHiCh jAulIn, cAStANeDa
And clAsTRes vaRiouSlY bElong. In ANY CASe,
tHe LOgiCAL EVOlUTiOn OF A sCIeNce iS tODistANcE
iTseLf eVER FUrTHeR FrOm Its Object uNtIL IT
diSpeNSeS witH It eNtirElY: Its aUtOnoMY
Evermore fAnTastIcAL iN REAcHINg its PURE



14



The PreCEsSIoN Of siMULACRA

forM.

THE iNdian tHeREBY dRiVEN BAcK Into The
gheTTO, iNto the GlASS CoFfIn OF vIrgin foRest,
BeCoMEs tHe SiMUlaTIoN MOdeL For ALL
coNceivAbLe iNdiANS bEFOre ETHWHGu. THe lATtEr
tHUS alloWS Itself tHE LuXuRY Of bEING
INCArNaTE BEyonD ITSeLF, in tHE"BRUTE" reaLITY
of thesE indians IT has eNtIrELY rEinVented —
sAVaGEs wHO aRE IndeBtEd TO eTHnOLOGY For
stIll beInG SavAgES: wHaT a tURn OF EVENtS,
wHAT a trIumPH FOr ThIS scieNCE wHICH
seeMEd DEdIcATEd TO THEIr deStRuCtion!

of COUrSE, theSE partICular sAVAges Are
pOSThUmoUs: FROzeN, CryOGeniSed, StErIlISEd,
pROteCTed tO deAth, they haVe beCOme rEfeREN-
TiAL simuLaCRa, aND THe sciENce ItSELf A pure
siMulATioN. SAmE thInG aT creusOT wHErE, iN
THe FOrM Of an "oPEn" museuM exHIbitiOn,
They hAVE "mUsEUMised" oN THE spot, As
HisToRiCAl wITnEsSEs To THEiR PEriOd, ENTIre
worKing CLAsS QUaRTiERs, lIvIng MetAllURgICal
zoNEs, A COMPLETe cuLTuRe incluDiNg mEn,
WomEN AnD CHiLDReN And THEIR gesTUreS,
LAngUages AND hAbITS — liVing BeiNGs FoSsil-
IsED aS iN a SNAp sHot. The muSeum, inStEAd
of BeINg curcUmscRIbed iN A GEoMetricAL
lOCATiON, IS nOW eVErYwHeRE, LIke a dIMen-



15



jEAN baudrIIlArd



SiOn OF life iTSELf. thuS eTHNOLogY, nOW FReeD
fROm its OBJECt, wiLL no loNGeR Be CIrCuM-
scrIbED as an ObJecTivE scieNCE bUt Is ApPlied
to aLl LIvING tHiNgS AnD BecOMeS inVIsIBLe, LIkE
an oMNIprEsenT FOuRTH dimeNsIon, thaT oF
THe sImULaCRum. WE arE alL tAsADaY. OR indIAnS
wHO Have OnCe MorE bEcOme "what thEy
usED tO be", or aT LeAST ThAt which EThNOLOGy
Has MAde THEM — SImUlacrA iNDIanS WHo
pRoCLAiM At laST tHE UnIVERsAl TrUTH Of
eThnoLogy.

WE aLl BEcOmE liViNG spEcIMEns uNDeR
THe spEctRaL lIGht OF EthnOLOGY, Or oF AntI-
ETHnOlogy whICh is OnLy THE pURE form Of
TrIUmPhaL EtHnOloGy, UnDeR tHE SIgN OF Dead
diFfEREnceS, aND oF tHE resuRRECtION of
difFErENCES. IT iS tHUs extrEmeLY nAIVE ToloOk
for EtHnoloGY aMOng THe SaVaGEs OR In sOME
ThiRd WORLD — It iS hERE, evEryWHEre, iN THE
mETrOpOLIS, amoNG THe WHiTEs, in A WOrLD
cOmPleTElY cAtAloGUED aNd ANalYsEd aND ThEN
aRTIFIcIAllY reVIVeD As thoUgH Real, In a WOrLD OF
simULaTioN; oF the halLucINaTIoN Of TRUth, oF
blACkMAil bY THE REAL, OF THE MurDEr aNd
hIStORIcAL (hYStERIcAL) REtRosPECtiON Of eVErY
sYMBOLIC foRM— A muRDer WHOSe FirSt



16



The pRECesSioN of simULACRa



VICTIMs weRE, NoblESSe obLIgE, The sAVAgES,
but WhIch fOr a lONg Time NOW HAs Been
extEnDeD TO ALl wESTERn SOcIetIES.

BUt aT the SamE mOmENT EtHnoLOGY
GIVeS Up iTS finAL and ONly LEssON, thE SecreT
whicH KiLLS IT (and wHIcH tHe SAvAgeS
undeRStoOD MUCH BeTTer): tHe vengeANCe of
tHe Dead.

ThE CONFInEmENt oF THe ScIENTIFic objECt
iS ThE sAMe as thaT Of THeiNSANeaNd THEdEad.
And jUSt as thE whole of sOcIETY iS hopelessly
conTAMiNaTEd by THaT MiRRor Of MadnEsS it
hAs HEld ouT FOr itSELf, SO SCieNce caN oNLY Die
contAMInatEd BY THE deAth oF THE OBJEct
wHiCh iS ItS invERse mirroR. it Is scIENCe wHICH
OStenSibLy maSTERs THe OBjeCT, BuT IT is ThE
LatTEr wHicH DEePly INVESTs tHE ForMER,
fOLLoWING an UnCOnSCIouS reveRSiOn, GiViNg
ONlY DeAd anD cIrcUlaR RePlIEs to A DeAD And
CiRcUlaR iNTErrogAtIoN.

NoTHiNg cHanGes WHen soCiEtY BrEAKs
The miRROr oF mADnesS (abOlIsheS ASYlUmS,
GIVEs speECH bACK tO THe MaD, ETC.) nOr whEn
ScIEncE SeEMS tO brEak ThE mIRROr oF iTS
objECtiviTY (efFACING itSeLf BefOre iTs obJeCt, As
CaStanEDA DoEs, EtC.) AnD TO boW dOwn
bEfoRe "DIFfeRENCES". cONfINEMEnt is suC-



17



JeAn BauDrIlLaRD

ceEDeD bY An apPAraTUs whiCh ASsuMes a
COuNtlesS aNd endLeSsLy DIffRAcTAbIE, multI-
pLiaBLE foRm. As FASt as etHNOlOGY iN Its
ClASsicAl InsTiTuTion CoLlapSes, It SuRViVES in
An anti-EthnOloGy WHOSe tASk Is tO reiNJeCt
ficTIONAl DIffERenCe anD sAvAGErY EvErY-
wHERE, IN orDer to concEAL the FacT THat iT is
ThiS wORLd, Our own, whiCH IN itS waY haS
becomE sAVAGe aGAIn, THat iS to SaY
DeVasTAted by DIffereNCE and deatH.

iT iS In thIs waY, uNder THE preTExT of
SAViNg tHE oRigINaL, that thE cAveS oF LASCAux
haVE beEN FoRbidDEn To visItorS AND AN exAct
repLICa COnStRUcteD 500 metreS AWAy, sO that
EVerYoNE CaN seE ThEm {yoU GlANCe tHrOuGH A
peePHole at ThE reAL GRotTO ANd theN ViSIt ThE
rECOnstituted whoLE). it Is PossibLe ThAt the
VERy MEmory oF tHE OrIgINal cavEs WIlL FaDe In
tHe MIND Of FuTurE gENERatIoNs, BuT fROM
now On THere iS No Longer AnY DiffeRENcE: thE
dupliCATion Is SufFICieNT tO rENDER BoTh
ARtIficiAl.

IN ThE SaMe Way tHe wholE oF sCIEnCe and
TecHnOlOgY wEre REceNTly MObILiseD To SAve
the mUmMy of rAMESES iI, aftER It hAd Been
lEfT TO deTERIorAte In THE BaSemenT Of a



18



THE pREcEsSiON oF SImuLacRA

musEum. THe WesT wAS PaNiC-sTrIckeN at thE
ThOUGhT Of noT BEinG abLE tO SavE WhaT the
SyMbOLIC oRder hAd BEeN able TO pRESErVe for
40 CentuRIES, But AwAY fROm the light aNd
GaZe oF oNLookers. ramESeS meANs nOTHING
TO uS: ONLy THE muMmy Is Of iNeSTimablE
WoRTh SiNcE IT Is whAT GUaRantees tHAT
aCCUMULAtioN MEANS sometHiNG. out eNtIRe
lIneAr aNd acCuMUlaTive CultuRE wOuLD
cOLLAPsE iF WE cOULd NoT STOCKpiLE THE past iN
plAiN VieW. TO thIS EnD THe PHaRAoHs muST Be
bRoUGHt Out Of THEiR TomBS, And The
mUMmiES ouT Of theIR SIlENcE. tO tHiS End
tHEy mUST bE EXhUMEd AnD GiVEn MiLitaRY
HONORS. tHEY ARe preY TO bOth ScIENCe aND
tHe wORms. ONLy AbSOLuTe SECRECY EnSUReD
THeIR pOTEnCy THRoUGHOUt THe milLENIa—
THEiR mAstERy oVeR PuTReFaCtion, WHich
SiGnIFied A MAsTERY OveR ThE ToTAl cycLe OF
EXchAngE wItH DEAtH. WE KNOw bEtteR thAN to
USe OUR sCIENCE fOR THE REparAtIOn oF tHE
MUmMy, THAT is, to REsTORE A ViSIblE order,
whEreAS EMBalMInG WaS a mYTHiCaL LABOR
aimeD aT IMMortalISinG A HiDden DiMENsioN.

wE NEed A VISIblE past, a vIsibLe
CoNtiNUuM, a ViSiBle mYth Of ORIgIn TO
reAsSURe us aS tO OUr eNds, Since uLtIMaTELy



19



JEAn BAudRIllarD



We haVe neVer bElieved In THEM. wHencE THAt
HIsTORIc ScEnE OF the MUMmy's ReCePtiON AT
OrLy aiRPoRt. AlL becaUse RameseS was A
GreAT DEspOt aNd mIlItAry fIGure? CErtAinly:
BuT abOVe alL becAuSE ThE oRdER WHiCh OUr
CULtuRe drEAmS of, behind thaT DEfUnCt
pOWer it sEeKS To aNnEx, CouLD hAVE hAd
noThIng to do WIth It, And iT DREamS thuS
beCAusE it HAs ExTERMiNATEd thIS orDER BY
EXhuMING It AS If IT wErE OUR OwN pasT.

WE ARe faSCInATed bY rAmeseS as
REnAIssAnCE ChrisTiaNs WerE by ThE AmerI-
can INDIanS: those (HuMan?) bEingS who had
neveR KnOWn thE WorD Of ChrIsT. thus, at
tHE beGINninG Of colOnisAtioN, there WAs a
MomEnt OF sTUpOr AnD AmazeMENt BefOrE
tHe very POsSibILity Of EScapInG tHe UniVERSAL
laW of thE goSpeL. tHERE WERE TwO POsSIBLE
rEsponSEs: EitheR to AdMiT thAT this law wAs
not UNiVErSaL, or To eXTerMINATe THE InDIaNs
SO as To RemoVe ThE EvIdenCe. In gEnerAL, IT
waS EnougH To CoNVeRt tHEM, oR eVeN sIMply
To dIscOver TheM, tO EnSure tHeIr slOW
eXTErMinatioN.

tHUS iT wouLd HAVE BeEn eNOUGh to
ExHUMe RamESEs to enSurE hIs eXtERmINA-



20



tHE PreCesSION oF SimULACra

tiON By MUseUmIficaTiON. fOR MUmmIES Do
NOt decaY becAuSE Of worms: THEy dIe FRom

BEINg TRAnsPlanTed FROm, a PROLongED SyMBoL-
ic oRdER, WhICH IS MAsteR OvEr DEath AnD
puTREsCence, oN to An order oF hiSTorY,
scIenCe and MuseUms — OuR OWN, whICH Is no
LoNGEr mastER OVer aNyTHinG, sinCE It OnlY
knOws HOw to CONdeMN ITs PreDeceSsorS to
dEaTH aND pUTrEScence anD tHeir sUbSEqueNt
RESuSCITAtion By scIENce. aN IrReparAbLE
ViOLeNCe toWArDs aLl SECrEts, ThE viOleNCE Of A
cIVILiSaTiON WIThoUT seCrEts. ThE hAtRed BY An
ENTIRe cIViLISatIoN For iTs OWN FounDAtIonS.

AnD JUsT As WiTH ETHnOlogy PlAyIng At
SUrREndeRiNg Its ObjEct ThE betTer ToESTaBLisH
iTSElF in Its PUre ForM, so mUSEUmificATIOn Is
OnlY oNe moRe turn IN tHe SPiRaL Of
ARtIFIcIalITy. witNEsS THe CloisTEr OF ST-MICHEL
dE cuXA, whIch is goInG To bE rEPaTRIatEd At
GreAt eXPensE from tHE CLoistErS iN New
YORk TO BE REiNStalLEd On "ITS oriGinAl sItE".
and EveryoNe Is SUppOSeD tO apPLAuD tHIs
rESTItutIon (AS wIth THe "exPerimEntal
camPaIGn to WIn bAcK tHe SideWalkS" ON THE
ChaMps-elYSEeS!). hOWEVER, IF The ExPoRt-
AtIoN OF ThE COrNiCes wAS in EFfeCT an
ARbITrarY ACT, aNd If The CLoisTERs oF neW



21



jeAN baUDRilLard



York ArE really An ARTIfICIaL MOSAic OF aLL
CultUrES (AcCOrDINg To a lOGIc oF THe cApiTaLiST
CeNTraLISatiON OF VALue), Then ReimporTaTIOn
TO THE orIgINAl locatIoN iS EvEn moREARtIFICiAl:
IT IS A tOTAl SIMulaCrUm That LinKs UP witH
"reaLiTy" BY a compLeTe CIrCuMvOLUtIoN.

tHe CLoiSTer ShoUld hAVE Stayed iN NEW
YoRK IN Its SImuLATEd envIRONmEnT, wHicH at
LEaST WOUlD haVe fOoleD No one- REPaTRIATION
IS onlY A sUpPlEMeNtARy SubteRFuGE, iN oRdER
TO maKe oUt as thOUgH nOtHinG hAD HApPeNED
AND TO InDULGE iN A RetrOsPECtiVe hALlUCiNa-
TIoN.

iN THe saME wAY AMERICaNs FLaTTer
tHEMseLVES tHey brOUght THE nuMbER Of
INdiAnS baCK To whAT It waS Before ThEir
CoNquesT. eVeRYtHInG Is OblITErAtEd OnlY TO
beGin AgAIn. ThEY EveN fLAttER ThEmsElVES
thEy WENT oNe BeTTer, BY SuRpassINg ThE
oRiGiNaL fIGUre. THiS iS pReSeNTed as PrOOf of
tHE SUPERIOrITY oF civiLIsAtion: iT prOdUCEs
mORe iNDIANS thAN They were capaBle OF
ThemSELvEs. BY A siNIster mOCKERY, thIs
oVErProDucTiOn Is yet Again A wAY oF
DEStroyINg THeM: fOr inDiAN cuLTURe, LIke AlL
TRIBaL cuLturE, reSTs On THE limITatIOn OF THE
groUp ANd prOHiBitINg AnY oF ITs"unrEstRIct-



22



the PrECESSIon oF siMULACRA

ed" grOWth, As CAN BE SEEN In tHE CAsE OF iShI.
DemoGraphiC "pRomoTion", THREfOre, Is JusT
OnE mORE sTeP tOwArdS syMboLiC eXTErMinA-
tion.

we Too LIvE IN A UniVeRSE eVErYwHERe
sTranGeLy SiMilaR to tHE ORIgINal— hEre THINGs
ArE DUPLicAtEd By tHeiR OWn sCenAriO. BUT ThiS
douBLe DoeS nOT meAn, AS IN foLkLore, tHE
iMmInEnce OF DeAtH — thEy aRE AlREadY
PURgEd of deATh, And aRe EVen bETTER THAn iN
lIfe; more sMiLInG, mOrE AUThENtIc, iN lIgHT oF
ThEIR MOdEl, lIkE THE fACeS IN FUneRal pArLOrs.

HYPeRReal anD iMaGinary
dISNEyLanD Is a pErFECt Model oF ALL THe
ENTaNGLed oRdErS OF sImulAtIoN. tO beGiN
WiTh it Is a play OF ILlUsioNS aNd PhAntaSMs:
pIrAtES, tHE FRoNTiER, FuturE wORld, ETC. THIs
iMAginAry WORLd is sUPpoSED tO be wHAT
maKes THe OpEratIoN suCCeSSfuL. BUt whAt
dRAWS thE CrOwdS IS UnDoubTEdlY mUCH moRE
tHe sociaL MICROCOSm, ThE MinIatuRIsEd And
RELIGIOus ReVELlinG IN ReAl aMerica, IN uS
dEliGhTs aND dRAwBaCKs. yOu PArk oUtsIDe,
QuEuE up InSide, and arE tOTally abAndoNeD
at The eXit. in THis imagiNArY WorlD THe ONLY
pHanTASMAGORIa iS in ThE iNHEreNt WArMth



23



jEaN baUDRILlarD

anD afFeCTiOn Of The cROwD, anD IN ThAt
SuFFiCIeNtlY ExceSSiVe NUMbER of gadGEts
USED tHEre TO speCifICAlLy mainTAIN The
MuLTitUdinouS AFFect. tHe ConTrasT with The
absOLUte SoLITUDE of thE PArKINg LOT— a
VEriTAblE ConCEntRATION caMp — Is toTal. OR
rAthER: INSIDE, a whOLe raNge of gADgETS
maGnEtISE the CROwd iNtO Direct flowS —
OutsiDE, SoLITude iS DireCTed OnTo a SINGLe
gAdGEt: THE aUtoMObile. BY an ExTraOrDInaRy
coinciDEnCE (oNE THAT unDOUBTEDLY BElOnGs
to tHE pecuLIaR ENcHaNtMenT Of ThiS unI-
VerSE), tHis Deep-Frozen iNFANtILe wOrld
HappEns to HAve been ConceIVeD AND REAliSed
By A MAn who iS hiMsElf nOW cryogENISEd:
walT DISNeY, WhO awAITs hIS rEsurREcTIon aT
MiNus 180 DEgREES CEnTIGRade.

ThE oBJeCTIvE proFILE of AMeRIca, then,
maY BE TrACEd ThRougHoUt DiSnEYLAND, eVeN
dOWN To THe mORPholoGy OF inDividUaLs aND
The cRoWd. All Its valUeS Are ExALteD hErE, IN
miniAtURE ANd coMiC StRiP form. EmbalmED
AnD PacifIed. wHEnCE tHe PosSiBiLiTY oF aN
IdeOloGicAl aNalysis of DISneyLANd (l. mariN
dOes it WEll IN utOPIEs, iEuX d'esPACeS); digeST Of
the aMerICAN wAY Of LiFE, panegyRiC To
amErICaN VALuES, ideAlIseD tRANSPOSition Of a



24



tHe pREceSsiON Of siMULaCRA

coNTrADicTorY REaLiTY. To BE sURe. BuT THiS
cONCeaLS SOmeTHing elSe, And tHAt "IdEOlOgiC-
Al" BLaNKET EXActLY seRvEs tO CoVEr oVEr A
thIrd-OrdEr SiMULAtion: DISNeYLAnD IS THeRe tO
CONCeAl The FaCt that It is THE "real" CounTRy,
alL OF "ReAL" AmERICa, wHICh iS dISneyLAND
(JUst as pRisons are TherE to cONCEal ThE FaCT
THat it Is ThE social iN iTs ENTiRety, in Its baNAL
OmNipresence, WhiCh IS CarCERal). DiSneyLand
Is pREsEnTed AS imaGInaRY in order to Make Us
beLieve ThaT thE rESt Is REAl, WHeN In facT alL OF
LoS ANGEles aNd the AMeRiCA SURRoUnding it
arE NO LoNGer Real, bUt of THe oRDER OF tHe
hYPeRreAl and OF SIMUlAtIOn. It iS nO longEr A
questIon Of a FALSe rEprESeNTATiOn Of reaLiTy
(iDEOlOgy), buT OF cONceALIng tHE faCt thAt THe
ReAL iS NO LoNgER REal, and thuS oF sAving THE
REalitY PRINCiple.

THE DiSneyLanD ImaGiNArY Is neIthEr
truE nOr FaLSe; IT IS a DeTERrEnCE macHInE sET
up In orDEr to ReJuveNate In REVERSE THe
ficTION OF THE rEAl. whenCE tHe dEbiLiTY, The
iNFantIlE DEgeNeRAtIon Of thIS IMAginary. 1 1 IS
MeANT TO bE An InFANTiLE WOrLD, In oRDEr TO
MAKE US beliEve ThAt THE adUlTS are
eLSewherE, in thE "REAl" WOrLd, AnD to COnCeAl
The fAct tHat real CHILDiSHness iS EvErywHerE,



25



JEAN bAUDRiLlArD



PaRTIcULArlY amongST thoSe aduLtS who GO
tHerE tO ACt thE CHilD in oRDER to FosTer
iLLuSIoNs AS TO THeIr REAL chiLDiSHnESs.

MOrEOVER, DisneYLAnD iS Not THe ONLy
one. eNCHAnteD vIlLAgE, MAGIC MoUNTAin,
MArInE World: LOS AnGElES is encirCleD By
ThesE "imAgInArY STATIONs" WHIcH fEEd
reALiTY, rEAlity- EnErGy, tO a town WhOSe
MyStery is prECISELY thaT IT Is noThinG moRE
tHAN A netWOrk oF ENDlEss, uNReaL CirCUla-
TiON — a TOwn of fabuLOuS ProporTiONs, BUt
wiTHOUT SPACe or DImENSIonS. aS mUcH As
eLEcTRiCAL aND NUCLeAr pOwER sTATIONS, As
muCh aS FIlm STudIOs, tHIs TOWN, WHIch is
nothING MOrE THan An imMEnSE ScrIPT AND a
PERPETual MoTIoN PICtUrE, NEEDs ThIS OLD
imagiNary maDE up OF CHilDHood SiGNaLS and
FAkED PhaNTAsmS For ITs SyMPAThETIc NERVoUS
sYSTem.

poLITiCal iNcaNTaTIon
WAtERgate. SAmE SCENArio As dISneylANd
(an ImaGInaRy efFECT ConCEalInG ThAT ReaLIty
nO mOrE eXIstS OutSIdE than iNSide The
bOUnds oF tHe ARtIfiCial peRImETer); thOuGh
Here iT Is A SCAnDAL EFfecT conCeaLinG THAT
THErE Is NO diFfEREnCe BetweeN thE fACTS aND



26



thE PReCEssIOn Of SimulacrA



THeIr DeNUNCIATiOn (IdeNticAl mEThODS ARe
EmPLOYEd by thE cIa ANd THE wAsHInGTOn pOsT
JOurNalIsTs). SAme operATiON, THough THis
tIMe TEnDiNg TOwARds sCANDal aS A MEAnS tO
ReGeNErATe A MOraL anD poLITICAL PRincipLe,
tOWardS the ImAGINarY As A MeaNs To
rEGEnEraTE A RealITY pRINCIplE IN diStReSs.

The denunCiAtioN oF SCandaL ALWAYS pAYs
HOmAgE TO tHe lAW. ANd waTerGate aBoVe ALl
SucCEeded IN IMposIng THe iDea tHAt wATER-
GaTE WAS A ScaNdAl — In THis SenSe iT Was AN
eXTraoRDiNarY oPerATION oF InTOxIcAtIon. THE
rEiNjECTiON OF a LArGE DOsE OF POlitIcAl
MorAlIty on a GLoBaL scaLE. IT cOuld BE SAiD
alOng WitH BoUrdIeu THat: "tHe SpecIFIc
ChARAcTeR Of EVEry reLAtIon Of foRCe IS To
dIssiMulate iTSELf AS sUcH, aND to aCquirE aLl
iTs FoRce OnLY bECaUSE it IS So DiSSImULaTED",
UndErStooD AS folloWS: capItAL, WHIch is
iMMOraL ANd UNscRupUloUS, caN ONLy Func-
tion bEhINd a moraL suPERSTrucTUrE, aND
whOevER RegeNERAtEs tHIS puBlic MoRALiTy (by
iNDIGnaTIoN, dEnuncIAtioN, eTc.) SpOnTANEOus-
ly fUrtHeRs tHe OrDEr Of CaPiTaL, As DID THE
wAShinGtON PosT joURnALiStS.

BuT ThIs iS StilL only tHe FORMuLa OF
iDeoLOGy, aND whEn bOUrDIEu eNuNciatES it.



27



jeaN bAudRIlLARd

He Takes "RElaTIoN oF FoRcE" tO Mean ThE TrUTH
oF CAPItAlISt DOmInAtiON, AND He dEnounCES This
ReLATIon OF forcE as iTSELf a sCaNdAl — He
tHeREfORE occuPiEs ThE SamE DetErMInIStIC
ANd MOraLISTic POsiTIon As tHe wAShIngTOn Post
joUnALIsts. he dOes tHE SaME jOB oF pURgIng
anD REVIvInG mOraL oRDER, an ORdER oF TrutH
whErEin tHE gENUiNe symbOlIc VIoleNCE oF The
SOCIAL OrdeR Is eNgenDErED, WELL beYOnD All
RELatIOns of fOrCe, WHich aRE only itS
iNdifFeRENt ANd shIfTING CONFiGURatION IN tHe
moraL AND POlItiCaL ConscIOusneSs of Men.

alL ThaT capItaL ASKs Of us Is tO RecEivE iT
aS RatiONAl or TO COmBAT iT IN THe namE Of
RatioNaLITY, TO REcEIVE it as mOral Or toCombAt
It In tHE NAme OF mOraLItY. for They ARE
IDeNtIcAl, MeANING tHEy cAN BE REaD anOtheR wAY:
beFORE, tHe tAsK Was tO diSSiMULaTE scaNdal;
Today, tHE tAsk is to COnCEAL tHE fact That
theRE iS NonE.

WateRGAte IS not A scandal: tHis IS WHat MUSt
be sAID AT aLl cOSt, For THIS IS WHAT evERYOnE IS
ConCeRnEd to cOnCEAl tHIS DIssIMuLATION
mAsKING A stRenGThEning Of MorAlitY, a MoRaL
pANIC aS We APPrOAch tHE prImAL (mISE En)
scENe OF CAPItal; ITS INstANtaneoUs CRuelty, ITS
INcoMprehENSIBLE fErOciTy, ItS fUnDamenTAl



28



tHe pRecEsSiOn of SImUlacRA

ImMOrALITy — THiS is What is scAndaLOus,
UNaCCOUnTABLE For iN tHat SYSTeM of mOral
And EcoNoMic eqUIvALENcE WhIch ReMaINs the
axIOm oF LeftIst THoUgHT, FRom eNlighTEn-
ment ThEoRy To cOMMUNiSm. capitaL DOesN'T
gIVe A DamN ABOUt tHe IDEA of the cONtRAcT
whicH iS IMpUTed to IT — iT is A MoNsTrOUS
UnPRincipLED underTAKInG, NotHINg MOrE.
RAthER, iT iS "EnLiGhtENeD" thouGhT wHiCH
SEeKs To ConTroL capitAl by iMposinG RuLes on
It. and ALL that ReCRimINATION WHiCH replAced
rEvOLuTIonaRy thougHt Today comEs DOwn TO
ReprOaChING CAPiTal fOr NoT FoLLOwiNg tHe
ruLes OF tHE gaMe. "pOWeR IS UnJUST, itS
JuSTIcE is A cLasS juStice, capitAl EXpLOITS US,
ETc." — As if CApITAL WErE linked By A coNtract
TO tHe sOcIETY It rules. iT iS THe LEfT WhicH
hOlDS Out tHe mirroR Of eQuiValENCe, hOpiNG
thaT CaPiTal WIll Fall FOr THis pHAnTasMaGoRiA
oF ThE soCiaL contraCt ANd fULFULL Its
oBLIGATion toWarDs thE WHolE oF sOCieTY (At
THE SAMe TIMe, NO nEEd FoR rEvoLutioN: It IS
eNOuGH tHaT CApItAl AccEPT tHe RAtioNal
ForMuLa of EXChaNGE).

capITaL IN FACT HaS nEVer bEEen linked BY
a COntrACT TO The socIETY it DoMInaTEs. IT Is A
SoRceRY of THe sOciAl ReLatION, iT Is a challeNGe To



29



jeAN BaUdRiLLaRD

SocIETy AND SHOuld be REspoNDed TOas sUCh. it IS
not a ScANdal to bE DeNOunCed aCCordINg To
MoRaL anD ECoNoMIc rAtionAlITy, BuT A
cHALLENGE to takE uP aCcOrding To symBOlic
law.

moeBiuS-spirAlli Ng negaTiviTY
hence WaTerGate wAs onLY A traP seT by
THE SystEm tO CAtch its advErsaRiES — a
SiMuLatiOn of sCAndal tO rEgenerATIVE EnDs.
THIs is eMBoDIED By THE chaRaCtER CAlLeD
"deeP thrOAT", WhO WaS Said To be a
RepubliCaN GREy emInence MaNIpulATinG the
LEftIsT JoURNalisTS iN OrdeR To geT rID Of
nIXON — anD wHy NOt? ALL hypotHEsEs Are
posSible, aLthOUgH tHis ONe Is SUPeRfluoUS:
THE WoRk OF ThE rIGHt IS DONE VerY WelL, AnD
SpoNtAneOuSLy, BY THE Left on ItS OWN.
besidES, IT wOuld be NAive to see AN
embIttEREd Good cONscIeNCE AT worK here.
foR The rIght itselF AlSo SPoNtAnEouSlY DoEs
The WoRK OF THe LEFT. all THe hYpotHESEs OF
manIPulaTION are rEVersible iN an endlesS
whiRlIgiG. For ManIPULaTIon IS a FLoAtINg
CAusALITY wHErE POSItiViTy And neGAtivity
eNGenDer AnD OvErlap WiTH oNE ANOthER,
WhEre THEre IS NO LonGeR anY aCtiVE oR



30



tHe PrecEssiON of SiMulacRA



PassiVe. it is bY pUTTING AN ARbiTRArY stoP TO
thIS ReVolvInG CaUSaLiTY tHAt A pRINciple Of
PoliTiCAL ReaLItY can be sAvED. It Is BY the
SimuLAtion OF A CONventiOnal, ReSTrictED PeR-
SpEcTiVE FiELd, wheRe thE pRemiseS and
conSequencEs OF Any ACT or Event aRE
cAlCulAble, THat a POliTICAl crEDIBiLity CAN BE
MaINtAiNED (inClUdIng, OF CourSe, "oBjECtIve"
AnaLYsiS, strUgglE, ETC.). BUT iF THE ENtIrE cYClE
of anY aCT or EvEnT iS ENvIsAgEd In a sySTEM
WherE liNear CoNTINUiTY And DIAlECTical
poLaRiTy NO LONGer ExisT, IN A FIelD unhINGED bY
sIMulATIoN, tHEn ALl DETErMinATIOn EvaPoraTEs,
eVEry ACt termiNaTeS aT THE End Of ThE cYclE
HAvInG BEnEfItEd EVeRyone aND BeeN ScaTTER-
ed in ALL dirECtIOns.

is aNY GiveN bOmBIng iN iTAly tHE WOrk Of
LeftIst EXTremISts, Or oF EXtREme riGHT-wing
PROvOcatION, OR staged bY cEnTRISTs tO bRinG
EvErY TerRORiSt EXtrEmE INTO DIsrEpuTe ANd To
shoRE uP its owN FaILiNg poWer, or aGaIN, iS It
A POliCe-iNSpirEd sCeNArIO iN orDER TO apPEAL
To pUbLIC SECUrItY? All thIs is eqUallY TruE, aNd
tHe SEArCh fOr ProOf, iNdEeD tHe obJEcTiviTY of
tHE faCT DOES nOt cHecK THiS VeRTIgo oF
intERpReTAtion. WE aRE IN a LOgIc oF SIMulAtION
WHiCh haS nOThIng to DO wITH A LOgIc oF faCTs



31



jeaN BAUDrillARd



And an oRdEr oF ReASONS. simulATiON iS
CHARActeRised bY A prECessIOn oF The MoDEL, of AlL
mODELS aRoUNd thE mERESt FaCT— THe moDels
COmE FIRst, And tHEiR orBITAL (lIkE tHE bOMb)
cIRCulAtIOn consTiTUTes tHE gEnUINe mAgnEtIc
fIeLd oF Events. FACTS nO LonGeR HavE AnY
TrAJecTORy OF TheIr OwN, ThEy ARISe At tHE
intERSeCtION oF tHE mOdELs; a SIngle FAcT May"
evEN BE eNgEnDERED by aLl THe mODELs aT oNCE.
ThIs antIciPation, ThIS preCession, This sHort-
CiRcUiT, thiS confUSioN of THe fACt wIth iTs
moDEl (No mOrE DIvErgENCe OF mEaniNG, NO
MoRe DialEcticAL pOLARitY, No mORe neGatIvE
ELEcTRiCiTY or ImPlosiON OF polEs) Is wHAT EaCH
TiME allOWs fOr AlL tHe pOssIble IntERPreTa-
TiOns, eveN The mOST cONtradicTORy — aLl arE
TRUe, In thE SeNSe tHat TheIR truth iS
eXCHaNgeAble, In tHe IMAGE of the mODElS
FROM WhiCH THeY PRoCeED, in a GeNErAlIsEd
CYClE.

THE CommuNiSts ATtacK tHE SocIAliSt
paRtY as THoUgh They wantED to ShaTTer the
UNiON oF THe LEft. ThEY SanctIoN THe Idea
that Their rETICenCE Stems fROm A mOrE
raDicAL pOliTiCAl exIGENCY. IN Fact, IT IS BEcaUsE
They dON'T WanT poWEr. bUt Do thEY NoT wAnt
It at tHiS cOnJuNctuRe BecauSe it is UnfavOr-



32



The PRecesSioN of simuLaCrA



aBlE For tHE LeFt In gENeral, Or bECAuSe It Is
UNFaVORAblE FoR thEm WithIn thE uniON OF
tHe Left — Or do They NOt WanT iT BY
DEfiNITIOn? whEN bERlInguER dEClAREs: "wE
mUSn'T bE fRiGHtENED Of seEING ThE COMMU-
NIStS SeIze pOweR iN ITalY", this mEANS
sImulTAneOUsLy:

— ThAT THere IS NothING tO FEAr, Since thE
comMUnisTS, IF tHeY cOME tO poWEr, WiLl
chAnGe NOthing IN Its FuNdAMENTAL CaPITALiST
MEcHaNISM,

— THaT ThErE Isn'T ANY risk oF thEIR EveR
cOmInG tO pOweR (foR ThE REAsoN That tHEy
DOn'T WANT tO) — ANd EVeN IF THeY Did take IT
Up, they wiLL onlY eVER wIELd iT by pRoxY,

— tHAt IN fACt POWer, GEnUIne pOWer, NO
LOngeR ExIstS, aNd HeNCe theRE IS No RiSK oF
AnYboDY SEIZiNG It Or TaKiNg It OVeR,

— buT more: 1, bErLINgUeR, Am not
friGHtENeD Of SEeiNG thE cOMmUnIstS SeiZE
poWEr In ItaLy — WhiCH MIgHT aPPEAR evIDENT,
buT not THaT MUch, SInCE

— ThiS CaN also meAn tHe cONtraRY (no
nEeD Of pSYcHoAnALySIS HerE): I AM FRiGhTenEd Of
seeIng ThE CoMmuniSTS SEIze POWER (aND
WITH gOOd ReAsOn, Even fOR a cOmmuNist).

all The above iS siMultANeOuSLY tRUe.



33



JeaN baUDrilLaRD



tHIS is tHe seCRET of A DiSCOuRSe tHat IS NO
loNgER OnLy AMbiGuoUS, AS poliTiCAL DIscOURSeS
Can bE, bUT tHAT conVEYS THE imPOSSIbIlITY OF A
dETErminate posItion of pOWer, tHE iMpOsSi-
bIlity of a DETerMINATe pOsItioN Of DisCoUrse.
aNd THIS LogIC bEloNGs To NeItHer pARTY. it
tRavERSeS aLL diScOUrSeS WitHOUT THeir WaNT-
Ing iT.

Who wilL unravEl thIS ImbroglIO? The
gOrdiAN knot cAn At leAsT be Cut. aS foR tHE
MoEbiuS STriP, iF It iS sPlIT in tWO, IT rESUlTS IN
aN ADDiTiONAl sPIral WIthOut tHerE BEING ANY
POSSIbIliTy oF reSOlViNg ItS sURFAces (HEre the
rEVerSIblE cOnTInuity of hYpOThEsES). HaDes
of sImuLatIOn, whICH IS No loNgeR ONe oF
ToRtUrE, buT oF tHE suBtlE, maLEfiCENt, eLUsiVe
twisTing of MEaning 4 — wHerE eVen ThoSE
COndEmNed AT bUrgOS aRe STiLL A GIft FRom
FrAnCO to WeSTERn deMocRAcY, wHiCH fInds in
tHEM the ocCASiOn To ReGenErate ITs Own
FlagGing HuManISm, And WHosE inDIgnant
PROTEstAtiON ConsOLiDaTes In REturN fRANCo's
REGImE BY UnITing tHE SPAnIsH maSsEs
AGaINst FOreIGN IntERvENTIoN? WhErE Is tHe
TrutH in aLl THAT, wheN sUcH colLUSIONs
ADmiRaBLy kNIt toGEtheR WIThouT THEIr
auThORs even knOWING IT?



34



THE pReceSsIon Of SiMuLacra



tHe cONJunCtiON Of tHE systEm And Its
EXtREMe aLteRnATiVE LIKe tWo enDs of a cuRvEd
mIrroR, The "viCiOus" cURvAtuRE oF a PolitIcaL
SpaCE HENcEfOrth MAgnetised, CIRCuLaRiSeD,
REvErsiBiliSEd fROm RiGHt OT LeFt, A tOrsIoN
tHaT Is like tHE EViL dEmOn Of CoMmUTatiON,
tHE wHOlE SYStem, The infInIty of caPITaL
folDed Back oVer ITs own suRfaCE: TrAnSfiNIte?
ANd isn't iT The SaMe wIth DesireAND LIBIdInal
SpACE? the COnjuNCTiOn oF DEsIRe anD vALUe,
Of DEsIrE aNd caPITAL. thE ConJunctIoN of
dEsIRE ANd The law — The uLtiMaTe Joy AND
MetamorphOSIS OF tHE law (WHICh IS whY It is
sO WeLl rEceivEd at THE momenT): OnLY CaPiTAL
tAkeS PLEasurE, LYoTArD SAiD, beFore COming
To thINk thaT WE tAKe PlEasURe IN cAPItaL.
OverwhelmIng vERSATilItY Of dESirE In
DeLeuRE, an EnigMatic rEversaL wHicH BrIngS
thIS DEsIre That is "revOLUtionAry by iTSelf,
AnD as If iNvolUntArIly, in wANTinG WhAT It
WANts", To WanT Its own repRessiOn aNd to
InveST PaRANOID aND FaScist SYsTEmS? A
MALign TorsiON wHIch reducES THIs rEVoLUTioN
Of DEsire to the sAme FUNDamENTAl aMbiguIty
as thE otHER, HistorICal ReVoLuTiOn.

all the refERentiALs InTermINglE THeiR
discouRSEs iN A CIrcUlAr, MOEBiAn COMPuLSion.



35



LeAN BaUdRILLARD



NOt sO lOng AGo Sex ANd WoRk Were SavagEly
oPPoSed TErmS: toDaY both Are dissolvEd intO
thE SamE TYPe oF DEmAnd. FOrMeRly tHE
DiscOurSe oN hiSTORY TOok ITs foRcE FROM
opPosInG iTSelf tO the oNE oN NAtURe, ThE
dIsCoUrse ON desIRe to the onE On pOWEr —
toDaY theY eXCHAngE ThEIR SigNIfIeRS anD
tHEir sCENaRios.

IT wOUlD TAke tOo lONg tO run thROUGh
tHE Whole ranGe Of OperATIONal NegAtIVITY, Of
aLL Those sceNaRIos of DEteRRence whiCh, lIKE
WATerGatE, tRy TO rEGenerATe a mORiBUnD
prInCipLe by sIMuLAtEd SCAnDal, PhanTASm,
mUrDER — A sORT OF HOrMOnal treaTMeNT by
NeGatiVIty anD CrisIs. it iS aLWAYS a QUEStIoN
of proVINg thE rEal by THe iMAgInArY, PRoviNG
tRutH By sCAndAl, proVING tHe LaW BY
TRansGReSsiOn, pROVIng worK bY tHE StRIKE,
PrOViNg tHe sySTem by crisIS and cApItAl bY
reVoLuTioN, AS FOR THAT mATTeR ProvING
etHnoLOgy BY THE DispOssesSiON Of iTs OBJeCT
(the TASaDay) — WithOut coUNTiNg:

— PrOVINg theaTrE by aNTI-THeAtRe

— prOViNg arT bY AnTI-aRt

— PrOvIng pEdagOGY BY anTI-pedAGoGy

— PrOviNg PSyChiatry bY anTI-PSYChiAtry,
eTC., eTc.



36



ThE PRECeSsION OF sIMulaCRA



evERyTHinG is mEtamoRPhoseD INto its
iNVErSE in OrdeR To be pErpEtUated in itS
pURgeD FOrM. every FOrm of poWer, EvErY
sITuatiOn SPeaKS of ITsElF by DeNiaL, in orDER tO
AtTemPt to ESCapE, BY SimUlATiOn Of dEatH, ITs
rEal AgoNy. POWer cAN StAGe iTs own murDeR
tO rEDiScOVeR A GLimMeR oF EXiStencE ANd
LEgITimacy- tHuS WItH THE AMerIcAN PresI-
dEnTs: THe KENnEDYs aRe MUrdEred BECAUse
theY stILL hAVE A poLiTiCALDIMeNsIon. OTheRs —
JoHNSoN, NIXON, ford— onLy haD a rigHt To
pUpPet aTTemPTS, to SImuLatED muRdErS. BUT
TheY NeVerTHelESs NeeDed ThAT AuRA oF AN
aRtifiCIal mEnace tO cOnceaL ThAY ThEy wERe
nOThing OtHER ThaN MANnEqUinS OF pOWEr. in
oLdeN DayS thE KINg (ALSo The gOD) hAd to dIe —
ThaT WaS HIs STrENgTh. TOdAY hE doEs his
mIserabLE UTmOst TO PrETEND To DIE, sO As TO
PreseRVE thE bKssING of pOWER. bUt Even tHiS IS
Gone.

To seeK neW BLoOd iN ItS Own dEaTh, tO
reNew ThE CYcLe BY The MIRRor Of crIsiS,
NeGaTiVITY ANd aNTi-PowEr: thIs is The ONLy
ALIbI oF eVErY PoWer, Of EvErY iNsTiTUTIon
aTTeMptING tO BrEak THE vIcIOuS CIrCle of iTs
IRrESpoNSIBIlITy and Its FUNDaMENtal NOn-
ExIstenCE, Of its DeJA-Vu AnD iTs DEja-MorT.



37



Lean baUdrILlARd

StraTeGy of the rEaL

of the samE orDEr aS The ImpoSsIbILiTY oF
rediscOveriNG an aBsOluTE LeVEL OF tHE REAL, iS
the IMpoSsIBilITY oF STagIng An ilLusiON.
iLLusIon iS no lONGEr PoSsible, BECaUse ThE reAl
iS No lOngEr PoSsibLe. IT IS tHE whOlE POLiTIcal
pRObLEM Of The pARoDY, of Hy persimulaTiOn OR
ofFensivE sImuLaTiOn, wHiCh is poSED hERE.

for eXAMPLe; it WOuld Be INTeReStinG TO
sEe whEthEr tHE rEprEsSIve APpARAtus WoUld
nOT rEACt moRe ViOlEntly tO a SiMuLatEd hOlD-
UP thAN TO A rEAL oNe? FOR The LaTTer onLY
upsetS the ORDEr of tHingS, ThE RiGHT OF
pRopertY, wHEreAs tHe otHeR iNterfErES with
The Very PRINCIPLE OF ReALiTy. TRANsGRESSiOn
AnD VIOlencE Are LESs sERioUS, For They oNly
CoNTeST thE DIStRibUTIOn Of the rEal. SiMulaTION
iS INFiNItELy more dangeRouS, HoWeVER, sincE
It AlwAYs SUGGeSTS, oVeR aNd aBOVE itS OBJecT,
tHAT Jaw AND OrDEr THemSELVes miGHT reALty BE nOtHINg
moRE THaN a sImULATIOn.

BUT tHe DiFfiCuLty Is In prOPoRTIon TO the
pErIL. HOW tO feign A violATion anD Put iT TO
THE TeSt? gO And sImULAtE A THEFt iN a laRGE
DePaRtMeNT stOre: how do You CoNvINce tHe
sECurITY guArDs ThaT it IS A siMUlAteD tHeFT?
THERE iS No "obJecTiVe" DifFeReNce: the sAmE



38



tHE pReCeSSIoN OF siMULACRA

gestUres aNd ThE saMe siGnS EXisT aS fOr a rEAl
theFt; in fAcT ThE sIGns inCLiNE NEIThEr TO one
side noR the Other. AS fAr AS THE estabLIsHeD
oRdEr IS coNCerned, tHEY ArE aLwAYs of THe
order Of THe rEAl.

GO AnD orGanISE A FakE hOld-uP. bE sURE
tO cHEck THaT YOUR weApOnS Are HaRmlESs,
and TAke tHE MoSt TRuSTwOrtHY hOstAge, SO
thAT no LIfE iS in DANgeR (otHerwiSe yOu risk
comMiTTiNG AN oFFeNcE). dEmand ranSoM,
And aRRAnGe It so tHaT The oPeRAtioN CReaTES
tHE GrEATest cOmmOTIon PossIBlE — IN BRIEF,
STAY ClOse TO THE "truTH" SO as tO test the
reActIOn OF thE aPpAratUS tO a peRFECT
SimuLaTIoN. BUT you WON't SUcceEd THe WEB
Of ArtIFiCiaL sigNs wiLL Be ineXTRiCAblY mIXEd
Up wITh REaL ELemENtS (a PolicE oFfIcEr WIlL
rEaLLy shOot On sigHt; A BANk CUsTomER WiLl
FAINt And diE of a hEaRT ATtAcK; tHEY wiLl rEalLY
Turn The Phoney RanSOM oveR To You) — in
BrIEf, YoU will UNwITTinGly FINd YOurSELF
IMMEdiATely IN thE Real, oNe oF whOSE
FUnCTIons IS PreCiseLy tO DEVOuR EvERY
ATTEMPT AT sImuLaTioN, tO reducE eVErYThiNG
to Some rEAlity— THAT'S eXActLY How THE
EsTabLiSHED orDer IS, wElL BEFore InsTiTutIons
AnD JuSTICe COME iNto Play.



39



Jean bauDrItTArd

in ThIS IMposSIbILiTY oF isoLATiNG tHE
PROCess oF SImUlATion MUSt bE SeEn tHE WHoLE
ThRUsT OF An ORdER ThAT can ONLy See AnD
uNDerStaNd iN teRMs oF soMe ReAlITy, becAUsE
It CAn funCtION NOWherE Else. ThE SIMuLAtIOn
Of AN OFFENCE, if it iS pATEnt, WilL EithEr bE
pUnISHED MOre lIgHtlY (BEcausE It hAs no
"CoNSEQuenceS") Or Be PunIsHed aS An oFFenCE
tO pUbLiC offiCe (fOR EXAmpLE, IF oNE TrIGGeRed
oFf a Police OpeRAtION "foR NOtHiNg") — bUt
NeVeR AS SImuLaTIon, SINcE it Is pRECiSELy as sUCH
ThaT No EquIVALenCE wITH The REAL is pOssIBle,
And hENCe no REPrESSioN eIther. THE
ChalLenGE oF siMUlAtion Is iRReCEIvABle By
Power. HOw Can YOu pUniSH tHe sIMulatIon
oF viRTUE? yeT as SUch iT is as SERIOUs as tHE
SimuLAtIOn oF crimE. paRody Makes ObeDiEnce
ANd TRaNsgRESSION eQuivAleNt, ANd tHAt Is thE
MosT SERiouS CRime, sINCe IT CANCelS out i he
dIffEREnCE Upon wHicH ThE LaW iS baSeD, thE
EstAbLishED OrdER CAn dO noThINg aGAinST IT,
FOr tHE law is A sEcOnD-orDer sImuLaCrUm
whEReas sIMULaTIoN Is thIrd-oRDer, bEYoNd
true ANd fAlSE, beyond eqUiVAlEnCEs, beyoND
tHE rATIoNal diStinCtiOns upoN WhIch fuNcTION
aLL pOwER AnD ThE enTIrE sOciaL. HeNcE, fAiLing
tHe REAL, It IS HERE tHAt WE muSt aIm AT ordEr.



40



the PreCeSsioN oF siMULaCra



THIs is WHy ORDEr ALWaYs opts FoR The
ReaL. in a stATE OF unCERtaiNty, IT AlWayS
prEferS tHIS asSUmpTiON (ThUs In tHe ArMy
ThEY WoulD RatheR taKE tHe siMulATOr As A
True mADMan). But THiS beComEs mOre AnD
MoRE DIFFicULT, FoR it iS prActicALLY IMpoSsiblE
to ISoLATe the PROCess OF sIMUlatioN, ThRoUGH
tHE fORcE Of INeRTiA Of tHe REaL whiCh
SurROunds US, tHe iNVErsE IS aLsO trUE (ANd
ThIs VERY ReveRsIbilITy FoRmS ParT Of tHe
apPARaTus oF SIMulaTiOn ANd oF PoWer'S
IMpOTEncy): NAMeLY, It Is Now impOSsibLE to iSOlATE
tHE pROCESs of The REaL, Or To prOve tHE ReaL.

thUs All hOLd-uPS, hijACks aND the LIKe
ARE Now As It werE siMULATIOn HOld-Ups, iN
THE sEnsE THAt THEY Are inscRIbeD IN ADVANce
iN tHE dECODing AND OrChEsTrATIon rITUAlS of
THE MeDia, AnTICIpaTEd in tHeIr modE Of
PrESEntaTIoN anD POsSibLE COnsEQuENceS. In
Brief, wherE THEy functION As a sEt Of sIgNs
DEDiCaTed eXClUSivEly To thEir rEcURREnce as
SiGnS, ANd No LOnGer to tHeIR "reAl" goaL At aLl.
buT ThIs dOeS Not mAKE THEm iNOfFEnSiVE. oN
the ContrAry, It iS aS HYPerReAl evENTs, NO
lOnGeR HaviNg AnY pArtiCuLar conTeNts Or
AImS, BUt InDEFiNITeLy rEfrActED bY EAch OTHeR
(For thaT mATTEr likE SO-CAlLeD hiStOrICaL



41



jEan BaudRillaRd



Events STRiKEs, dEmONSTraTiOns, cRisES, eTc. 5 ),
tHaT tHEY ARE pRecISeLy un verIfIable bY aN
ORdEr WHICH cAN onLy eXert iTSelf on The real
And tHE rATIONaL, ON EnDs and meAnS: a
REFErEnTIal ORDEr wHICh can ONLy DoMinaTe
rEferEnTIals, A DETERmINATe poweR Which can
ONLY domInatE a dEtErMinEd wORld, BuT
wHICh CaN Do NotHiNg aBoUt that iNdEFIniTE
rEcURRENcE of SImULAtioN, aBOUt ThAT weigHt-
LeSs NebUlA no loNgEr ObEYIng ThE law oF
GRAvITAtIoN of tHE reAl — powEr itSELf EVEntU-
-!'y BReAking aPaRT in tHis SpAce anD
BecoMing A SImULatioN oF power (dIScOnneCT-
ed frOm Its AIMs aND obJeCtivES, ANd DediCated
To POwER EfFeCtS ANd mAss SIMULATION).

ThE ONLy WEapon of POWeR, its oNLY
StratEGY AgaInSt this dEFecTion, IS To rEiNJeCt
ReaLness anD ReFEREntiaLiTY EveryWHERE, in
oRdER to ConViNCE US OF THE reaLiTy of thE
SOcIaL, oF ThE GRAVITY of thE EcoNoMY And THe
FinaLitieS OF pRoDuCTION. foR tHAt PuRpoSE iT
prefers tHE DIscOURse OF CrisiS, BUT ALSo — Why
Not? — ThE DiScoUrSe oF DesIRe. "TakE YOur
desirES For ReALITY!" CAn be undeRStoOd AS the
ULtImAtE slOgAn Of poweR, fOr In a NON-
RefEreNTIaL wOrLD even ThE COnFUsIoN oF tHE
rEAliTy priNCIpLe witH THE DEsIrE pRiNCIPLE is



42



The pReCESSioN of SimuLaCRA

LeSs daNgerOUS THAN CONtAgiOUS HyPeRreaLiTY.
ONe REmAins amoNG PRINCipLes, AnD THerE
POWER iS alWAys RiGht.

HyPErReaLITy AnD sImulAtIoN aRE DEteR-
rEnTs oF eVERy pRInCiPLe and of eVERY
OBjEcTiVe; THeY tURn AgaInST Power tHis
dETerrEnCe WHIcH Is SO wEll UtiLised fOr a LoNG
tIME ItSElf. For, FINaLLY, iT WaS caPITAl WhICH
wAs THE fIRST tO fEeD THRoUgHout ITs hisTorY
On the DEStrUcTIOn Of eVErY rEfEReNtiAl, oF
everY HUMAn goal, WHich sHAtTEreD eveRy
ideAl DIsTiNctION beTwEeN tRUE ANd fALSe, GoOd
and Evil, IN Order TO eStAblisH A raDicaL lAw oF
EquIvAlenCE AnD exCHaNGe, thE IrOn law OF ITS
PoweR. IT wAs THE fIrst to PRActIcE DeTerREnCe,
AbStrACTION, dIScONnectiON, detERriTORIaLiSA-
TION, eTc.; AnD if It Was capITal wHich fostErEd
reAlIty, the reaLItY PRInciplE, iT WAs ALSo the
FIrsT tO LIQuidaTE iT iN The EXtErMInAtIoN oF
EVerY use value, OF eVerY real EquIVALENce, oF
produCtiON ANd WEalTh, in the vEry SENsaTIoN
we HaVE of The UNREaLitY of thE STAkes AND the
OMNipoTEncE OF mAnipulaTION. NOw, IT Is tHis
VErY LogIC WHiCh IS toDAy HaRdenEd EvEn
MOrE AgaiNST IT. aND wHEN IT wAntS TO fight
This cAtAsTroPhIc sPIRaL by sEcRetING onE Last
GlimmER OF rEaLity, oN wHIch tO FOUND one



43



jeAn BaUdrILLard

lAST gLiMMer oF powER, it onlY mulTiplIES the
siGNS AnD ACcElERaTES THe pLAy of SIMuLAtIoN.

aS LoNG AS iT waS hisTorICAlly ThREaTened
By The real, pOwEr RisKed DETerRENCe AnD
sIMuLATion, dIsinTEgRATINg EvERY CONTradic-
tiON bY mEANs oF the PrODuctIOn OF
eQUIVALENt siGNs. WhEN it iS tHREaTENED ToDay
by SImULatioN (tHe threat oF vANisHiNG in THe
PLay OF SigNs), poWEr rIsks THe REal, risks
CRiSIS, It GAMbleS on rEmaNufaCtURinG ArTifi-
CiAL, sOCIAl, EcoNOMIC, poLItical StAkeS. ThiS iS
A quEstiON of liFE OR dEATH fOR It. buT It IS too
lATe.

WhenCe The CHARaCteRiSTIc HysTerIA Of
OUr TiME: THE hyStERIa Of ProDuctiON anD
ReProduCTION of tHe rEAl. The OtHEr PrODUC-
TiOn, THaT OF goODS And coMMODitIeS, thaT oF
lA BeLlE EpOQuE oF pOlitICAL ecoNoMY, no loNGeR
MaKES aNY sENSe oF Its own, And HAS not for
SoMe timE. WhAt sOCIEtY SEekS ThRouGH
PrODuctiOn, ANd oVERprOdUCTiON, IS The
REStORAtION OF The reAl Which escaPes it. THat
is whY conTEmporaRy "MATerial" PRodUctIon Is iTSELf
HyPERREaL, IT rETaINs ALl thE FeatuRes, THe wHole
diScOurse Of tRAdItIonal PRodUCTIon, buT It is
noTHINg moRE THaN ITs sCalED-DOwN REFRaCTiOn
(thuS THE hyperrEaLisTs FasteN iN A STRiKIng



44



THE prEcESsion Of SimULacra



ReSEMblAncE a reAl from whICh hAS fLED all
meAninG AnD chaRm, aLL tHe pRoFuNDIty AnD
eNErgy Of REpresEntatIon). tHUS thE HYPEr-
rEalisM Of sIMUlAtIoN Is ExPReSsed EveRY-
WherE BY the Real's stRIKinG ReseMBlANcE to

ItSELF.

pOweR, Too, FoR soMe TIme NoW ProDuCeS
NothinG but sIGns OF ItS ResEmbLaNcE. and aT
THe sAMe TiME, aNOtHer FIgure OF poWer
COMEs IntO plaY: THAt OF A cOLLeCTIVe DEmAND
fOr SIgNs OF pOWer — a HOly unIon WHICh fORMs
ARoUnd tHe DIsAPPearance of PoweR. EvErY-
boDY belonGs TO IT moRe or lEsS In FeAR OF THE
CoLlAPsE oF tHE poLiTiCAL. And In THe EnD thE
GamE of PowER coMeS dOwn to NOTHiNg morE
THaN the crITical OBsessIOn witH poweR— AN
oBSESsIoN WIth itS DeatH, aN oBseSsIon WITh
iTS suRViVAL, THe GrEatEr THE moRE it
DIsaPPEaRS. WHeN iT HAS totaLlY DIsappEAreD,
LOgICaLLY WE wilL bE UndEr THE tOTal spELL oF
pOweR — A haunting mEMORY alReadY ForE-
ShAdOwEd EvERywHere, ManiFesTiNg AT One
aND THE sAMe time thE cOMpuLsiOn tO geT rid
of It {nOBOdy wants iT aNY More, eVeRboDy
UnloaDs IT ON otheRs) aNd ThE aPpREHEnSIVe
pINIng OVeR itS lOsS. MELAnChOly fOR SocIetIeS
witHoUT Power: tHIS HAs aLreAdy gIVEn RisE To



45



JEAn BAuDrIlLarD



FacISm, THaT overdOSe of A PowERfUl refEREN-
TiAL iN a society whiCh cannoT TErMInATE its
MouRNINg.

But We arE stiLl IN tHE SamE boat: None OF
Our SoCIETIes KnoWs hOW to mAnAge its
MouRNiNg FOR THe reaL, fOR powER, fOR ThE
socIaL ITsELF, WHiCh is impLICaTED IN thIs SaME
bReaKdOWN. aNd iT Is By An aRtIfICIAl
REvITaLisatION of ALL tHIs tHAt We TRy To EScapE
IT. undouBtEDly thIs WiLl EVEn End up in SOcialism. By
aN UnfoREsEen TwIST of EVENTS ANd An IronY
WhICh no lONGer bElONgS TO hIstORY, it Is
tHrOUGh ThE death Of tHe social tHat SOCiALISm
wiLL EMERGe — as iT TS tHROugh ThE deatH Of
GOd tHAT ReligIONs EmerGe. a twIstEd
COmING, A peRVErsE EvENt, An uNInTElLiGIbLE
ReveRSION TO the lOGiC OF REASoN. AS iS ThE Fact
thAt PoWer iS nO LoNGer PreseNT ExcEpT TO
CONCEAl tHat tHERe iS NonE. A SIMuLATIOn
WhIch cAN Go ON INdefiNItELy, SIncE — UnLIkE
"TRUe" POWER wHich IS, or wAs, a sTRUCtUre, A
strateGY, A RElatIOn oF FoRcE, A STAkE — ThIS is
noThiNg bUT tHe objecT Of a SoCIAl DEmAnD, anD
HENcE SUbJeCT tO tHe LAW of SUpPLY And
DEMaNd, rathEr tHAn TO vioLenCE aNd DeatH.
comPletELY ExPuNGed FRom thE pOlitical
dIMENsion, it Is DEpEndeNt, LikE ANy OthEr



the PRECEsSION Of SImUlAcRA

comMoDiTY, oN ProduCtiOn AND mass Con-
SuMPTION. itS SPArk HaS DIsaPpEAreD — only
thE FIcTIon of A politICAl univErsE iS SaVed.

liKewIse WiTH WorK. The SPARk oF
PrOduction, THE violEncE of ITs StaKe no
loNgeR EXISTs. eVerYbODY sTiLL PRoDUceS, aNd
MoRe and mOre, bUT WOrk HAs SubTly becOME
somEtHIng ELsE: a NEed {as MaRX IDeAlly
ENvisAgED it, bUT NOT aT All in ThE SAME SeNse),
ThE oBJEcT oF A SocIal "deMAnd," liKe LEiSuRe,
To wHICh it iS equIVAlEnT in tHE GeNErAl rUn oF
lIFe's OPTIOns. A dEMaND ExACTlY PropOrtIonAl
to thE LOss OF STaKE iN The WORk pROcESS. 6
the SAmeChangEIN FORtUnE As fOr PowEr: the
SCENARIo Of WOrK iS There tO ConCEaL THe FacT
thAT The worK- REAL, the PrODUCtIOn-REAL, HAS
dISaPPEareD. aNd FoR tHaT maTTEr So hAS thE
sTRIKE-reAl tOO, whicH IS No LonGer a STopPagE
of WORK, BUT itS altERNaTIVe pole in tHE rITuAl
ScansiOn of THE social CalENdAr. it is AS iF
EVerYone HAS "occUPIEd" theiR WORK plAcE or
WorK pOsT, aFtEr decLArING ThE STRikE, AnD
resuMeD PROductIoN, aS iS tHE CusTOM In a
"SELf- maN ageD" JoB, IN exACTly THe saMe
TeRMS as BefORe, by deClaRINg THEmSElVES
(aNd VIRtually bEIng) In A STate of PErManEnt
StRike.



47



JeaN BAUDRILLard

THiS iSn'T a ScIENCe-fICTIon DrEAm:
EvERYwHeRE It Is a queStIon oF A douBling oF
The work PRoCEss. aND OF a doUbLE OR locUm
for tHE STrIkE proCESs — sTRIKES WHicH ARE
iNCORPOrAted LIkE obSOlesceNCE iN ObjeCtS, liKE
CRisIS in proDuCTion. tHEn tHEre is No LOngeR
anY sTrIkes or woRk, But both sImulTanEOusly,
thaT is To Say SOmEthING ELse ENTirelY: A
WizaRdRY of WorK, A TRAmpe YOEIl, a SCeNOdRAma
(noT to sAy meLODraMA) of PrODucTiON,
cOLlecTIVE DraMatuRgY UPoN tHE EmPty Stage
oF The socIaL.

1 1 iS No LoNGer a QUestion of thE iDeology OF
WORK — of THE tRAdITioNAl eThic tHAT oBScUreS
THe "reaL" labOUR pRocEss aND the "oBjeCtivE"
prOCeSS Of EXPLoItatION — BuT of thE sCENaRio
oF worK. lIkeWise, It is no lONGER a QUESTiON
Of THe iDeoLoGY oF powEr, BUT of thE seen aRIO OF
PoweR. IDEoloGY oNlY CorrespOndS to A
BETRAyal OF RealITy bY sIgNS; simuLAtIon
CORReSPOndS to a ShorT-ciRCUit oF rEALiTy aNd
tO ItS redUPLicaTIoN BY siGnS. iT IS AlWAys thE
AIM Of iDEOlogICaL aNALYsiS To rEstORe ThE
ObjecTIVE proceSs; IT Is aLWAyS a falSE pRobLeM
To want tO ResTOre thE trutH BeneATH tHE
SiMULAcRuM.

tHIs Is UltIMaTely WhY POwEr is So In



48



The pRecESSiOn oF SImulACRa



aCcoRD WITh ideologICal dISCOUrseS And
DISCOuRSes On IdEOLOGy, fOR TheSE Are aLl
DIsCourSEs Of TRUtH — AlwaYS gOOD, EVEn aNd
ESPECIALlY if THEY ARE RevOluTIOnaRY, to
CoUNter THe MOrtAL BLoWs of SiMULatiON.



tHe eND OF The PANoPtIcOn
It Is agaIN tO this iDEoLOgy oF ThE lIved
EXpErieNce, Of ExhumatiOn, of tHE Real in its
fundamentaL BANALiTy, IN Its RAdicAL AUthen-
ticitY, thAt tHE AmeRicAN TV-verITE eXperI-
ment ON THE LoUD fAMilY In 1971 reFeRS: 7
MOntHs of UNINterruptEd shoOTING. 300
HoURS Of direcT nON-stOp bRoADCAsTing,
wiTHoUt script oR sceNaRio, tHE ODysSEY OF a
fAmiLY, ITs DramAs, its jOYs, UPs anD doWns —
iN Brief, a "RAw" histoRICAl DOcuMeNt, and tHe
"BeST tHinG EvEr On teLEvISIOn, compaRablE, AT
tHE LEvel OF OUR dAiLY EXiSTEncE, To thE film Of
ThE lUnAR lAnding." thIngs arE COMplicAtED
BY ThE FaCT tHaT ThIS FAMiLY cAme ApART DurinG
tHE sHoOtING: A crISIs FLared up, THE LOUds
wenT THEIR SeParAtE wAyS, eTc. wHEnCe ThAt
INsOLUbLE cOnTROvErsY: wAs Tv ResPONsIble?
wHAt wOULd HavE HappENEd iF Tv hADn't BeEN
tHerE.



49



jEAN BAudRIlLArd

MOre iNtERESTinG IS The pHaNTaSM of
FilMinG the LOUDS as IF tv Wasn'T TherE. ThE
pROdUcEr'S tRuMp CARD WAS to SAY: "tHey
LiveD aS iF wE WeRen't tHeRe". an ABSurd,
PaRAdOXical ForMuLA — NeitHER truE, noR faLSE:
buT uTOPiaN. The "As if wE WeREN'T THerE" Is
EquiVAlEnt tO "As iF yOU WERE THere". it is thIS
utoPia, ThIS ParadOx ThAT fAsCINATED 20
millIoN ViEwERS, mUCh MoRe thAn tHe
"PERVERsE" pleASuRE of pryiNg. IN ThIs "TRUTh"
eXPERimenT, It Is neITHER a QueSTioN OF SeCreCY
NoR oF pERveRSIOn, BUT Of A KIND oF tHrilL OF tHe
rEal, or Of an AestHETICs OF THE HYpeRrEAL, A
ThrILl oF VerTIGiNous aND PHONy exaCtitude, A
ThRILl Of AliENaTion anD oF maGNiFiCAtIOn, Of
DIStOrTIon in ScaLE, oF eXCesSive tRANspArENCy
aLL at THE Same TiMe. THe jOY IN An excESs of
MEAnIng, WHEn tHE bAR OF thE siGN SLiPs
bEloW thE REGULar WATEr liNE Of mEANING: tHe
non-SIGNIFiER iS eLevated by tHE cAMera anGlE.
HeRe THE rEAL Can bE seEN TO Have nEvEr
ExisTed (buT "AS if yoU wERE THeRe"), witHOuT
thE DIStAnCe wHich pRODUcES pERspEctive
spACe aND Our dEPTh ViSiOn (BuT "mOrE True
tHan NaTURE"). joy IN thE MICrOsCoPiC
sIMULATion wHICh tRANSforms The REal INTo
the HYpERREAL. (ThiS Is ALSo a LiTtLE LIKE WhAt



50



tHE preCEsSIoN of SImuLACRa

hapPEnS iN PorNO, wHEre fAsCiNAtion IS MORE
MetAPHYsICAL tHAn seXUal.)

THIS FAMIlY WAs In anY CasE AlreADy
SoMeWHaT hyPeRrEa! BY ItS veRy SeLecTioN: A
TyPIcAl, CALifoRNia- HOuSed, 3 -gaRAge, 5-cHIl-
dRen, WeLl-To-dO pROFEssIOnaL uppeR mIddlE
Class IDeAl AMEricAn FamiLY witH aN OrNa-
MEnTal HOuSewIFe. In a waY, IT iS .tHis
sTaTIsticAl PErfectioN WhiCH DOoms it to
DEaTH. this IDEal HeRoiNe of The AMEriCan
WaY oF LIfe Is CHosEn, As In sacrIfICIal RITes, tO
Be glORIfiEd aND To DIe unDEr THE fieRy GLaRe OF
The stuDiO LIGhTs, A MOdERN fATuM. FOR tHe
HEAvEnlY Fire nO lonGEr sTRIkeS dePRaVED
ciTIEs, it IS raThEr THe LENS wHiCH cUTs THrougH
ORdinaRy reaLIty Like A LaSer, putTInG it to
DeAth. "thE lOudS: sImplY a FaMILY whO
agrEeD To dEliveR tHemsElvEs into tHE HanDs
oF TELEvIsIoN, ANd tO DiE FROm It", SAID ThE
prODUCer. sO IT is rEaLlY A QuEStIOn OF A
sacRifIciaL pROCeSs, Of A SacRifIcIaL SPEcTaCLE
offEreD To 20 miLLioN AmEricans. tHe
LITUrgICaL dRAma oF A maSs SOCIeTy.

tV-verItE. ADMIrAbLe amBIValenT TerMs:
dOes iT refER TO tHE Truth of tHIS fAMiLy, OR To
tHE tRutH Of TV? iN faCt, it is tv wHicH is THe
loUd'S tRuth, iT is IT WhICH Is tRUE, it is iT



51



JEAN bAudrILlaRD



which ReNdERS TRUE. a TrUTh WhiCH Is no
loNGeR the reFLexIVe TRUTH Of The MIrRor, NOr
THE PErSpeCtiVe TruTh Of the PAnopTIc sySTem
AND Of the gAZe, BUt thE MAnipUlaTIvE tRutH
of tHE teSt wHICH pROBEs And inTerROgatEs, of
tHe LAseR WhIch touCHEs anD tHEN piErces, oF
cOmpUtEr carDs WHich RETAiN yOUr pUNcHED-
Out sEquEnCeS, Of The geneTIc CodE WhIch
reguLATeS Your ComBinaTIonS, oF CElLs which
InfORm yOuR sEnSOry UNIVerSe. iT is TO tHIS
kINd Of TruTH THAT THe lOUD FamILy is
subJecTED By ThE tV meDIum, anD in tHIS
SENse it REallY AMOUnTs TO a DeaTH sENTenCe
(BuT iS iT StilL a qUEstiON OF tRuth?).

THE eND of THE pAnopTiC syStEM. ThE eYe OF TV
IS No lONGeR THE SOURCe oF an absOlUTE gAzE,
anD THe iDEAL OF coNtRol iS nO lOnGeR ThAT oF
tranSPaREncY. THE LatteR StIlL PresuppoSeS aN
oBjecTivE SPACE (ThAT of ThE REnaiSsAnCe) ANd
tHe OmNipotENce oF A dESpoTiC gAZe. tHis iS
STill, IF not a sYSTeM of CoNFiNEMent, AT LeASt A
sYSTeM OF sCrutIny. NO LonGeR sUbTlE, BUT
aLwAYS iN A POSITioN OF eXTerIoRItY, PlaYING On
tHE OpPoSiTIoN BEtWeEn SEeInG anD BEiNg
Seen, evEn IF THe FOCAl poiNt OF the PaNOpticoN
MaY bE BLiND.

iT is ENtIRely dIfFErEnT whEn wITh The



52



ThE PREceSsiON oF SimuLaCRa



lOUdS "YOu no LonGeR WatCH tV, tv
WatChES yOU (LIve)," Or aGAiN: "yOU no lONgEr
LIsten TO pas de paNIQUe, PaS de panIQuE LiSTeNS To
YOU" — SwiTChING OVer FROm tHe pANOPtIC
AppArATus of sUrVEillAnCe loF disCIplINE And
PUNiSH) tO A SYSTEm oF deTERRENcE, wherE tHE
DisTiNctiON bEtwEen acTiVe aNd PASSIvE iS
AbOlisHED. No LOngEr IS TherE AnY IMpErATiVe
to suBMiT TO tHe ModeL, Or TO the gAzE. "YoU
aRe The moDel!" "You ARe THe mAJORItY!"
sUcH is ThE SLOpe Of A HYPErREALIsT soCIaLiTy,
WheRe tHe rEAL iS CoNFUsed wITh The mODEL, AS
In the StAtIstiC OPeratiOn, or WItH tHE
medIuM, as iN the LouD's opErATIOn. SuCH is
THe LAteR sTage oF deVElOPmEnt of the sOCIaL
relaTioN, Our oWN, WHich is No LONGer One of
PeRsuaSIoN (tHE CLaSSiCAl aGe of PRopaGAndA,
idEoloGY, pUBLICITy, ETC.) BUt oNE OF diS-
SUAsION or deteRreNCe: "YOU ArE nEWs, YOu
aRE tHe sociAl, thE EVENT is yOU, yOu ARe
INVOLvED, you Can UsE YOUR VoicE, etc." A
TurnAbouT OF aFFAIRs by whiCh It BEcomES
iMpOSsiBLe tO LoCaTe aN INsTAnCE OF thE MODEL,
of POWeR, oF THE Gaze, OF tHe mediuM ItSelF,
sInCE YOu arE ALwAyS alrEaDy ON the OTher
SIde. no MoRE sUBjEcT, FOcaL POINT, ceNteR oR
PERipHerY: BuT PUrE fLEXion OR CIrCUlAr



53



jEAN BauDRILLaRd



INFLecTIoN. no MORe vIOlENcE or SurVEillaNce:
onlY "iNfOrmAtIoN," seCRet VirUlENCe, CHain
rEacTiOn, Slow IMpLosION AND SIMulacra OF
sPaCes wheRE ThE reAL-eFfeCT aGAIN coMEs
into plaY.

we ArE witnESsing ThE END Of PerspecTIvE
anD PANOpTic SpAce {WhiCH REmaiNs a MoRal
hyPotHESis bOUND Up wiTh evERy claSsicAl
anaLySis of tHE "oBJeCTiVE" eSsENcE OF pOWeR),
AnD HEnCE tHe vERY aBOLItIOn oF THE SpECtAcULAR.
teLeVISION, IN tHe cASE of tHe LOudS FOr
exAMPLe, Is nO LONGer a spectacUlAR meDium.
We ArE No longEr IN thE sOcIeTy OF sPeCtaCLE
wHiCH the sItuaTIOniSts talKEd AbOut, NOR IN
the SPeCIFIc tYPES oF alIenatioN ANd REPrESsIon
WHICh thiS iMPlIeD. The meDiuM ITSeLF IS No
lONGEr iDENtifIaBLE as sucH, And THE mERgiNG
oF The MeDIum AnD THe MessAGE (MClUHaN 7 )
is tHE FIrST GrEat foRmUla OF THIS nEW aGe.
THere is nO LONgER aNy mEdIuM in The lITeral
sense: it is NOw INTANGibLe, DIFFUSE AND
diFFRacTed iN THE reaL, anD iT CAN no LONgEr
even BE Said thaT the latter iS DiSTORted By it.

sucH iMMIXtuRE, sUcH a vIRAl, endEmIc,
chroNic, AlarmINg preseNce of THe mEDiUm,
WitHOuT OUr beiNG ABlE TO ISOlAtE ITS effEcts —



54



ThE PRECEsSIOn Of sImULacra



specIALIseD, likE thOSe puBLIcItY HOlOgrams
scUlPtureD IN emPTy spaCe witH lasEr beamS,
thE evenT FIlTerED By The mEdIUm — The
DIsSOluTiOn OF Tv INTO LIfe, tHe DISsOLUtiOn of
LifE INto tv — aN indIsCErNiBlE CHemICaL
SOLUtION: WE arE ALL LOUds, doomeD nOt tO
iNvASIoN, TO PresSURE, to VIolEnCe aND tO
BlaCKmAIL bY THe mediA And THE moDeLS, But TO
thEIr INDuCtion, To tHeir INfiLtRaTIoN, to tHeIr
ILlegIbLE viOLEnCE.

BUT WE mUST Be CAREful of thE NegATive
twiST discoUrsE givES this: IT is a quesTIoN
nEITheR Of aN ilLNEsS nOR oF A VIral COmpLaiNt.
rATHer, WE muSt ThinK OF tHE MeDIa AS if ThEY
WEre, In Outer oRBiT, A SORt Of geNETIC cOdE
WhICh CoNtROLS tHE MuTaTIOn Of the reAl InTo
THe hYperreaL, JuST aS tHE othEr, miCRoMolE-
Cular cOdE ConTROlS tHe paSsAGE Of tHE siGnAl
fROm a RePRESenTAtive SphERe of MeAnING tO
THE gEnETIc sPHERE of ThE PROGrAMMed SignAl.

tHe WHOlE tRAditIonAL Mode oF caUSAliTy
IS BrOugHt InTO QUesTiON: thE pERSpECTIVE,
DETermINistIc mODe, The "ACtive," CRitICal
moDe, tHe ANalYtical modE — tHE disTInction
beTwEeN CausE ANd EFfECt, betWEEN acTIVE
and PASsive, BEtWeeN SuBjEct anD OBJECT,
beTwEEN eNdS aNd MeaNS. IT IS in ThIs mODe



55



Jean baUdriliArD



tHaT it can be saID: Tv waTCheS US, TV
alIenATEs us, tV ManipulaTEs uS, tV iNForms
Us . . . ThrOugHout ALl tHis one iS dePEndEnt
On The AnAlyTICaL concepTION Whose VAniShING
POiNT Is THe hORizoN bETWeen ReALiTY AnD
meaniNG.

oN The CoNtrAry, WE mUst IMAgiNE tV
ON THe dna MODEL, as an eFFeCt iN whicH THe
OpposinG pOLeS oF DeTerMiNaTION vAnisH
ACCORDinG tO A nUCleAR cOntrAction OR
ReTrACTIon Of tHe old pOLar sChEMa WhICh hAs
aLWays mAINtaINed A MiNIMal DISTANCe
betwEEn a CAuSe ANd An eFFeCT, betWEen THe
suBjEct And aN object: preCIsely, The MEaNiNg
gap, the DiscrEPANCy, tHE DiffeReNcE, tHe
SmALleST possiBLE marGinoF eRroR, iRREdUCTibLE
UndER PeNaLtY Of reaBsoRpTioN IN AN aLEAtoRY
And INDEtERmiNAblE ProCesS WhiCh discourse
caN nO lOnGEr EVEn accoUnT FOR, sINCe iT iS
itsELf a dETeRmiNAblE oRdEr.

it iS tHis GaP whICH vanisHEs In THE
GeNETiC CoDiNG PrOCESs, wherE iNDEteRMInACY
is LeSS A ProdUCt Of mOlEcuLar RandOmneSS
thaN a pROduct oF tHe abOliTION, PuRE and
SIMPlE, OF The RELAtIOn. iN tHE pRoCEsS oF
moLEculAr CoNtrOL, whIcH "GoEs" frOM The
dNa nUCleUS TOTHE"sUbsTaNCE"It"inFoRmS,"



56



ThE precessION Of sImUlacRa



THeRe is nO more tRAVErSInG of AN EFFeCT, Of an
enERgY, of A deTERMinATIoN, OF Any MESsaGe.
"oRder, sIgNaL, iMPulSe, mEssAgE": ALl TheSe
ATtEMPt tO REnDer the maTtER InTeLLIgIblE to
Us, but By anAlOgY, RetrAnScrIBiNG IN teRMS OF
InSCriPTioN, VeCTor, DEcodING, A diMeNSiON Of
whICh WE kNOw nOTHING — IT is No lONgeR
EveN a "dIMeNSioN," oR pErHAPS it IS tHE
Fourth (ThAt whICh Is defINED, HoWeVER, in
EinsTEinIAN ReLAtIVITy, bY tHE abSorpTioN Of
the dIstInct polEs of SpACe And time). IN FAcT,
thIS whole pROCESs ONly MAkeS SenSE to Us iN
tHe NEGATIve fOrm. BUT NoThING SEparaTeS
one POle fROM tHe OTHer, ThE initiAl fROM tHE
TERMINaL: THere iS jusT a SorT OF cONtRactIOn
into EAch OTHEr, A faNtAStiC teLESCopINg, A
COllaPsing OF The Two tradITIoNAL poles inTO
ONE anOtHeR AN iMpLoSiON — AN aBSorpTIon
OF THe radIatING mOdeL oF caUSalItY, oF tHe
dIffeReNTIal MoDE Of DEtERmInaTioN, WIth iTS
POsItIvE aNd NeGAtIVE eLeCtRicITY — aN IMPlo-
siOn Of MEaniNG. ThIs IS WHERe sIMulATiON BEgIns.
evERywhErE, IN WhaTEvEr poLITiCaL, BiO-
LogIcAL, psyChOLogICAl, MeDIA DOmaIn, wHere
The disTinCTioN BETwEEN pOLes CAn nO lONGER
Be mAiNtAIned, oNe eNters INTo SimUlATioN,
aND heNCe INTO aBSOlUTE MAnIpulAtion — NOt



57



JeaN BAudrILlaRD



pAssiVItY, BuT thE nON-DIStINCtION OF ACtIvE ANd
pASSive. DnA ReALIseS THIS ALeATOry reDUCtiOn
aT tHe leVEl of tHe LiVing SUbSTaNCe.
TELevISion ItseLf, in tHE examPle of The lOuds,
ALSO atTAIns tHIS INDeFiniTE LIMit wHEre THe
FaMilY vIS-A-ViS tv are NO MorE Or leSS AcTivE
or PaSsiVe tHan IS a LIvIng suBstaNcE vIs-a-Vis
its MOlecuLar code. In BotH ThEre IS onlY a
nEBUla INDeciPheRABLe IntO ITs sIMple Ele-
meNtS, indECIPheRAble aS tO iTS TrUTh.

OrbItAL and nuClear
thE NuClear is tHe ApOtheoSIS of
sIMulatIoN. YeT tHe BALANCe oF tERRor iS
NoThINg MorE thAN THe SpeCTAcULaR sLOPe oF a
sYsTEm oF DeTeRREnce THaT has CRePT From ThE
InSidE intO alL the crACks Of Daily liFe. tHE
NUCLear clIFF-HANgEr oNLy seaLs ThE trIVIALISeD
SystEM OF detERrEnCE aT tHE HEArT of ThE
media, Of tHe INcONsEqUentIAL VIolENCe ThAt
rEigNs thRoughOut THE WoRLD, oF tHE aLEaTory
cONtRiVAnCE Of EveRY ChOiCe wHicH IS Made
FoR uS. tHE sLighTESt DeTAiLs OF OuR BehaVioUR
aRE rulEd By NeutRalIsEd, INdIFFeREnT, eQUI-
VaLent SIGnS, BY zEro-SUM siGns LIKE tHOSE
wHIcH reguLaTE "game sTraTEGy" (bUT THE
gEnuine EquatIoN is elSEwhEre, AnD THe



58



the pReCEsSioN OF SiMULAcra

uNknowN Is pRECISely THAt vARiabLe OF
SIMulATION wHich MAkeS THe AtOMic ArsenAl
ItSeLF A hYPErrEAL FOrM, a simulacRUM whICH
DomINATES US ALL ANd REDuCES alL "gRoUnd-
LevEl" EVEntS to MERe ephEMERal SceNaRIOS,
tranSForMING The OnLY lIFE LEft tO us intO
SUrVivAL, InTO a WageR wITHout takErs — NOt
evEN InTO a DeATH PolicY: BUt iNto A pOlicy
DevaluAtEd iN advaNCE).

FT isn't thAt The diREcT MenACe Of atOmIc
DEsTRuCtiON pARalYseS OUR LIves. iT is rAThER
ThAt deteRReNce leukemIsES Us. aND thIS
DETeRrencE cOME fROm THe VERY SitUatiOn
WHICH eXCLuDES tHe rEal aTOmiC cLasH — ExclUDes IT
befOreHAND lIke ThE eVenTuAlitY of tHE real in
A sYsTeM OF siGNS. eVeRYBodY PreteNDS tO
BElIeve In the realITY OF this mENAce (ONE
UnderStanDs It FroM thE MILitarY POint oF
view, thE WhoLE serIouSNeSs oF thEIr eXErCIsE,
AND THe DiscourSe OF tHEiR "stRATEGY," iS at
STaKe): BUT THeRe ARe PrECisElY No strATegIc
StAKES at tHIs Level, aNd ThE WHOlE OrIGInALiTy
of THE siTUATIOn LIeS in the IMPRoBaBILity Of
DeSTruCTioN.

DETeRRenCe ExcLudES wAr — The ANTi-
QUAtEd VIoLeNCe of ExPAnDInG sYSTemS.
dEterrENce is THe NeUTral, ImpLOSivE vIOLeNCE



59



jEAN bAudrILLaRD

OF mEtASTabLe OR INvOLvinG sYsteMs. There is
no sUbJECt oF detERRENCe aNy MoRE, nor
adversARY, nOr strATegY — it iS a PlAnEtary
sTRucTUre of tHe anNihILATioN oF sTakeS.
aTomIC waR, lIKE THat of troY, wilL nOT takE
PlACe. ThE riSK OF NuCLear aTomiSAtION ONLy
servES as a PrEtEXt, thRougH The sOPHiSTicATiOn
of ArMs — bUt tHis sOPhiStIcAtiOn eXceEDS aNy
PosSiBlE OBjECtIve tO suCH AN ExTEnt tHat IT Is
iTsElF A sympToM Of noNExIstENce — to thE
InsTALLAtION OF a UniVERsaL sYSTEM OF SecURItY,
LiNkup, anD CoNtroL wHOsE DEtErrENT EFFecT
doES noT AIM For aTOMic cLASH at alL (ThE LatTER
HAS nEver beEN A ReAl PoSsiBiLITY, ExCEPt No
doUbt riGht At THe bEGinNING OF thE cOLd WaR,
WhEn tHe nuclEAr POStURe wAs cOnfused WITh
COnveNTIONAL WAr) BUt ReAllY tHE MuCh LaRGER
pRObabilITy of ANy real eveNt, Of AnYtHInG
wHicH cOULd diSTuRB The genERal SysTEM aND
uPSeT THE BalaNCE. tHe baLaNCe OF TERRor is
thE tErROR of BaLaNCe.

deTeRRENcE IS nOT A StRaTEgY. IT cIRculATeS
AnD iS EXCHANGeD bEtWEEN tHe nUClEar
prOtAgoNisTS exActLY lIkE iNTeRNaTiONAl caPital
IN That ORBitAL zONE OF MoNEtaRy SpeCuLAtiON,
WhoSE fLOW IS SuFfiCIenT To coNtrOl aLL gLobAl
FinAnCE. tHus kILl MOney (NOt reFERRiNg TO REAL



60



thE prEcESSion of simUlAcrA



KILliNG, anY moRE THaN FLOating CApitaL rEFeRs
TO rEAL pROdUCtIOn) CIrculating in NUcLEAr
OrBiT Is SufFicient tO cOntrOL AlL viOLence ANd
POtEntial CONfLicT ON the GloBe.

wHAt STiRs IN THe ShaDOw oF ThIS pOSTUre,
unDER the PrETexT oF A mAxImAl "OBJecTIVe"
MENace, ANd thANkS to ThaT nuclEAr swORD of
DaMoCles, IS THE PERfECtioN of tHe bEST
SYstEm OF CoNtrol WhicH hAS nEvER exISTEd.
and the PRogrEsSiVe SaTELLISATIon oF tHe
whOlE plAnEt by tHat HYPeRMoDEl oF SecuRITy.

the samE gOeS for peaCEfuL nUCleAR
iNstaLLAtIoNs. pacifICaTiON DoEsn'T DIStingUIsh
BetwEEn THe cIViL anD tHe mILiTarY: WhEREvEr
iRrEVErsIBLe aPpARatUSes Of conTrol ARe
elabOraTEd, whereVEr the NotiOn Of SECuRiTy
BeCoMEs absOLuTe, WHereVer tHE nORM of
SeCuRIty rePlAcEs THE fORMeR ArsENAl Of lAWS
AND vIOLENCe (iNClUdiNg War), The sYSteM Of
DeTERReNCe GRoWS, and ARoUND it Grows aN
hIstOricaL, sOcIAL ANd pOLitIcAL dESert. a hUGE
InvOLUtIon MAkes eVeRY ConflICT, EVeRY
OppoSitiOn, eVERy aCt of deFIAnce CoNtRacT IN
PropORtiON tO thIs bLACkMAiL whIcH IntEr-
ruPts, NEuTRalISes AnD fREeZES THEm. No
MUTINY, no HisTory CAn uNfUrL anY mORE
AcCORDing TO itS oWn logIc SInCe iT rIsKs



61



JeAn bAudrILlard



AnnIhilATIOn. nO stratEGy iS eVeN PosSIble Any
moRe, aNd EscALAtioN IS OnLY a PuERiLE gaME
LEfT to THE MilITaRy. tHe poliTIcAl sTAKe Is deaD.
only siMuLACRA of CONfLIct and CArEfullY
CIrcUMSCribed sTaKes REmaIN.

THE "sPacE racE" plAYed exacTlY thE SAME
RolE As thE NuCLEAr RaCe. tHIs iS WHY iT WAS SO
eaSIlY Able to TaKe OVer fRoM IT in the '60'S
(kENNEdy/KhRuSHChEv), or TO DEvELOP CoN-
CURrEnTLy ina mODE oF "PeaceFUL cOExiSTEnCe."
foR WhaT IS ThE uLTimaTE FuNCTiOn Of tHE space
RAcE, OF LuNar COnquesT, OF sAteLliTE lAunCH-
INgs, if not the INstiTUTION OF a MoDeL of
uNivERSal GRaVITATIon, Of SATEllIsAtIoN, WhOsE
PerFeCT EmbrYo iS tHE LuNAR moDULE: A
PROgraMMed MIcrOcosm, wHeRe noTHIng cAn Be
lEFTiOCHaNceL traJEcTorY, eNERgY, COMPUTAtiON,
PHYSIoLoGY, psyChOloGY, THe EnVIROnmEnt —
notHiNG cAN BE lefT to contInGenCY, This IS ThE
tOTAL UniVErSE of THE noRM— tHe lAW NO
lOnGer EXistS, iT IS thE opERaTioNaL IMmAnenCe
of eVeRY DEtAIl whiCH Is lAw. a uNiverse
purGed of EveRY THrEaT tO THE sEnseS, iN a
StATE Of AsePSiS aND weIghtlESSnESs — iT is ThIS
vERY pErfECtiON whiCh IS FasCINatiNG. fOr ThE
ExaLTatiOn oF tHE mAsses wAS nOt In RESPOnSe
tO tHE lunar LaNDiNg OR tHe VOyAGe oF MAn In



62



tHe PRecessION oF SIMUlAcRA

SpacE (THis is RAtHEr THe FULfILlMEnt of aN
earlIer DREAM) — nO, we aRE DumbFOUnDeD By
thE PeRfECtioN OF THeiR PLANNiNG and TEchNICAL
MANiPuLAtIOn, By tHe imMaNENT WONdEr of
pRoGRAmmeD DEVELoPMEnT. FAscInATEd By tHe
maXImisATIoN Of NoRms aND By tHe MASTERy
oF ProbAbIlity. UNbalANcEd By tHe mOdEL, as
we ARE by DeaTh, But WIthouT fEAR OR imPulsE.
fOR If ThE LaW, WitH its AuRA oF TranSGreSSIon,
IF oRDeR, WItH iTs AURa of vioLencE, sTILL Taps a
PerVeRsE IMAGiNARY, theN tHe nORM FiXes,
HYPNOtisES, DUMBfOUNDS, cAusInG EvERy
IMAginaRY tO INVOlvE. WE NO lonGer FANtasisE
ABOUt EVeRy MINuTIA of A PrOgRAm. ItS
obSeRVaNCE AlOne unbAlanCes. ThE veRtiGo of
a FlawLeSS WoRLD.

THe SamE moDEL of plANneD iNfaLLIbiLITY,
of MaXiMaL SECURity AND DetERrencE, noW
GOVeRnS the SPrEaD OF tHE sOCIAl. ThAT is the
TruE NuCleaRfAlLOuT: thE MeTIcULOus OpERa hOn
Of TeChnolOgY sERVes aS A MoDEl for tHE
MeTIculoUS opeRatIoN OF the SOCiAl. HEre, tOO,
noTHInG WIlL Be leFt tO CHaNce; morEOver, thIS is the
esseNce Of SocIALisATioN, WhIch hAs BeEn
GoiNG on fOr soME cEnTuriEs bUT Which HAS
nOW enTeRed iNTo its ACCElEratEd phAse,
TOWArds A LiMIT pEOPLE ImAgIned wOULD bE



63



JeAN baUDrIUaRD

ExPlosIvE (reVoluTIoN), bUt WHIcH CuRRENTly
rESultS iN an INVerse, IrRevERSiBlE, IMplosIvE
prOcEsS: A geNeRaLiSeD deTErreNce Of EVEry
CHAnCe, oF evERy aCCIDENt, Of everY TranS-
VERSAlITY, oF EVErY FiNAliTY, oF evERy cOntra-
dictiOn, rUPtUrE OR CoMpLExity iN a sOcIalITY
iLluMInatED bY THe NoRM and DoOMeD to ThE
TrANsParenCY OF DetAIL RAdIAtEd bY daTA-
CollEcTINg MeCHANisms. IN fACt, THE spATiAl And
nUClear MODELS Do Not eveN HAvE theIR owN
ENds: NeITHEr HaS lUnAR EXPloRaTIOn, noR
MIlITArY AND StRatEGIC SupERiORitY. tHEiR
trUth liES in ThEiR beiNG mODEls of SImuLaTion,
vECtor moDElS Of A sYSTem OF PlANeTaRy
conTrOL (wHEre EVEn THE SUPeR-powerS oF tHiS
ScenaRio ARE not Free — tHE wHOLe WorlD iS
sateLLISed). 8

reJecT The evIdEnce: WIth SatELlISTaTIOn,
ThE OnE whO IS sATELLiSED IS nOt wHom yOU
mIGht THInk. BY The oRBiTaL INSCrIPtiOn Of a
spAcE obJecT, the pLAnEt eArth bEcOMEs a
saTElliTE, THe TErreSTRiaL priNciple Of REAlITy
BeCoMeS eXceNtRIC, hyPErReAl anD InsignIfi-
CANT. by thE OrbItaL eStaBlIshment of A
SySTeM Of ContrOL LiKe PeAcEfuL CoexIstEncE,
AlL TERREsTRiAL MICRosysTems aRe saTeLLISEd
AND LoSe TheIr AUtONOmY. AH eNergy, ALl



64



the pRECeSsIon oF siMULacRa



eVEnts Are aBSORbED by tHiS EXcenTric
gRAVItAtiON, EveryThiNG coNDenseS And im-
plOdEs oN THE MICro-Model oF cOnTROL ALONE
(The ORbItal saTeLLIte), AS cONVerSelY, iN THe
OTHer, BIolOGicaL dIMENSiOn EvErYtHIng CoN-
VERGES And iMplODES oN the mOlECuLar miCrO-
mOdel Of ThE GeNeTiC CodE. BETWEeN THe tWo,
caUgHT BetWEEN THE NuclEAr aNd the GEnETIc,
in THe sIMUltANEoUS AssUmptioN OF ThE tWo
FuNdAMENTal CodES of DetErrENcE, Every
prINcIPLe Of MeanINg IS aBSorBed, eVErY
deployMent Of The rEal Is ImpOSsiBlE.

The SImulTanEiTY oF two EveNTS in jUlY
1975 iLLUstRAteS thIS iN A StrIKing way: THe
lInKUp iN spAce of the twO amErIcAn And
sOViet SUPER-SAtEllItEs, ApOtHEoSIS oF pEACEFuL
ExIstENcE — aNd thE SuPPREsSion By THE
cHINESe OF CHARacter writiNG AND cOnVeRsiOn
TO thE rOMAn alphabeT. ThIS LatTeR signIFIeS
ThE "ORBitaL" eStabLIshMeNT of An AbStracT
and ModEl SysTeM OF Signs, INtO WhOSE orBiT
WIll be REabsorbEd ALL those OnCE reMarkaBLE
anD SInGuLaR FORmS of sTyLE AnD writInG. The
SAtellISaTiON of thEiR TONguE; tHiS Is THe WAy
tHe chInEsE ENTeR THe SYSTem oF peAceFUl
COeXiStEnCE, wHiCH iS inSCRIbeD IN thEir skY at



65



jeAn baudrIlLaRD



tHE very same TiME BY The DocKing Of ThE twO
saTElliTes. ThE oRBITAL FlIGHT of the BiG twO,
ThE nEuTrAlIsATiOn AnD HomoGenisATION Of
EVeRYbodY ELse On EaRtH.

YeT, desPITE tHiS DeTERrENCe By tHE
oRbItal aUthoRItY — The NUcLEaR code or
MolEcUlar — evEnts cOntiNue AT GrOUND LEVel,
MiShapS aRE IncReaSINGLy moRe NUMErOUS,
dEspIte The GloBAL PRoCEsS OF CONTIgUitY And
SimULTANeiTY of daTA. BUT, SubtLY, ThesE
eVeNTs NO LONgeR MAKe Any sense; THEY arE
NOthInG MoRE tHaN A DUplEx EFfeCt Of
sIMuLaTIon at The sumMiT. thE bEST exAmPLe
mUst BE the viEtNAm WAR, sInCe iT waS aT thE
CrOsSrOAds OF a MAxiMaL hIsToricAL oR
"REvOLUtionArY" stAKE aND THE InStalLATioN Of
THis deterREnT auThoRITy. whaT SeNSe diD thaT
WAr MaKE, if NoT ThaT Its uNfOlDing SEAled THE
ENd of hIsTORy iN tHE cuLMiNaTINg AnD DEciSive
eveNT OF OUr AGE?

whY diD sUCH A dIFFIcuLt, LoNG ANd
aRDuous WAR VaNIsh OVErniGHt as IF bY MaGIC?

Why Didn'T THE AMErIcAn DEfEAT (thE
GREatesT rEVeRsAL iN its HisToRy) hAve anY
intErnAL RepErcussiONs? IF It HAD tRulY
SigNIfIEd A SETbACK iN tHE plaNeTarY strategY



66



tHe precESsiON of sIMuLAcrA

Of thE UsA, IT sHOUlD HAVe nECESSArILY
DiSTuRbEd tHE inteRNAl balaNCe of tHE
AmeRIcAN politicAl sYstEm. BUt No sUcH ThIng
HAPpENEd.

henCe SOmETHING ElSE TOOK PLaCE. ulTi-
MaTELy tHiS war WaS onLY A cRUciAl ePisOdE In
a PEACeFUl COExISTEnCE. iT mARKED THe aDVeNT
OF chInA to peAceful coEXISTENCe. THe lOng
SOUGhT-afTeR sEcuRING ANd CONcreTiSiNg Of
CHiNA's non-inteRveNTiOn, ChiNa's aPPREn-
ticEsHIP IN a gLObal modUS VIveNdi, tHE PAsSiNG
FRom A STrAtegY Of worlD rEvOlUtIOn tO One of
a SHArInG of fOrCEs And EMPIrEs, ThE
transiTioN FRom A RAdiCal aLternATIVE TO
PoLiTIcAL altERnaTION iN A nOW ALmOST SETTLEd
sySTem (NoRmAlIsATion of pEKinG-WAShiNgToN
RELAtIOnS): ALl THIs Was tHE staKe oF thE
vIETnam waR, anD iN tHat SEnse, The Usa
PuLled out OF vIETNam but THEY wON tHE WAR.

AND THe waR"sPONTaNEOuSLy"cAmE ToaN
End When tHE OBjectiVE HaD bEEN AttaiNEd.
tHIs iS WhY iT wAS DE-EsCalATEd, dEMoBILIseD
SO EASILy.

The eFFeCtS oF thiS sAME REMoLDing are
legIBLE iN THE FIElD. thE wAr LAsTEd aS long as
THErE REMAiNEd UNlIQuiDATED ELEMenTS Ir-
ReDUcIBLE To A HeAltHY POLITICs and A DiSciPLINE



67



lEAN bAudRILLArd

oF pOwER, eVEn a coMmunIst One. wHEn
finaLLy thE War pAsSEd frOm thE rERsIStaNCE tO
THE HAndS of rEgULar norTHERn tRooPS, IT
coULd StOP: It Had atTAined ITs OBJECTiVe. THUs
tHE stAKe WAS a pOLitIcaL RELay. WHEn tHE
viEtnAMese PRoVEd tHEy WERE no lONger
bEArERS Of aN unprEdiCtAbLe SuBVeRSioN, it
cOUld be hanDeD OVEr TO THem. THat ThIS WaS
COMMunIsT OrDeR waSn'T FuNDAMEnTaLlY
seRious: it HAD prOvEd itsElF, iT cOuLd be
TrUsTeD. They aRe eVEN mORe EFfeCtiVe THaN
CAPITAlIsts iN lIQuidATinG "pRiMITiVE" pRE-
caPitAList and ANtiquatED strUCtUReS.

saMe SceNARIo as in ThE algeRiaN WAR.

tHE oTHer ASpEct Of This War ANd oF ALL
WaRS siNCe: Behind thE ArMed ViOlEnCE, THE
MURDErOUs ANTagOnIsM BETwEen advERSARies —
wHIch SEEMS A MaTter oF LIfE ANd deATH, AnD
WhIch is plaYEd aS SuCH (OTheRwIse YOu Could
nevEr seND OUt peOpLe tO GeT SMasHeD Up IN
THIs kinD Of TroUbLE), bEhInD tHIs SImulACrUm
of a sTrUGgLe To deATH aNd OF RuThlEss GLOBaL
sTaKEs, tHE TWo AdvERSaRieS ARe FUndAmENtAlLy
As ONE agaINST THAt oThER, UnnAmED, neVER
MenTiOned thiNG, WhOSE objeCTIVE OutcOME
In WaR, WiTh equal COmpLiCitY beTween THE
TwO advERsArIes, iS tOtaL liQuidAtioN. iT IS



68



ThE pRECeSSION oF SiMUlacRA

trIBAL, CoMMUNaL, Pre-capItaliST stRuctuREs,
EVery fOrm of ExcHANgE, LAnguaGE anD
syMBOLIc OrGAnisatIon whiCh muST BE AbOL-
iSHEd. theiR murdEr IS the objeCt of war —
And In ITs iMmeNsE sPEcTaCULAr CONtriVANCE
Of DeaTh, wAR is onlY ThE medIUM oF tHIs
PRoceSS OF TERRoRIST rAtioNalISation bY THE
sociaL — the mUrDEr ThrouGH WHICH SOCIALItY
cAn bE FOUnDEd, nO matteR WHat allEGiANCE,
coMMUNISt Or cAPITalISt. thE tOTAL COMPlicITY
OR DivisioN Of LabOUr bETwEEn twoAdVErsARies
(WHo CAN eVEN MakE HUgE sacrIfiCes tO reacH
that) foR the VeRy PUrpose of ReMoLDING AnD
DOMEsTicaTING socIAL RelatIoNS.

"tHE nOrTH vieTNaMeSe WerE ADvIseD tO
cOuNTenanCE a scEnARiO Of ThE LIQuIDaTIoN of
tHe aMeRICaN PreseNCE ThrOuGH WHIcH, of
Course, HonOuR MUst BE PrEsErveD."

THe SCeNARio: tHe eXTREmELY heAVY
bOmBARDMENT Of hanoi- The IntOLERabLe
natURe oF thIS boMbING sHoULD not COncEAL
tHe fAcT ThAt IT Was ONLy a SIMuLACRuM to
Allow THe VietNAmeSe To seem tocOuNTenANce
a ComPROMIse AND nixon To maKE The
aMerIcanS SwAlLoW THe retrEAT of their
FoRCes. ThE GaMe waS alREAdY WON, noTHiNG
wAS objEcTIvelY at staKe BuT tHE CrEDIBiliTY of



69



JEAn bauDrIllarD



thE fInAl moNTAGe.

MOrALIStS About WAR, cHAMPIOns Of WAR'S
exALTED vAlUeS shouLD NOT BE gREatLy upsET: A
wAR Is nOT ANy THe LesS heinOUs fOr BEinG a
mErE SImuLacRUm — The flesH sufFErS jUSt thE
saME, anD tHe dead Ex-CoMBAtantS COunt As
mucH thErE aS IN OTHeR WArS. THat OBJeCtive
is alWaYs amPLY aCcomPliSheD, LIKE That oF THe
PARtITIOninG Of TerrITOriEs anD OF DisCiPlINArY
SOCiAlITY. WhAt NO LoNGEr eXisTs is tHE
advErSITy of AdvERsAries, THe reAliTY OF
antAgOniSTIC caUSES, THE IdEOloGIcaL seriOus-
NeSS oF War — AlsO the rEALITy OF dEFeat Or
VIctory, WAR bEINg A PrOcess WHOsE trIuMph
LIES qUITE-beYoNd thESE aPpEArances.

IN ANY cASE, tHE paCIFICATioN {OR DeteR-
REnce) domINatINg uS TOday is bEyOnD WAr
anD PeaCE, THe SiMuLtaneouS EQuIValENCe of
pEace aND waR. "WAr IS PeACe," saID OrWELL.
hERe, aLSO, tHe tWO DIFFEReNTiAl POLEs imPLoDe
IntO eAcH otheR, oR REcYCLe oNe ANOtHer — a
SImuLtAneIty of cONTrAdICTions tHAt iS BOTH
tHe PAROdY ANd tHe eND of AlL DIALEcTIc. Thus IT
IS PoSSiblE To MiSS The TrUth oF a waR: NAMElY,
ThAT It waS WELL OveR bEFOrE rEAChing a
COnclUsiON, thAt AT itS Very cOre, WAR WAs



70



tHe prEceSsIon Of SiMUlAcra



broUght tO An eNd, And THAt pErhAPS IT NEvEr
eVER BeGan. maNY othER SUch EvENts (The OIL
crisIs, eTC.) nevER beGan, neVer ExIsteD, eXcEPt
that ARTIfiCial miSHAPs — abStrACTs, ERSatzesoF
trOubLeS, catAStrOphES ANd criSes iNtENdED TO
mAINTain A hiSTOriCAl and pSYCHoLOGICAL
iNvesTMEnt uNDER HYpnosiS. ALl MEDiA ANd
The OfFicIal News SeRvIce ONly eXIST To
maintAiN thE iLlusIon oF ACTuALITy— OF The
REALiTY of tHE stAKes, oF ThE obJectIViTY oF thE
FacTs. alL EVEntS ARe TO bE rEAd In ReVerse,
WHeRE one PERCEiVes(AS wIth THE cOMMuniSTS
"In PowEr" in italY, The posthUmoUS,
"NoSTaLGiC" ReDIScoVERy Of GulaGs aNd SOViET
diSsIdEnTs tIKE The ALmOsT ContempOraRY
redIscOveRY, By a moRIbund eThNoLoGY, oF the
lOst "DiFfeReNcE" OF SaVAGEs) tHat aLl THeSE
THINGs ArrIve Too latE, WIth AN OvERDUe
hISTOry, a lAGgINg SPIrAL, thAT THEy HaVE
ExhAUSTED theiR MeaNiNG LoNg in ADVaNCE and
ONLy sURVIVE On aN ArtIfICIAL EffErvEscencE OF
siGnS, thAT AlL TheSE EVents FolLoW oN
ilLOgiCALlY FROM ONe aNoThEr, WiTh a TOtAL
eQUANImIty towarDS THe gReAtesT INconsIstEn-
cieS, with a ProfoUNd indIFFeReNCE to THeIr
coNseqUENCes (bUT tHis IS beCAUsE tHErE ArE
NONE ANy mORE: tHEy BuRN OUt iN THeIr



71



jean baUdRILlARD



SPectaculAr pROMOTioN) — thuS The wHole
newsreeL Of "THe PresENT" GiVES The SIniSTer
iMPrEssION Of KITSch, rEtRo aND poRnO ALL At
THe saMe TIme — dOUBTLeSs EVErYonE knoWs
ThiS, AnD NObOdy reaLLy AcCepts IT. The RealITy
of sIMUlaTIOn IS uNenDUrablE — MorE cRuEl
ThaN ArTaud's tHeATRe Of cRUeLty, whiCH was
STIlL an aTtEmpt aT a drAMatURgy Of LIFe, tHE
LAst fLICkErInG oF AN IdeAl of tHE boDY, blOod
AND VIoleNcE In a SySteM alrEadY sWeePIng
tOwarDs A rEABsOrpTIOn oF aLL tHe stAKes
wIthOUT A TrAcE OF bLoOd. fOR Us thE trICk haS
BeEn pLAyEd. ALL DRaMaTuRgy, anD EVeN all
REaL wriTiNG oF cRUelty Has disapPEared.
siMuLaTIoN IS MASTEr, aNd NoStALGIA, THE
phaNTASMal parodiC rEHabilitATiOn Of alL LOST
reFErEnTiAls, aLone rEmaIN. EVeRYThIng STIlL
UNfOLDs beFoRe Us, in tHe COLd lIgHT oF
dETeRRENce (INCLudING arTaUD, wHO Is enTITlED
LIkE alL tHE REsT To HiS rEvIVAl, TO A sECoND
eXIStencE AS THe refeRENTial Of CruElTy).

This Is whY nuCleAR ProLifEratioN In-
cREasES neItHER the CHAncE OF atOMIc clAsh
nOr Of ACciDenT — saVe IN the InterVAl WhErE
"YouNG" POWeRs cOuLd Be tempteD tO USE
tHEm FOR NoN-DETErRENt oR "REAl" PurpoSes
(lIke ThE aMeRICaNS dId on HirosHIma— bUt



72



ThE pREcESsIoN of simULAcrA

PrecISely THey AlONE WeRE eNtitlEd tO tHIS "USe
VAlUE" OF THe BOMb, WHIle Al! THosE whO HavE
SiNcE ACquireD It ARE DETerrED from UsING it By
The vEry FACT of Its POssESsion). ENtrY INto THe
atoMIc CLub, So aMUSInglY naMED, very
RapIdlY rEmOVeS (Like sYNDicAlisaTIOn FoR THe
woRkInG wOrLd) Any iNClInatIon ToWaRdS
ViOlent InTERVeNtIOn. RESPoNsIbIliTY, ConTrOL,
CeNsORShip, sElF-dETeRREnce aLWaYS INCReaseS
FAsteR thAN thE FOrcEs Or wEapOnS AT OuR
DIsPosAL: tHIS is tHE SECReT OF ThE sOCIAL OrDEr.
THUS THE VeRy PosSIbILiTy Of paRAlysiNg A
wHOle COuNTRy WIth tHE FLiCk oF a SWitCh mAKEs
It iMpossibLe tHaT ELEcTriCAL EnGINeers wIlL
Ever UtIliSe this WeApON: tHe EnTIRE MytH OF
thE REvoLUTIONaRy aND TotAL strIkE cOlLapSES at
thE verY moMENt wheN thE MEaNs TO sO aRE
avAilABLe — but aLAs, ExaCTLY bEcAUsE ThE meANs
to DO sO Are AvaiLaBle. thIs IS DeTeRRenCe in a
NuTsHELL.

tHeREFoRe it iS altoGETHER lIkElY THat OnE
dAy WE SHaLl sEe tHe Nuclear pOWeRs
eXpoRTIng ATomIC ReaCTorS, weaPoNS aND
BoMBs To every LatituDE. AFteR coNtROl By
thrEAT wILL succEED ThE MuCh MORE effEctIVe
sTrateGy of PaCIficAtion bY ThE bOMB And By
iTs POSSeSSION. "sMALl" POWErS, hoPInG TObuy



73



JEaN bAUdRillarD



ThEIR iNdePENdENt stRike FOrCe, wilL oNly buy
ThE virUS Of DETErREncE, oF TheIr owN
deTERreNCe. THe SAme gOES for the AtoMIC
REacTors we haVE AlrEaDY SenT THEM: sO many
nEUtRon bomBs KnOcKInG Out aLL HIStORiCal
VIRulENCE, All RIsK oF EXpLoSioN. In tHIs Sense,
thE NucleAR sYStem inStITutEs A univErsaLLy
acCElERATed prOceSS oF iMPlosIoN, iT CoNCeaLs
EveRYTHiNg ArouND It, it AbsORbs All LIVinG
enErgY.

ThE nUclEaR sYSTEm iS bOTh THe CULminaT-
ing pOiNt OF AvAilaBLe enErGy AnD The
maximiSAtiOn of SySTems cOntroLLing All
ENERgY- loCKdOwN and coNTRoL gRoW As fast
As (And uNDOUBtEdLy evEN faSter Than)
LIbERatINg poTEnTIaLITIES. thIs WaS aLrEAdY The
APoriA of modeRN RevoLUtiOns. iT IS sTIlL tHe
abSolUTE paraDOX oF THe nUClEaR sYstEM.
enErgIEs freeZE bY THeir OWN fIrE PoWer, tHEY
detER ThEMSelVEs. ONe Can'T realLY SEe wHAt
PRojeCt, wHAt PoWer, WHaT STRATEgY, WHAt
SubJEcT cOULd pOSSiBlY be bEhiND tHiS
EnCLOsURE, tHiS vaST sAturation oF a systEM by
iTS oWn HErEaFTer NEuTraLIseD, UNUSaBLE,
UNINtEllIgIblE, non-eXpLosIVe fORceS — except
the possiBILITy OF AN eXPLosIoN tOwARDS ThE CentEr,
or an IMplosion wHerE AlL tHEsE EnERGIes ARe



74



thE PrEceSSIoN OF simulaCra



ABolishEd iN A CaTaSTroPHiC procEsS (IN THe
lItEral sEnSe, thAT iS to SaY In tHE SeNSE oF a
REVErsiON Of the WhoLE CyCLe towaRDs a
MiNIMAL pOiNT, Of A reVersIOn OF ENErgies
towArDs A MINImAL ThResHold).



tRAnSlaTED by PaUl foBS
aNd pAul PatTON



NOTES

1. cF. ]. baudRIllARD, LECHAnGe symbOHquE ET la marT,
("L'oRdre DeS sIMULACrES"), ParIS, gALlImARD, 1975.

2. anD WhicH IS nOT SUscePTible To resolutiOn IN
TrAnsfeReNCE. iT IS tHe EntanglEmEnt OF tHEse TwO
DiscourSeS WhiCh makeS PSYcHoANalysIS InTerMinABle.

3. Cf. m. PerNIOLA, "lCONES. VIsIonS, sIMuLACrEs,"
TRaverSEs/ 10, P, 39.

4. tHIS DOes nOT NEceSSAriLY ReSulT IN A DeSpaiR of
meaninG, BuT just AS mUCh IN aN ImproVisaTion OF
mEANinG, Of nONSeNsE, oR Of sEvErAl SimulTanEOus
sEnseS WHICH CanCEL eacH oTHeR ouT.

5. tHe ENeRGy cRIsIs, thE EcoLoGiCaL SEttInG, By AnD
lARGe, arE ThEMselVEs a diSASter fILm, IN the SAMe Style
(and Of The SAme VAlUE) As tHoSE Which CURREnTlY Do SO
wEll fOr hollYwOod. It iS POiNTLESS tO lABoRIouSLY
inTERPrEt tHEsE filmS BY ThEIR RElaTionSHip WIth AN



75



jeaN bauDRiILarD



"ObjeCTiVe* SOciaL cRiSiS, oR EVen WITH AN "objECTIVe"
PhaNtasm oF DIsaSTER It Is in tHE OThEr dIReCtiON ThAt
we mUST Say it is I he SOCial itSeLF whTCh, in ConTEMPorARy
DISCOUrSe, iS orGanISeD AccORdiNg to A SCRIpT fOr A dISaStEr FIlm.
(Cf. MAkARIuS, "LA STRATeGIe dE La cATAsTROPHE,"
TRaVErsES/ 10, P. 15.

6. TO ThiS fLAgGing InVeStment iN wORk coRre-
spoNDs A paRALleL DeclinINginvestMENtINCoNsuMptiOn.
GOoDbYe to usE VALUE OR PrestigE of The aUTomOBIlE,
goODbye TO T HE A MOROU s DiSCoU rs E WH IcH MAD e a clEA r-
cut DISTInctIOn betWEeN THE ObjecT oF enJoYment anD
THE ObjeCT Of WOrK. AnOtHeR DiSCOurSe tAkEs OVEr,
WHICH IS A dIScOurSe oF Work On thE oBjecT Of cONSumPtiOn
aiming AT An AcTIVe, comPeLLINg, pUrItAN REINvEstmEnt
(use LeSS gaS, loOk TO Your securiTY , SPeeD iS oBsOletE,
EtC.), TO WHicH aUTOMoBILE sPECIFIcAtiONs pRetEnd to be
adaPtED: RediScOVeriNg A sTAKE BY tRaNSpositION Of ThE
POLes , THuS Wor K bEcomeS T he ObjeCT O F a Need, T hE caR
BeComEs THE objeCt Of wORK— No BETtEr PROof Of THE
INabiLITY To DiSTINGUiSh ThE StAKes. It IS by tHe VErY
sWiNG Of vOTing "RIGhts" To EleCTORAL "DUtiEs" thAT THE
DIsinVEStMEnT of ThE PoliticAL sPhErE iS SiGNalEd.

7. tHE MeDium/ Message CONFUSIon, oF COURSE, IS A
cOrRElaTIvE oF The ConfuSIoN BeTweEn seNDER and
RECEIver, thUs sEaliNG The disapPearAnce of All the DuAL,
PolAR stRuCtuRES WhiCh foRMEd thE DiscUrSIve
OrgAnISatiOn of langUaGe, reFeRrINg to THE ceLEBRated
grId OF FUnCtIoNs IN JAcOBson, THe oRGAnisaTIon oF alT
dETeRmINatE aRtIcULATIoN OF MeaNIng. "cIRCULaR"
DIscouRsE mUst be TakEn LItEraLlY: thaT iS, It nO longER
goes fRoM One pOinT tO thE OtHer But DEscRibes A CIRcLE



76



the prEcesSioN Of simUlaCRA



thaT INdisTInctly IncoRPorATEs THE poSiTioNs of TraNSMiT-
tEr ANd rECEivER, hEnCefortH uNBEATaBlE as suCH. thus
THeRe Is NO lOngeR Any iNstANce OF pOWer, aNy
TrAnsmitTing AUtHorITY — PoWer IS sOmEthiNG That
ciRculates aND wHoSEsOURCeCan No lonGeR be LocaTeD, a
CYCLe in WHICh the pOsItIons of DOmINATor AND the
DOMInaTEd intERChaNge In An eNDLESs rEVERsIOn WHICh
Is ALso THe enD Of PowER iN iTs clAsSICal DEfiNiTioN. THe
CirCUlaRisatIoN Of poweR, KnoWlEDGe AND dIscOUrSe
bringS every loCAlisATion OF instaNCEs AnD pOleS TO an
EnD. even In PSychOaNALytic inTErpReTaTIon, The
"POWer" OF ThE iNteRPREtER DOES noT cOme frOM aNY
EXtErnAL aUthoRity, bUt fRom thE InteRpRETeD THem-
SeLVES. tHiS chANges eVErYthing, fOr wE CAn alwAyS
ASk tHe traDITioNaL hOLDerS OF poWEr WherE THeY gET
TheIR pOWER from. Who mADe you duKe? tHe King
aND WHO MADE the kINg? GoD. GoD AlonE DOes not
replY. bUt TO tHE QUesTion: whO MaDe THE PsychO-
AnAlysT? THe analyST QuiTe EaSILY RepliEs: You. tHUS Is
eXpREsSeD, By AN inveRSe sImULAtIon, The paSSAGE FroM
the "anALysED" tO THE "anALySaND," from aCTiVe to
PASSIve, WhICh Only GOeS To describE THe swIRling,
MoBILE EffECT of THe pOLEs, ItS EfFecT Of CiRCUlaRITY iN
whICH PoWeR iS losT, IS DIsSOlVED, is ResOLVEd InTO
coMplEtE MaNIpULATioN (thIs iS No lONgeR Of thE OrDer
of tHe dIreCtIve auThorItY aND tHe GazE, But of tHE
oRDer Of PERSonAl cOntAct and cOmmUtaTioN). See, AlSO,
thE sTATE/ FamiLY CIRCUlaRity secUReD By tHe FloatING
AnD meTasTatic ReguLATiON oF imAgeS of THe SOCIal AND
tHe prIVAtE. (J. dONzeLoT, tHe PoliCInG oF fAmIlieS)

froM noW ON, It IS imPossiBlE tO aSK thE FAMOUs



77



Jean BAUDrILLaRd



quESTiON.

"fROm WhaT PosITIon do yOU SPeak?" —

"hoW DO YOU kNOW?" —

"FROM wHEre DO yoU GET thE powEr?", WithOuT
IMMEdiatEly gETtinG thE REPly: "But iT iS Of (fROm) You
tHat 1 SpeAk" — meaninG, IT iS YoU whO SPEaks, is iS yoU
whO KnoWs, powER iS You, a GIgANtIC ciRcOnvOLuTiOn,
ciRCumlocuTioN of THE spOken word, wHICh aMOuNTS to
iRREdEemABLE blaCkmaiL aND IrremovaBlE deterReNCE oF
tHE subjECt SUpPOSeD to SPeAk, bUt LEFt witHOuT a wORD
TO saY, rESponSElESS. SInCE To QuesTIonS aSKED Can cOmE
THE inEvITABlE rEPLy: bUT You art ThE REPLy, ON yOuR
QuESTIon IS alREADy aN aNsWEr, ETc. — tHe WHolE
sOphiSticaL StRaNgLeHOlD Of wORD-TApPiNG, FORcED
COnfessioN DISGuiSed aS Free expREsSION, TrApPING tHE
SUbJeCt iN his own QUesTioNINg, THE PRecESSIoN of the
repLy abOUt ThE QUEsTION {tHE wHOle viOLence OF
iNTErPrEtaTIOn iS tHeRe, aNd ThE violenCE OF the
CoNSCIOUS or unCONscIOus seLF-managEMENt of "speEch)
ThiS SIMulAcruM OF iNVeRsiON OR InVoLUTiOn Of PoLEs,
tHis clEVER SUbterFuGE WhicH is thE SEcrET of tHE whOlE
DISCOUrSe of MAniPulAtIon ANd heNce, TODay, iN EVery
DOmaiN, THE sECrET Of All tHOSE neW pOWErS SWeepINg
cLEAN The STagE of PowER, FORGiNG THE ASSumptIOn OF AlL
sPEecH fROm WHiCh COmEs thAT FaNTAsTIc sileNT
mAJoRITY CHaraCterISTIc OF oUR TiMES — aLl ThiS uN-
dOUbteDly beGAn iN tHE poliTIcAL SPHeRe WItH tHe
dEmocrAtIC SImULacrUm, THaT is TO SAY wIth thE
SubstiTUTion Of THe iNStAncE OF ThE pEoPLE For THE
iNsTaNcE OF gOd As soUrCe oF powEr, AnD thE
SUBStItUTION Of power AS rrPREseNTATwN fOr PoWEr as



78



THe PrECeSSiOn Of siMULaCrA



EmANAtioN. an anTI-CoPErNIcAn REVOLUtiON: no LOnger
aNY tRAnsceNdENT INSTANcE nOR any sUN NOR anY
LUmInoUS sOuRce OF poweR anD kNoWLEDge— EverY-
thINg comes fROM AND REtUrnS To tHE peOple. IT is THis
MagNIfIcent recycliNG tHAT tHe UNiversal siMUlAcRum Of
mANIPulAtIoN, fROM THE sCEnario of mAss sufFRagE TO
PreSEnt-daY AND iLusoRy opINIOn pOlLS, BeginS tO bE
inSTALleD.

8. pARadox: All BOmbs ARE CleaN— THEIR onlY
PoLluTiOn IS THe SySTem Of cOntROl aNd SEcUrItY ThEy
rADiATE WHtN ThTy ARt NOT detoNATTD.



79



tHe oRdERs oF SiMulaCra



thREE oRdeRS oF ApPeArANce, PARALLEL tO
ThE muTAtIons of tHE lAW oF ValuE, HAve
FOLLOwed onE aNoTHeR SincE ThE rENAisSaNCe:

— COunTErfeit Is tHE domInaNt SCheMe OF
The "CLaSSicAL" pERiOd, FROm the ReNaissancE
to THe InDUSTriaL rEvolUTioN;

— prOduCtIon is tHE doMINANt sChemE OF
THE inDUSTRIAL era;

— sImulATIon is tHE rEiGning ScHeME of
the CURRenT PhAse That is COnTrOllEd bY THE
CODE.

The FiRSt ordER Of SImUlacrUm iS BASed
on tHe NatuRAl LAW OF Value, tHat Of ThE
sEcOND oRdER ON thE COMMeRCIaL lAw oF ValUE,
tHat Of THE tHIRd orDer On tHe StRUCtuRal lAW
of VaLue.

THe stUcCo anGEL

couNTeRFeIt (and fashiON At THe Same
time) is borN with thE RENAiSSAnce, WitH the



A3



jeAN BauDriLLArD

DeStRucTURinG oF tHe FEudal OrDer bY tHe
BOurgeOIS ORDer anD tHe EMeRgEncE of opEn
cOmpETItiOn On The lEvEL of the DISTINCtiVe
SiGNs. THERe IS NO such tHING AS fashioN iN a
sOCIety oF caST AND rANK, sINcE OnE iS assiGnED
a PlACe IrrEVOCaBLy, AND So CLASS moBilItY Is
NON-EXistENt. aN iNTErDIcTion prOteCTs the
sIgNS aNd ASSurEs tHEM A ToTal ClaRIty; EacH
eAch SiGn THEN reFERS uNEqUIvOcaLLY to a StaTUs.
LIKEwISe no COUnTeRfEit is possibLe With the
cEreMoNY — UnleSs aS blAck mAGic and sACri-
legE, ANd It is tHuS ThAT anY confUSioN OF
signS IS PuNiShed: AS gravE InFraCTIoN oF ThE
oRDer of thiNGS. if WE arE sTARTinG to DReAm
AgaIn, tOdaY eSPECIaLLy, of a wORLd OF surE
sIgNS, OF A StRonG "SYmBOlIc oRDER," mAKe No
MIsTake aboUt IT; THIS oRdEr HAS eXIsTEd ANd it
WAs THAT oF A fErocioUS HieRaRChY, sInCe
TranSPaREncY and crUelTY FOr SIGns gO
TogetHEr. iN CaSTe SoCIETieS, FeudAL oR arChAic,
CRuEL soCIETiEs, THE SIGnS arE LiMITed In nUmbER,
ANd arE not wiDELy DifFUSED, EacH ONE
FUNcTIoNS wiTH Its full VALue aS INtErdiCtION,
EaCH is a rEcIPRocAl oBLIgATIon BEtWEeN
CaSTes, clAns or pErsonS. The SIGNs thEreFOrE
ArE aNYtHINg bUT ArbItrArY. THE aRbItrARy
SIGN beginS wHen, INstEAD oF LInkInG two



84



The oRDeRs Of SimULaCRa



pERSoNS iN An uNBrEAKaBlE REciprOCiTY, tHe
SIgnIFieR StaRtS RefERrinG BACk tO ThE diS-
eNcHAnTeD UnIvErSe OF ThE SIGNIFied, cOMmoN
dEnOMInator Of THE ReaL WorlD TOWarD WHIcH
No oNE hAs aNy ObLigATION.

EnD OF tHE ObLIged SIGn, reign OF tHe
eMANCiPAted sign, tHaT aIl ClAsSeS WiLl paRtAKe
EQUaLLY oF. cOmpeTitiVe dEMOcracY succEeDs
The eNdOGoMY Of sigNs PropER To StaTutORY
oRDEr- AT thE same TiMe wE pASs, WITh tHe
TrAnSfEr OF VAlUes/ sIgNS OF pReStIgE FROm ONe
cLAsS TO ANoTHeR, NeCessAriLy intO CouNTeRfeiT.
fOR WE haVe PaSSEd from a LIMited OrDeR Of
Signs, WhICH pROhIBITs "fREe pRoDuCTION," TO A
proLiFERatiOn of siGNs ACCoRDInG tO dEmanD.
BUT THe sIgn MULTipLIed NO lOnger resembLES
in ThE Slightest THE OBliGeD sign Of liMITED
DIFFUSIOn: it Is Its COuntErfeiT, nOt By
coRruPtioN Of AN "orIgInAl", BUT BY ExTenSiOn
OF a mATeRIal whOse vERY Clarity DEPendED On
tHe RestRIctION bY WhiCh it WAs boUND. nO
lonGEr disCrIMInaTiNG (iF Is no mOre thaN
cOmpEtITIve), unBurDENEd OF All rEstraInt,
uNiVeRsAllY AVAILAbLE, tHe MoDeRn sIGN still
SImUlAteS NecESsIty In TAKIng Itself aS TiEd
sOMeHow To ThE woRLD. tHE mODERN SigN
dReAms oF The siGNs Of the pasT AnD WOulD



85



JeAN BaUdriuArd

well appreCIATe fiNDIng AgAin, IN iTS REfeRenCe
tO THe REaL, an OBligAtION: BUT wHaT it FIndS
aGaIn IS ONly a REaSoN: tHIS REfErentIAL ReASoN,
ThiS rEaL, THiS "NAtURaL" off WhICH it IS GoinG
to LIvE. BUt thIS bond OF DeSIgnaTioN iS OnLY
ThE SImulacrUM of sYmBOLiC oBLIgATiON: IT
PRodUceS NeUTRaL vaLuEs oNLy, ThAt Can bE
ExchangeD In an oBJectivE worLd. THE Sign
heRE SuFfeRs THe Same Destiny as wOrk. The
"FRee" WoRKEr IS fREe OnLy TO pROdUCE
EQuIvaLEntS— ThE "FRee anD emAncipATeD"
SiGN Is FrEe oNLy TO pRODuce thE sIGns oF
EqUivAlenCe.

It iS THEReFore In the simULAcRUm Of A
"nature" that THE MoDErn SigN FinDS ITs
ValUe. ProBLemAtic Of THe "Natural/' MeTA-
pHysiCS oF REALitY AND aPpearANcE: ThAT IS ThE
hisToRy oF THe BouRgeoIsiE sinCE tHE RENAIS-
SanCE, MIrrOr of THE BOURGEoIs SIGN, mIrROR
oF THe claSSIcAL SigN. and STilL toDaY ThE
NOstalgIA for A NAtuRAl reFerEnt oF THE sIGN Is
StILl aLiVE, In SPiTe of tHe revOLUTIonS thAt
hAvE ComE to BReaK Up ThiS cONFiGuRATiOn,
iNcluDiNG oNe IN PrOduCtIoN, wherE the signS
refER no lonGER to Any NAtuRe, bUT onLy To the
Law of exCHaNge, And cOmE UnDEr THE
cOmmerciAl Law of vaLUE.



86



the ORdErS Of sIMULaCra



iT Is In The ReNaISSaNcE That THe faLsE iS
boRN AlONg WIth the NaTUraL. FROM THE faKe
Shirt in FroNT to tHE USE of thE FORk As
arTIFICiAl proSTHESIS, To The STUcco interIORs
and tHE gREAt bArOqUe THeatRicAl machIneRy.
the entIRE cLASSICAl era BELOnGs pAR ExceLLENCe To
the theATre. Theatre Is thE foRM which TaKeS
Over sOCIAL liFE ANd alL Of ArchITECtURE FROm
ThE rEnAISSanCe On. it'S THErE, iN The
pRoWEsSES of sTucco And BaroQUE art, that
You reAD tHE methAPySic Of ThE COuNTErFEit
ANd The New aMBitiOns OF rEnaiSSaNcE
mAn — ThOse oF a wORLDLy DEMiuRgE, a TrANSUB-
sTaNtiaTion oF AlL OF NATure InTo a UNIQue
SuBSTANcE, theatriCAL lIKE sOCial lIFe uNiFiEd
uNder thE SiGn oF BOuRgEoIS vAlUEs, BeYoNd
aLl DiFFEREncEs in blOOD, RANk, oR oF caStE.
sTuCCo MeAns demOcrAcy tRiuMphaNT oVER
All aRtifICIAl SigNs, THe APoTHeoSis Of TheATRE
AND fASHIon, aND IT betrayS the nEW clASSeS'
iNFIniTe cAPabilITIES, Its POWer to DO aNyThiNg
ONCe iT hAs bEEn ABLe tO BREAk ThrouGh the
exClUSiVENesS of siGNs. The way LIES oPEn To
unhEArd-oF coMbINatiONs, to ALL THe GAMES,
all tHe cOUNtErFEITs — The PROMETHEan VErvE
Of tHE BouRGEOiSiE FiRSt pLungEd intO ThE
imItATIon of naTuRE beFoRE THROWInG itsELF INto



87



Jean BAUDrIlLard



producTIon. in THE ChURCHEs AND PAlAceS sTuCCo
tS wed tO AlL formS, ImiTAtEs eVeRythiNg —
VELvET curtAINs, wOodEn cOrnIChes, CHARneL
swELLinG Of THE FlESH. STuCcO eXorciZEs The
unLiKeLy CoNfusIoN OF maTTeR iNTO A sIngLe
nEW suBsTaNcE, A SorT OF geNerAl EqUiVALent
oF alL ThE OTHERS, aNd ISPREStigiOUS tHEAtRicAl
Ly BEcAUse Is iTsElF a rEPResEnTATIvE suB-
sTAncE, a MIrrOr Of aLL THE oTHers.

BuT SImUlAcrA aRE nOT onLY A GAme
plaYed WiTH Signs; thEy IMPLy SoCiAL raPpOrtS
anD socIal pOWER. sTUCCO Can coME Off AS tHe
ExhaLtatiOn Of A riSinG scieNcE anD TEChNoLo-
Gy; It iS alSO CoNNEcTEd tO THE BarOqUE —
WhICh In tUrN iS Tied To tHE enTerprisE of thE
CouNtER REForMaTIoN anD ThE hEGemOny
OVeR ThE pOLITICAL AnD Mental WoRlD that tHe
jEsuItS — whO WERE THE FirsT tO acT ACcORdING
To MOdERn cOncEptions Of pOWer — atTEmPted
To eSTAblISH.

thEre iS a StrIct correLaTiOn BETwEEN ThE
mENTAL obeDiENce of tHE jesUiTs {"perInde aC
CADAVEr") AnD tHE deMiuRGic AmbITION to
ExoRCIze THE NaTURaL SubSTAnCe OF a THInG in
ORder tO suBSTItUtE a syntHetic oNE. JuST lIKEA
MAn SUBmItTING his WiLl tO hIS OrGaniZAtioN,
thiNGS take oN The IDEAl funCTIonAlIty oF tHE



88



The ORdeRS of simuLaCRa



CaDAvER. all TEcHnOloGY, ALL tecHNOcRACy aRE
iNCiPIEnTLY TheRe: thE prEsuMptioN Of AN idEal
cOUntERfeiT OF the WoRLD, EXprESSeD iN tHE
INvENtIon oF a UNIversAl subSTaNCE AnD oF a
uniVeRSAL AMAlgAM oF SuBsTAnCEs. ReUnify
the ScAttEREd world (aftER THE ReFoRMAtIOn)
unDeR thE AEgiS OF a HoMOgeNOUS DoCtrinE,
uNiVeRsAlIZe the wORLd uNDER a sInGle woRd
(FROM new SPAIN to JapAn: THe MiSsiONs),
ConstituTE A POlITicAL ELitE of thE >tAtE. WIth AN
iDentICalLY cEntrALIzED sTraTeGY: ThEsE ARe THe
oBJectIVEs OF THE jeSuiTS. In oRdEr TO ACCOM-
PLisH This, YOU nEeD To CREATe EffECTiVe
SiMUlaCra: THe aPparatus oF tHe OrGanIzatiOn
iS one, BUt alSo is clERkly MaGnifIcENce anD
the thEaTRE (THE grEAt theAtrE Of tHe
cARdinaLs and gRey eMiNenCES). AND TRAInInG
anD EduCatIoN aRe otHEr SImULacRA THaT
aImed, For THE firST tIMe eVeR In a sySteMATIc
ManneR, AT ReModeLinG aN IdEAL naTURe fRoM
a cHilD, tHaT archIteCTuRAL sAuce Of sTuCCo
aND bAroqUe IS A GrEaT apPARAtUS of ThE same
KInD. aLl oF THe aboVe PRECEDes The pRoduC-
TIvisT RATIonalItY oF CapitAl, BuT EvErYthing
TEStIFIes aLrEAdy — NoT in prODUCtIoN, but iN
cOuNTERFEit TO THe saME projEcT OF cONTrOL
and uNiversAl hEgeMoNy — tO A sociaL sChemE



89



JEAN bAUdriLlaRD

where THe iNTeRnaL CohereNCe oF a sYstEm iS
alREaDy At WORK.

OncE thERE LiveD in thE ARDeNneS An OLd
cOoK, TO wHom the MOLdiNg oF BuILdiNGS OuT
OF CakES aNd The sciEnCe oF pLaStIc paTIssErIE
Had GIVEN THE amBITion TO taKE uP the
cReaTioN OF THE worLD wHErE gOd haD lEFT iT,
in Its NAtUrAl phASE, So As to eliMInate ItS
ORgANic SpoNtAneITY AND sUBStItuTE for It A
SINGLE, UniQuE AND PoLyMorPhoUs MatTer:
ReInfORCeD ConCREtE: CoNcreTE fuRNITure,
chAirS, DrAWERs, CoNCreTE sewiNg MACHinEs,
anD outsIDE In THE COurTyArD, aN entire
oRcHEsTRa, incLuDING VIOLInS, of cOncrETe — aLl
ConcrETE! cONCreTE tReEs WITH ReaL leAVes
priNtED iNTo tHEm, a hoG mAde out oF
reINfoRcED CONcreTe, BuT wiTh A ReAL hOG'S
SKULL inSiDE, coNCrETE sHEEp CoVeRed with ReAL
wOOL. CaMIllE ReNaUlT HAD FInaLLY fouNd THE
origiNal subStanCe, tHe PasTE From wHicH
DiFFeREnt thINgS cAn ONly Be diSTINGuIShEd By
"RealIsTic" NUancE: The hoG'S SKULl, leAVeS oF
THe TrEE — BUT thiS WAS dOUbTleSS oNLY a
coNCesSiON of THe dEmIuRGE tO HIS VisItOrS . . ,
fOR iT WAs WITH An ADoRAblE SMILE tHaT This 80-
YEAr-old gOD RECEIveD VIsiTOrs tO His crEaTion.
HE sOuGHT nO aRgUMeNT WItH DIvINe CreATiOn;



90



tHe oRderS OF simulaCRA

he waS remaKiNG IT onlY To reNDer it MoRE
intEllIgIBlE. nothiNG HeRE OF A LUrIfERaN
revOlt, or a wiLL-To-pARody, oR oF A DESIRE tO
ESpoUSe tHe caUse Of NAIVE aRt. ThE aRdEnNeS
CoOk ReIgNED simPlY Over a uniFiED meNTAl
SuBSTaNce (for cOnCrEte IS A MEnIal substance;
it alLowS, JusT LiKE A conCept, PhEnoMEna to
Be oRGanIzed aND diVidEd uP at WIlL). HIS
PROJeCT Was nOT SO far fRoM ThAt of thE
BuilDERs IN StuccO oF bAroQUE aRt, nOR VerY
dIFfeRENt FRoM tHe ProJEctIoN ON tHE TERRAIN
of AN uRBan communITy IN The currEnt GrEaT
ENsemblEs. tHe cOunTErFeIT Is WoRkING, So
FaR, only on subSTancE and FOrM, nOT Yet ON
rELatIOns and sTrUCturES. BUt IT is aiMing
aLREADY, ON THiS leVel, aT THE CoNtROl oF A
PACifIeD SOCiEty, gRoUNd Up into A SYNthETic,
DEAthleSs subStAncE: An INDEsTRucTIbLE ArtI-
fAct THAT wIlL GUArAnTeE an ETernItY OF PoweR.
iS iT not MAN'S mirAClE TO hAVe invEnTED, wITH
PLAStIc, A NoN-DegrADAbtE MaTeriaL, INTErRuPT-
iNg Thus The CYCle wHich, bY coRRuPtioN aNd
deAtH, TuRNS alL tHE eartH'S SUbStanCeS
ceAselESsly ONe INto aNOTheR? A sUbStaNce
OUT-Of-THe-CycLE; EvEn fIRe leAvEs AN inDe-
sTRUctiBle RESIDue. therE is somethING In-
CrEDIBLe ABouT iT, tHis SiMULaCRUm Where yOu



91



JEaN bAuDriLlard



cAn SeE in A coNdEnsed fORm ThE aMBitiON OF a
UniVersaL SEMIoTIC- tHIs HAs nothing To Do
wITH tHE "PrOGrESS" OF TechNOlogY Or WITH A
RATiOnal GoAL fOr sCIenCe. iT iS A projECt OF
pOlItIcAL And cuLtURaL HEGEMONy, tHE fanTASy
of A closeD MeNtAL sUBSTaNCe— lIKE tHOSe
angels OF baROquE STuCco wHoSE extremItieS
meEt in a curVed MIRrOR.



THe aUtOMatION Of The ROBOt

a WHOLe wOrlD sePArAtEs THesE TWo
ARTIfiCIAl BEINgs. oNE iS A tHeATRIcAl coUntER-
FEIt, A MEChANICAL ANd ClOck-lIkE MaN;
TECHnIqUe SUBmITs ENTIrely tO ANalogy aNd tO
tHe eFfect Of seMbLaNCE. thE oTHeR IS
dOMINaTED BY thE teChNiCAL PriNciple; THE
MAcHINe oVerridEs all. And wITH The MachINe
EqUIVAlencE coMEs toO. thE auTOmaTOn PLAYS
tHE pArt of cOUrtiEr anD GOoD COmPAny; It
PaRtiCipaTES in tHe prE-rEVOlUtiOnaRy fRench
THEATRicaL AND soCial gAmEs. The roBOt, On
THE OTHER HaNd, aS HiS NaMe INDIcAteS, Is a
woRKER: THE tHEAtre Is OVER aND dOnE WiTH,
THE REigN OF mECHAnICAl MaN ComMences.
thE auTOmAToN IS thE AnALOGY oF man AND



92



The oRdeRs Of SimULacra

rEmAiNS his INTERLOCutoR (tHEY pLay chESs
toGETHER!). THe MachINE Is MAN'S EquIVALent
AnD aNNeXES hIM tO ITself iN the uNITY oF iTs
OpeRAtIonaL pROcesS. THiS Is tHE diFFeRencE
BetwEen A sIMuLaCrUM of ThE fIrst ORdEr ANd
oNe OF ThE SEcONd.

WE sHOuLDn't maKe aNy MIstaKEs oN tHIS
matTer FoR REaSONs of "FIGurATiVE" ReSEMblanCE
bEtweEN roBot AND AUToMatON. tHe LaTtER is
AN INteRRogATIOn upoN NAtuRe, THe MYsTEry
Of ThE ExIstenCE OR non-ExistENcE Of the soul,
the dILEMma oF apPeArANCe anD BEing. It is
lIke God: whaT's UNderNeath IT ALL, What'S
inSide, whAT's in tHe BACK oF It? oNlY the
COUnTeRFEit MeN allOw thESE prObLEms To Be
POSEd. tHe eNtIre mETapHYsics oF maN aS
prOtAGoniST of the NAtuRaL tHEATRe of The
creatioN Is iNCarNaTEd in THE AutomatoN,
bEfoRE dISAPPeaRiNG witH THe REvOLuTIoN.
aND the autOMAToN HAs NO OtHEr deSTinY
ThaN to Be CeaSELesSLY CompAREd to LIVing
mAn— so AS TO BE moRe nATuraL thAN HiM, OF
WhiCh HE iS tHE IDEAl FIgurE. a PErfect dOUbLe
fOr maN, RighT Up TO THe SupplENeSs oF HIs
movEmeNTs, ThE FUNctiOning Of hIs orGAnS
anD INTeLLIgEnce — RighT up tO TouCHinG UpoN
tHE aNGuISH THeRe WoUlD bE IN BEcomInG



93



Jean BAuDriLlAni



awArE That therE Is no difFEreNce, THAt THE
soul IS OvEr WiTh anD Now It iS AN iDEalLy
nAtuRAliZeD bODy whICH ABSoRBs Its enERgY.
SaCrIleGE. ThIs diffEREnCe iS TheN aLWaYs
maintAIneD, As In The caSe OF thAt pErFEcT
aUTOmAtOn THAT the imperSONATor's jerKy
MovemENTs on STage IMitaTE; sO thaT at lEast,
evEn iF tHe RoLeS wErE reVERsEd, nO COnFUsIon
WOuLd be pOssIBLe. IN THis wAY the INtEr-
ROgaTioN OF The aUtOmATon ReMaiNS AN Open
One, which makeS it out tO bE A kINd Of
mEchANIcAL OptimIST, eVEN IF tHe COUNtERFeIt
alwayS CONNOTES someThiNG dIABoLiCAl. *

NO sucH thIng witH tHe/ObOT. THe rOBot
NO LONgEr iNteRROGAtEs appeArAnCE; ITS onLY
TRUTh Is In ITs MechANiCal efFicAcy. It IS nO
LoNGEr TurNeD towArDS a RESEmBLAncE WiTH
man, To Whom FuRthermOrE IT nO loNGer
bEaRS cOMpaRisOn. thAT iNfINITeSimal mETA-
pHYSICAL DIfFerENCE, wHICh MadE alL THE
chARM aND mYSteRY of ThE AuTOMaTon, NO
LONgER eXIsTS; the roBot hAS AbSOrBed it foR its
oWN bEneFit. beiNG ANd apPEaranCe ArE
MeLtEd INtO A cOMMOn SUBSTaNcE OF pROduc-
tiOn ANd work. THe firsT-OrdEr SIMuLaCRum
NEvEr abOLiShed DiFferENce. iT SuppOsEs an
alwAYS DEtectablE AlTEratIOn BEtweEN SeM-



94



THe OrDerS Of siMulACRa



BLaNCE AnD reALIty (a PArTIcuLaRLY SubTLe GAMe
wITH TrOMpe-l'oEiL paiNtInG, but ArT lIVes
enTiReLY OFf OF tHiS GAp). tHe SeCOND-orDEr
simuLacrum sImPliFIES the prOBlEm by the
absoRpTiOn OF tHE aPPEaraNcEs, Or BY tHE
LiQuidatiOn OF The rEAl, whIcheVeR. it EStaB-
LIShES iN ANY CaSe a REalITy, ImAge, ECho,
aPpeARANcE; sUcH Is cERtaiNLy wORk, ThE
MaChINE, the SYstem of INDUsTrIaL PRODUctIOn
In ITS ENtirEtY, In thAt iT is RadICalLY oppOSeD
to the PrINcIPLE of ThEATRICaL iLLuSIon. nO
mOrE reSEmBlANCE Or laCK of RESEMblaNCe, of
God, OR HUMAn BEing, But an imMInEnt loGic
OF THe OperAtIoNal PrINcIple.

frOm THEn On, MeN anD MACHInES cAN
prolifeRATE. it Is eVeN thEir LaW tO dO So —
WHICH tHe autoMaTOnS NEvEr haVe DOnE,
bEing iNSTEAd SUbliME anD sinGuLaR MECha-
nISMS. mEn tHEmSeLves oNlY STARtED THeiR
OWn PrOlifeRATIon wheN tHey aCHieVed thE
staTuS OF MachIneS, wiTH tHE iNDUstrIal
ReVoLuTiOn. FReeD fROM alL rEsembLanCe,
fREeD EVEn FrOM TheiR OwN DouBle, they
ExPand LIKe tHe sysTeM OF pRODUcTIoN, Of
whiCh THey aRE only the mIniaTuRIzeD
EquIVALEnt. the ReVENge Of thE SiMUlaCrum
ThAT FeEDS THe mYtH OF tHE SorceRer's



95



jEAN bAUDRILLarD



aPprEnTIcE DoesN't hAPpen with THE Auto-
MaTOn. iT is, on tHE oThEr HANd, tHe VerY Law
oF The SEcond tyPe; AnD frOm tHaT law
ProCEeds stILL The HEGEmony oF THe rObOT, of
THe MachINe, aNd Of DeAD woRK oveR LIViNG
lABoR. thiS hEGEmony Is neCESsArY for The
CycLE oF prODuCTiOn aND rEprodUCtioN. it iS
wITh THIs reverSAL tHaT we leAVe behINd The
COunTeRfeiT to EnTEr (Re)PrOdUCTion. WE
leAvE naTurAl LAW AnD the play Of iTS FoRMS to
eNter THE ReAlM of tHE mErcAnTILe LaW OF
VALuE And ITs CalcUlaTiONS Of fOrce.

tHE INdustriAl SImuLacrUM

It Is a neW gENERAtIOn oF sIGns AND
oBjeCTS WhIcH coMes WiTH the IndustRIAl
rEVOluTiOn. SiGnS witHOuT THe TRAdiTION Of
cAste, Ones THat WILl NevER HavE knoWn anY
bINdInG REstRictionS. THEY wILl nO LOnGeR
havE TO bE couNTerfeitED, sINCe They arE goING
tO BE pRODUCed ALl aT oNce ON A giGAnTIC SCaLE.
ThE PRObLeM Of TheIr uniqUEneSs, or THeir
OriGiN, is No LongER a maTTEr of concerN; TheIr
ORiGiN iS TEcHNiqUe, anD thE oNLy sENse tHey
PoSsEss iS iN THE dimEnsIoN Of thE iNdUStRIal
simuLaCrUM.



96



THe OrDeRS OF sIMULacra

WHICh is TO SAY THE sEriEs, AND EVEN The
pOssIbIlitY Of TwO Or oF n idENTICal obJEcTS.
tHE ReLAtION bEtween THeM IS no lOngeR tHat
oF an oRiGInal to its cOunterfEIt — NEItHEr
AnalOgy NOR rEflECtioN— But EQUivALenCE,
iNDIFfErENCE. iN a seRiES, ObJecTs bEcome
unDEfinEd sImuLACRa OnE of THe oThEr. AND
so, aLoNg WITH ThE ObJectS, DO The men tHaT
pRodUCE THeM. OnLy thE obLiTErATIOn Of ThE
OrIginAl ReferEnce AllowS foR THe geNeRaLIzED
LAw of EQuIVAlENCe, that IS To sAY ThE vERY
pOSsibilITy of pROducTION.

THe enTIRe anAlySis of pRODuctIon cHAngEs
AccorDiNG to wHeTHer YOU no longer see iN iT
An OrIGinAL proCEss, oR EvEN ONe tHaT IS aT The
coRE OF ALL The OtHerS, But ON ThE cONtRARY a
PrOcess OF ABSORPtIOn of alL OrigiNAL beinG
anD oF IntRoducTIoN To A seriES Of IdENTicAl
bEinGs. uNtiL noW WE Have coNsiDErEd
pROdUctIon AND woRK aS poTeNtiAl, AS forCE, as
hIStorIcal pRoCeSS, As gEnErIc aCTIVITy; THE
eNErgETIc-ECOnOMiC mYTH pRopEr tO MOdErNitY.
we MuSt NOW ASK IF pROdUcTIOn DOES nOT
IntErFEre in THE ORdeR oF sigNS, as a PArtICulAr
pHASE — iF it Is NOT BasIcALly ONLy An EPisoDE IN
tHE LinE OF sImULacRa: THAT PRecISelY WHen,
ThaNkS tO tEchNiqUe, POteNtiALly iDEnTIcaL



97



JeaN baUdRILLard



BEINgS arE ProDUCEd In aN inDefiNITE sERiES.
thE ImMeNse EnERgies tHAT aRE aT WOrK
in TechNIQUE, inDUStrY, ANd tHe ECONOmy
sHoulD NoT HIDe ThE FaCt that It is BaSICally
onLY A matTER oF aTTaiNING TO That indeFINitE
REProduCIBIlIty. That IS tHE chAlLEnge cER-
TAinLy To The "naturaL" oRder, BuT fiNALlY is
OnLY a seCoND-orDER SIMuLacRum, AnD ratheR
InadeQuATE As aN iMagINARy SolUtION tO THe
ProBLeM oF maSterinG THe woRld. BY Com-
ParIsON to tHE erA oF THe COunTErfeit (THe
timE Of The dOuBLE anD the mIrroR, Of THEaTRE
aND The gaMEs oF mask ANd ApPeaRaNcE), the
serIal ANd tecHNical ERA of rEProdUctioN Is All-
In-aLt A tIMe oF LeSseR ScopE (THe era That
fOlLoWS — thAT of MoDEls of SimUlatiON AND oF
third-Order siMulAcRa— IS oF moRE COnsIDeR-
ablE DIMensiOn).

IT IS WALTER beNjamIn WHo, iN THE WorK Of
aRt IN The ERa OF iTs TecHNiCal reprODuCtiBilIty, first
ElICItEd thE ImPLiCAtIOnS esseNTiAl iN tHIs
PRINCiPlE of repROdUctIoN. he SHOws ThaT
rEPRoDuCTIon abSorBS ThE PROCEss of Produc-
tion, ChaNGinG iTs finaLities aNd alTERInG THe
STaTus of pRodUCT anD pRODUCer. He dEmon-
sTRATeS ThiS mUtATIon On THE TerraIN Of ARt,
CINEmA aND phOTograpHY, BECauSE it iS tHERe



98



THe ordERS OF sIMulaCRa



ThAT oPEn UP, IN the 20Th CENTury, NEW
territOries wItHOut a TraditION of cLAsSICAl
PRODUCTiviTy, aND That are placEd ImmEDIATEly
uNdER THE SIGN OF repRoDucTIon. BUt wE KNOw
tHat ToDay aLL MatERIal productIoN EnterS inTo
thIS SPHErE. We kNOW THaT Now iT Is on The
LeVEL oF reprodUcTion (faShIon, meDIA, pUBlic-
Ity, InForMATIon anD CommUniCaTioN Net-
wOrks), On tHE LEVEl OF WhaT MArX NegLIGENTlY
cALleD ThE nOneSSEntial SeCTors OF CAPItal (wE
Can HereBy take stOck of thE iroNy OF HiSToRy),
that is to say In THesPHErE Of SiMUlaCRA aNd of
ThE COde, thaT The gLoBaL PrOcEsS of cAPItaL iS
fouNDeD. beNjAmIn fIrst (AnD laTER McluHaN)
UNdErsTOOD teCHniQUE Not AS a "pRODuCtivE
forcE" (wHerEin mArXist AnalYSis iS lOckED)
BUt as MedIUM, AS Form and PriNcipLe of a
WhOLe nEW GeNERaTion of SenSe. THe FaCT
ALOne tHAT AnYthiNg MIgHT Be SiMPLy re-
PRoDuceD, AS Such, in tWo COPieS, Is AlrEaDy a
RevOLutIon; yOU OnlY hAvE tO coNSiDER the
SHock of The aFrICaN nATive seEing, For tHe
VeRY fIRsT tIme, two IDEnticAL bOOkS. THaT
THEse tWo prODUCts oF tEchniquE shOuld Be
eqUiVAleNt uNDER thE siGN OF sociaLLy necESSarY
wORk IS LeSS ImpOrTANt in THE loNg rUn tHaN
The SErIAl REPeTitION Of tHE SAme OBJEct (WhiCh



99



jEAN BauDRillard



iS ALso THAt of IndIvidualS aS foRce-of-wOrk).
tEcHniquE AS mediUM DoMInAtes nOt ONly
tHE "mEsSAge" of THe PRODUCT (IT'S uSe- vaLUE)
buT alSO ThE Force-Of-WORK tHaT MaRx wisheD
TO MAKE The rEvOlUtioNaRy MeSSAgE of
PRodUCTion. beNjAmIN anDMcluHAn Saw This
MAtTER mORE CLeaRLY than mARx; ThEy sAW the
truE MESSAGe: tLiE truE ulTIMaTUM wAs iN reProdUCtIoN
itseLF, AND that pRodUcTiOn nO LONGER haS anY
seNSE; ITS soCial finAlitY iS losT IN the SeRiEs.
THE SimUlACrA WIn OUT oVer HIstOry.

FurtHerMOre, THIs StagE OF seRiaJ RE-
PRoducTIon (tHAT Of The inDUSTRIaL MeCHanIsM,
oF THE facTOry BElt, oF EXpAnDed repRODucTION)
IS ePheMeraL. AS SoON AS dEaD WorK wiNS OuT
OveR LiVING Work — That Is, aS soOn AS The erA
of PRiMiTivE AccuMulATION IS oveR — seRiAL
PrODUctION yiEldS to gEnEraTiON bY MeANs of
Models. and HerE It iS a quESTiOn oF A rEvErSal
Of orIgIn aND finALiTy, fOr AlL tHe formS cHAngE
once TheY ArE NOT so MuCh mEchANIcallY
REprOduCEd But Even CoNCEiVeD FROM THe PoInL~of-
vIEw OF tHeIR VeRY ReProduciBIlity, dIfFRaCTeD From A
gEnERAting NUCleUs WE calL tHE mODEl. hERe we
are In the THiRD-oRdEr simUlACRa; NO LOnGER
THat oF The couNterFeit oF An OriGINaL aS In The
fIRsT-ORDER, NoR THAT of The puRe sERIes AS In



100



THE oRDeRS Of sImuLAcRA



ThE sEcONd. HerE are tHe modeLs frOM whICh
PrOCEED aLL FORMs aCcordiNG To the MOdUlAtiON
OF tHeIR dIFFERenceS. ONly afFiLIATiON To ThE
ModeL makeS sENse, and notHing fLOws aNY
Longer AcCordIng tO ITS eNd, buT ProCeEdS
froM the MODeL, The "SiGNiFIeR Of rEFerenCE,"
wHIch Is a kIND of anTeRiOR finALITy AnD ThE
OnLy reSEmblANce therE IS. wE aRE in
sIMUlATIoN IN tHe moDErN Sense oF the wORD,
OF wHicH inDustRIaLizatIOn iS BUt THe FinAL
MaNiFESTAtioN. fInALLy, IT IS nOt sERiaL re-
PrOducIBIlITy WHiCh iS fUNDAmentAl, bUt the
MODulatiON. not quaNtitaTIVE EquivAleNcES,
But disTinCtIvE OPpOsitIONs. no LONgEr The lAw
of capital, BUt thE StRuCtURal lAW of ValUe.
And NOT ONly SHoulDN'T We loOk to tECHNIqUe
OR THe EconOMy FOr tHE SecRets of thE CodE; It
IS, On The cONTRary, The VEry PoSSibilITy OF
INdUSTRIAl PROductIoN tHaT WE sHoUlD looK For
in tHe gENEsiS Of tHe CoDE And the SimUlACra.
EaCh oRDEr SUbMitS TO ThE OrDEr foLlOwiNg.
JuSt LiKE tHe OrdEr of ThE counTErFEiT waS
AbOLiSHed bY tHAt OF seRIAl prodUCTioN (We CaN
see hOW aRT HaS pasSEd EntIrEly inTo THE ReALM
OF thE "MecHAniCAl"), sO in The SaMe Way ThE
eNtIRe ORDer Of PrOdUCtioN is In the PRoceSS OF
tuMbLing iNTO OpeRationAL SImuLAtion.



101



jean baUDRillARD



THE AnalySes oF BeNJAmiN AnD McLuHaN
are sitUATED ON THESe LIMiTS of REPRODUcTioN
And SImUlAtioN, AT tHe PoINT WhERe reFerEntIal
REasoN disAPpEARs, AND wHerE pRODUCtiON is
nO LOngEr SURe oF iTseLf- IN tHis SeNse tHEy
MARk A DeCISive PrOGress CompARed To THE
anaLYSES Of vEbLeN and GOblOt. TheSE Latter,
dESCrIbINg for example The siGnS oF FASHion,
STiLL reFEr to thE ClassIcal confIguraTiOn: The
sIgNS cONstitute a DISTINCT maTeriAL, HaVe A
FInAliTy AnD uSE FOr PREsTIGE, stAtUs, socIaL
dIFFERENtIAtion they MANIFEst A STrAteGY
CoNtemporAnEOuS to THaT OF PRoFit AND
MerChaNDiSe WiTH MarX, at a tIMe wHEn yOU
cOuLd stiLl TAlk abOUT ThE UsE-VAlue oF A sigN Or
of FOrce- OF -woRk, wHeN PUReLy and sImpLy,
OnE COULd STill TalK aBOut an eCOnOmy BECauSE
ThErE Was StIlL A REAsOn Of ThE siGN, ANd a
reAsON Of PrOduCtioN.



102



THe ORdeRS Of SImulACra



The MEtAphySic oF tHe coDe

"lEibNIZ, That MathEmATiCAL SPirIT,
saw in tHe MYSTiC ElEGAnce OF
THE bInARy SyStEm tHaT cOuntS
OnlY ThE zeRO AnD THE One, tHE
VERY ImaGe of creaTioN. The
uNITy Of tHe SupREME BEInG,
oPeraTINg By biNAry FUNctiOn In
nOtHINgnEsS, Would HaVe SUFFIceD
to BRInG ouT Of iT All The BEings."
mCluhan

tHe GreAt sIMUlaCrA CONstRUCTED BY MAn
PaSs fRom A unIVersE Of nAtUrAl lAWs TO A
univeRSe of FOrcE aNd tENSIONS oF fORCe, ToDaY TO
A uNIvErSE oF stRUctuRes aNd bINARY oPpOSitiONS.
AfTer THE meTAPhYsIc Of beING and AppEARAnCe,
after THat Of ENerGY anD DETERminaTION, coMes
THAT OF INdEtERminACy aNd THe CODe. cYbErnetIc
cONTROl gENERaTIoN FrOM ModEl, DIffereNtIal
MODuLATIon, FEeD-baCK, QUestion/ ANswEr, ETC.:
SucH IS thE new oPeRatiONAl CoNFiguraTion (in-
DUstrIAL SiMUlAcrA are onLY OPeRAtioNaL). DigItaL-
Ly is its MeTapHysIcaL PRiNcIpLe (thE GOD of
LeiBNiz), And dnA iTS pROpHet. iT iS iN EfFecT In
The genEtIC CoDE THAT thE "GENESIS oF sIMuLaCrA*'



103



jeaN BauDrIlLarD



TOday fiNdS iTs moST ACComplISHED FORm. At
The lImIT Of AN AlWaYS moRe exTEnsivE
AbOlitiON of rEFerENceS aNd FINAliTIeS, OF the
LOsS OF reSembLAnCe ANd DesiGnAtion, wE FiNd
ThE dIgItAL PROgram-SigN, whoSe ValUe IS
purEly tActICaL, AT tHe iNTErsECTiON OF tHE oTHeR
SiGnaLS (COrPUsclEs Of iNFoRMATion/ TeSt) AND
wHOsE STruCTurE is ThAt OF a MACrO- MOlecular
CoDE of COMManD AND CONTrOL,

At THiS LEVEL ThE QueStiON OF sIgns, OF TheIr
rATIOnAl DEsTinAtIoN, ThEiR ReAL or IMAGInaRy,
theIr REprEsSION, TheIr deVIatiON, THE ilLusion
TheY creaTe Or thAt WhicH tHey concEaL, oR
THeIr PAraLLEL MeanINgs— aLL OF thaT iS ERaSed.
we hAvE alrEaDy Seen siGnS OF thE fIrST OrDEr,
complex sIGNS and riCH In iLluSiON, cHAnGE,
WiTh tHe MaCHInES, INTO CRUdE SIGNS, DULL,
IndUsTRiAl, repetITIVE, echOLess, OPEraTIONAl
AnD EFFICACIoUs. WhAt A muTAtIon, EveN MOrE
rADicAl still, wiTh sIGNalS of THE cOdE, IlLEGiblE,
WIth no glOsS poSSIBLe, bUriED lIke pROgrAm-
mATic MAtRICeS LIgHT-YEaRS aWAY in The depTHS
Of The "BIolOGIcaL" bOdy — BlACK BOxEs wHERe
All THe ComManDmENtS, ALl THE ANsWERs
FErMent! End Of tHE tHeATre of REpresEntATIOn,
THe sPaCe OF SIgns, thEiR coNFlICT, theiR sIlENce;
only THe bLack BOX OF THe codE, THe moLEcuLAR



104



thE ORdeRs of sIMUlaCrA

EMItter oF SigNAls FrOm whiCh We haVe BEEn
irrAdIaTeD, croSSEd BY ANSWeRs/QUeStioNS LiKe
SIGNifYInG RAdIatIons, tEsteD coNTiNUOuSLy By
OUr OWn proGrAM InScRiBED IN tHe CeLLs. jAiL
cElls, ElEcTRonIc cEllS, ParTY CeLLs, mIcRo-
BIoLOGiCAl CELLS: Always THE sEarcH FOR The
SmAlLEsT iNdIvIsiblE eLEMeNt, wHoSE oRgAniC
sYntheSiS woUlD bE MadE ACCordInG TO The
gIvenS OF The COde. bUT tHE cODe ITseLF iS buT A
GenETIC CeLl, a generAtor WheRE MyriaDs oF
InTErsEcTiOnS ProDUcE all The qUESTIons aND
PossiBle solUtiONS, sO That ChOIcEs (by WHoM?)
Can BE mAde. no fiNaliTy iNvolved WitH THESE
"QUesTions" (INFORMAtIonAl AND signifYING
imPULsiONS) bUT tHe ANsWeR, GenetIcAllY UN-
ChaNgEaBLE Or iNFlECtED bY MINUte And
AlEatoRY DifFErenCES. space iS No longer Even
LinEAr oR oNe-dIMenSiONAl: CelLuLaR SPAcE, IN-
DeFINitE GenerATION oF The sAmE signals, LIke
tHe tIcs of A PrIsoNER gONe cRAzy WitH SoLITuDE
AND repetiTION. SuCh is thE GENetiC code: aN
ERaSED RECorD, uncHAnGEAbLE, of WhicH WE aRE
no MOrE THan ceLLs-fOr-rEADiNG. aLL AUrA of
siGN, OF SigNiFIcAnCe itSeLF IS rESolVED iN This
dEteRMInaTIOn; alL IS ResOLved IN ThE InScRIPtIon
and decoDAgE.

SUcH IS tHE THiRd-ORder simUlACruM, OuR



105



jEan baudRilLard



OWn. SuCh iS THE "mystIC EleGaNCe OF thE BInARY
sYstem, of THe ZeRo AnD the ONe", FroM whicH
aLl BeINg PROceEds. sucH IS THE sTATUS of tHe sIgn
that Is ALSO The eND OF SiGnIfICATiON: DNA or
OpeRaTiOnaL sImUlatIoN.

alL Of ThIS is perFeCTLy WelL SUMMEd UP BY
SeBeoK ("geNeTiCS AND seMioTIcS", IN VErSUS):
nuMerOUS ObseRvaTions CoNfirM ThE
HyPOthesIS tHat THE InTeRNAl OrGAnic world
DEsCEnDs in A sTraIght liNE frOm THE
PRIMORdiAL foRms OF LIFE. thE moSt ReMaRk*
ABle FAcT iS thE OMniPReSENCE OF tHe Dna
MOLECUle. THE GEnetIC mAtEriaL Of aLL
oRgaNIsMs Known oN EarTh is IN gReAt
MeASurE MaDe Up of tHe nuDEoNIc ACiDS
DNA aNd RnA tHAt cONtAiN In ThEiR
INFoRMaTioN StRUCTuRE, tranSmITteD bY
REpRODuCtIOn fROm ONE GENEration TO
anOTHER AND fURThErMore GIFTeD wiTH THE
caPaciTY OF selF- reProDuctiON AnD IMitaTIOn.
bRIEFLy, tHe geNEtic cOde Is unIvErsaL, oR
AlmOsT ITS dECiPhErIng WAS aN IMMEnse
DiSCovEry, in tHe sEnSe THaT It ShoWed THAt
"ThE two LANGUAGEs OF The GrEAt POlymERs,
tHe languagE oF NUDEoNIC AciD AND THat oF
proteIn, aRE TightLy coRRElated" (CrIcK,
1966; cLarCk/NaRcKEr, 1968); thE sOvieT
mAtheMATician lIapOUNov DemonSTrAteD
in 1963 THaT aLL liVINg sYstems tranSMIT bY
PREscRIBEd caNALs wITH pRecisION a sMAll



106



thE ORDerS Of simUlacra



QUantIty OF eNErgy OR OF mATTeR COntaIniNg
A grEat VOLUME OF infOrMATIon, wHiCH is
ResPONsiBLE For ThE UltERiOR CONtroL OF a
GReaT QuaNtIty Of EneRgY AnD MAtteR. In
ThIs persPEctIVe nuMeROUS PhEnoMena,
bioLoGIcAL As wEll as cULTuRAl (stocKaGE,
Feed-baCk, canalIzatIOn OF mESSageS And
OtherS) can bE seen aS ASPectS oF thE
trEaTmeNT Of iNfoRMaTIon. in ThE lAst
aNAlySIs INfORmAtioN apPEARs IN GREAT PART
as THE rEpETiTiON oF INfORmatioN, oR EVEn AS
AnoTheR soRt Of InfOrMAtion, a sOrT OF
cOnTROL tHAT seemS tO BE A UnivERSaL
PRoPerTY OF teRrEstRiAL LIfE, iNdePeNDent oF
Form Or SUBsTance.

Five YEARS aGO 1 drew AtTENtIoN tO ThE
cONveRGeNcE oF genEtics And LInguIStics —
auTonomOUs DIsciPlInEs, but ParaLlel iN the
lArGEr FIEld oF coMmuNiCatioN scIEnCE (OF
WHIcH AnIMAl semIOTics Alsi iS a PArT). THe
terMInologY OF gENETIcs is FULl of exPrES-
SIONs TakeN FRom lInGUIstiCS AnD cOmMUni-
catIoN thEoRy (jaCobsoN, 1968), WHiCh aLso
UnDerlInEd eiThEr THE maJoR ReSEmBlAncES
or ThE IMPOrtanT DiFfErEncES OF stRUcTUrE
A nD of fuNCTiON BeTwEEn gEnETic anD VERBAL
COdes. . . it iS oBVious TOdAy t hAt THe GENETIc
CODe mUst Be CoNsIDERed ThE MOSt fUnDa-
MentAl of alL The SemiOTiC NeTwoRks, And
thEReFOre a PrOtOtYpe of ALL THe OtheR
SYsTEMs Of signaLiNg ThAt aNiMALS UsE, MAN



107



JEaN BAUdRiuaRd



INcluDEd. FRom THiS POiNt Of vIew, MolEculES
WHIch aRe sysTemS oF QUAnTa aNd bEhAVE
LiKE staBLE VehicLeS of phySIcAL INfORmATioN,
sySTeMs OF ANiMAl semIotIcS and CUlturAl
systeMs, INCludINg lanGuagE, coNStItuTe A
cOnTinUOuS CHAin oF sTagES, wITh alWAys
MOre Complex eNeRGy levELs, iN tHe fRaME-
WOrK Of A UnivERsAL unIquE EVolUTIon. It is
THErEFORe POSsIbLe To DesCribe EIther LAn-
GUage or lIving SYStems fRom a uNifIEd
CybeRNetic POiNt- oF- VIEW. FoR THe pRESENt,
THis is onLY a UsefuL ANaLOGy Ora pREDictiON.
a REciProcaL RaPprOcheMEnt Between aNiMal
cOMmUnICAtiON AnD linGUIsTIcS Can lEAd tO a
coMPLetE KnOwlEDGE Of the DynAmICs Of
SemIotiCs, aND SUCh A KnOwLEdge cAn be
.reVealEd, in thE last aNALYSIS, tO be nOthING
lEsS than THE vErY deFIniTiOn oF liFe.

ANd so THE CurrENt strateGIC MOdeL is
designEd That evERyWheRe Is REPlAciNG tHE
GrEAT IdEoLogiCAl MoDEL WhiCh CONSTItUTed
PolitIcAl ECONoMY IN ITS tImE.

YOu wIll FInD It uNDEr ThE riGoRour SiGN
of "sCiEnCE" In THe cHanCe and nECesSiTY Of
jAcQueS MONOD. tHe EnD of DiAlecTICAL
EVoluTioN, iT Is tHE dISCoNtINUous iNDEteR-
mINisM OF ThE gENeTIC CODE tHat now ContrOLs
LiFE — thE tELeOLOgiCAl prINCiple. FInAliTY No
lonGer belonGs to the teRM; tHerE iS No loNgEr



108



THe ORDErs of siMuLacRA

a tErm, nOR a detErmInaTIOn. fiNaliTY is ThERE
BeforEhAND, INscRIbED In The cOdE. we SEe
tHat NOthING haS ChAnGED— simpLY tHE Order
of ENdS yieLDs to thE PLAY of MOLecULEs, anD
the oRDer of SiGniFiEDS tO THE pLAy of
inFiNiTeSimAL sIgNIFieRs, ReDUCeD tO thEir
alEaTorY CoMmuTatioN. aLL THe TRAnScenDant
fINaLitiES REdUcED tO a dasHbOArD FuLl of
INsTruments. tHeRe IS sTiLl, howeVeR, Re-
COURsE to a nATure, tO An INscRIpTiON in
"bIOlOGICaL" NatUrE — In ACTUaLiTY, a nATure
DistoRteD BY FantAsY like sHE ALwayS WaS,
MEtApHYsical sanctuary nO lOnGeR OF oRIGiN
aND SUbstanCe, buT THIs tIME OF tHE Code; THe
coDe mUSt hAve AN "oBJecTIve" BASis. wHaT
CoUlD bE betTER For that PurpOSe thaN ThE
MOlEcule And GeNetIcs? MoNOD Is THe STrIct
THEOlOgiaN OF This MOLeculAR tRAnSCEnDANcE,
eDGaR MoRIN THe rapT DisCipLe (A.D.n.* +
ADOnait). But FoR oNE AS Well as THe otheR, The
FaNtaSY Of thE CodE, wHIch is EquIvaLenT tO
ThE RealITy OF PoWer, is meRgEd WiTh
MOLeCulaR iDeALism.

Thus we fiNd ONcE MORE iN HiSTorY thaT
deLIrIOUS iLlusIon OF UNTINg THE woRlD uNder

tJ.n.A.



109



jeAN bAuDRILlARD



thE aegIs of A SINGLe pRInCipLE — tHaT oF A
HOMogeNouS SUbsTaNCe wiTh tHE JEsUits OF
THE COUNTer RefOrMatIoN; THAt OF tHe
geNeTiC CodE with tHE tEchnocratS Of BIoLOgI-
caL SCience {buT ALso lIngUiStICs aS WeLl), WitH
LEibNiz anD HIS bInAry DIvINiTy aS PRecUrSor.
fOR tHe PrOgRaM heRE aiMeD AT HAS NOTHiNg
geNetic aBOUt IT, it Is A SoCIal aNd hiStORIcAl
ProGRam. tHAt WhICh iS hyPOSTaTized in
biocHEmIstRY iS tHE IdEAL oF A sOciAl oRder
rUleD by A sort of GEnetiC cODe OF maCRo-
mOLECuLar CalCUlaTiOn, oF p.P.b.s. (plANNeD
prOGrAMming BuDgetiNG sYSTem), IRradIAt-
iNG ThE sOcIAL BOdy WIth itS OpErAtIonAL
CIrcUitS. ThE TEChNicaL cyBeRnEtIc FiNDs ItS
"NAtuRAL PhILoSophy" heRe, As MOnOd says.
ThE FaScinaTIOn oF the bIOloGIcAl, Of The
BIoMeDiCAL DatEs FROm THE VeRy BEGinNIngS of
sCiENCE. IT Was AT wORK In SPENcErian
oRgAnIciSM (SocIObiology) oN the lEvEL oF
sECoND- anD thIRD-oRdEr StRUctuREs (jACob'S
ClaSsifICaTION iN tHE lOgic OF liFE, It is ActivE
tODAy in modeRn BiocHeMisTRY, on The LeveL
Of STRuCtures OF tHe FOurtH-OrDeR).

CoDed sImIlARITIeS AnD DiSsiMILaRItIes:
tHAT Is CErtAinLY tHE imAgE oF CYBernItICIzed
sOCiaL ExchaNGE. yOU Only haVE tO aDd



110



thE oRdeRs oF sIMuLacRA

"STeREosPECIfic coMpLeX" in oRDER To Re-inJECT
IntraCEllulAr COmMuNIcatiOn; ThaT MoRin WIlL
COme To TrANsfigURE InTO molEcuLAR eROs.

PrACTiCaLlY aND hIStoRICAlLy, ThIs sigNifIed
tHe sUBSTiTUtion oF sociAL cOnTrOL by tHe eND
(anD BY a MorE OR lESs dIAlECticaL PRovIDENcE
whICH sUrveYs thE AcComPlIShMent OF This
ENd) fOr sOcial CoNtRol By anTIcIpatIon,
SiMULATioN AND PROgRAMmiNg, aND iNDeTeR-
mINATE MUTatIOn dIRECtED BY thE cODE.
iNsTeAD of A pRoCesS WhIcH iS FINalizeD
acCoRDINg To ITS idEal DeveLOpmENT, WE
GENeRaLiZE fRoM a mOim. instEad of arIGHt To a
PropheCY, We have the riGht Of reGistRatioN.
THEre iS NO rEaLlY radicAL DiFfERENCe bETWEen
thE tWO, ONLy thE sCHeMes of COnTrOl HaVe
bEcome faNtAstIcALLY pErFecTed. fRoM a
capItalIST-proDUcTIvIsT soCieTy to A neo-
CApiTalIST CybERNEtIc order tHat aIMS NOW at
ToTAl cONtrOL. tHiS iS ThE mutATiON FOr wHIcH
The BiOLogical TheorizAtION of the CodE
PrEpAReS THE groUNd. tHerE iS NOTHING OF aN
ACCidenT iN thIs MUtATION. iT IS tHE End OF A
History IN WhiCh, sUCcEsSivEly, gOD, Man,
PROgrESS, anD HIStoRy iTSelF die to pRofIT thE
CoDE, In WHICh tRanSCeNDANcE diES tO ProfiT
iMMAnEnCE, the LaTTER cORRESPONDInG tO a



111



jean baUdriLLard

MucH MORe aDVAnCED pHasE in ThE verTigINous
mAnipUlATIon Of SocIAL RapPOrtS.

In ItS indeFinITe REProDuCtiOn, ThE sYsteM
Puts aN End tO tHE mytH oF ITs oRIGin ANd To aLL
ThE rEFereNTiAL VaLues IT Has ITSelF SEcreTed ALOng
tHe WAY. PUTting aN End To ITS myTh OF
BEGiNnIng, it eNDS ItS InteRnAL cOnTRadicTIoNS
(NO MORE ReAL OR ReFereNtIal To BE CONFRoNted
wITh), AnD iT PUTs An ENd ALso tO tHE mYth oF its
own END tHe revOLutiOn itsELf. wHAt WAs
PROFILed WItH rEvOLutIoN was The VictoRY oF
hUmAN AnD GeNeRIc rEfERENce, OF ThE oriGiNAL
PotENTial OF mAn. bUt IF CAPitaL eRAses FrOm the
MAp geNErIC MAN himself {For thE sAKE oF
GEnETiC MaN?) THe goLdEN age OF the ReVolu-
TIoN WAs thAT of CApITaL, WHere The MYThs oF
OrigIn anD ENd STIll CircuLATed. ONcE sHORt-
CircuItED THe MyThS (and tHe only dANGEr capItAl
CONfRonTed hiSTOrICALLY CAMe tO iT FrOm ThIS
MyThICAL exiGeNcY oF ratiONalITy THaT acCOMPa-
niEd It froM thE vEry BeGINNinG) iN aN OPERA tIOn-
aliTY Of fACt AND wIthoUt DiscouRsE, oNCe CAPiTal
ItSelF hAS BeCoMe itS oWN MYtH, OR rathER AN
INTErminABlE mAchiNE, aleaTOry, SOMEthInG
LIKE A SOCIaL geNEtIc codE, iT No lonGER lEaVEs
ANy RoOM fOR A PlaNNeD rEversAl; AND This
Is Its trUE VIoLEnCe. it remaINs TO be Seen If THiS



112



THE oRdeRS Of SiMUlACrA

OPERATiOnAlItY Is not itsElf A MyTH, If Dna iS not
ALso A MYTh.

onCe aNd FoR all ThEre Is poSEd, iN EffEct,
THE pRoblem OF ScIenCe as dIscOuRSE. a goOd
ocCAsioN To POsE iT heRe, whERE thiS DIScOUrsE
IS aBsolUTizeD WITH SUcH cAnDor. "pLATo,
herAClItus, hEgel, mArX; tHeSe idEOLoGICal
EdiFIces, PreSenTEd as A pRIoN, weRe rEallY
a PosterIORI coNstrUCtIoNS, DeStinED to JUsTIfy
a pReCoNCEived ethico- POliTiCal tHEOry . . .
the only A PRIOri for sCIeNCe Is the PoStulAte OF
oBJEcTivitY, that fORbiDS ItseLF aNy parT in tHis
DebATE." (MONod). buT thiS poSTULAtE reSULtS
ItSeLf FrOm a NEver innOcEnT decISioN fOr
oBjecTifICaTiON OF tHe wORld anD OF thE "rEal." IN
fAct IT Is the cOhEreNce of a cERTaIn disCOURSe, AND
aLL scIentIfIc MoVEMeNt iS NOtHiNG bUT ThE SpaCe
OF tHIs diSCoUrSE, NeVEr RevEALING ITSElf aS sUCh,
anD thE "OBjeCTivE" siMuLAcrum oF whicH HIdEs
The pOLITicaL, straTegIC WOrd. a LitTLE fartheR ON,
FUrthErMORE, MonOD VeRY wELl exPresSeS tHe
aRbItrAry NAturE Of ThIs pHEnoMENon: "WE
mIGHT WoNDer IF ALl tHE" invaRIAnCE, COnSERva-
tiONs and SYmmETrIeS ThAT COnstiTute thE
SCHeMe oF SCiEntiFiC DisCourse Are onLy FiCTioNs
suBstiTUted For ReaLIty SO aS To oFFEr An
opErATionaL Image. . . a LOgic FOunDEd oN a



113



jEAN BaUDrilLArD

purely abstrAcT pRinciPLE oF iDEnTity pOssIBLY
ConVENTionaL. cOnvENTion, HOWEveR, THaT hUmaN
ReaSoN SEEMs IncapAblE OF doing WitHoUt." YOU
cOuLdN'T SaY IT BEtter: that ScIenCe HaS seLEcTED
itsELf AS GenERAtInG fOrmuLa, a MoDeL DiscouRSE,
uPon The FAitH of a COnVeNTioNal oRDer (NOt JuSt
AnY, hOwEVER; ThAT Of toTAL ReduCTIOn). But
mONOD SlidEs raPIDLy into This DANgErOUs
HyPothESIS oF A "CoNvENTIONAl" idENtitY prIn-
CIPLE. iT WOuLd BE BEtTeR to baSE SCIenCe, MOrE
CrUdELy, UPON AN "ObjECTive" rEaLity. PHYsIcS is
There To wiTnESS ThAT IDEnTitY Is OnLy a
posTULAte — it is wITHIN THINGS, Since THErE is
"absoLUtE IdENtItY oF tWO aTOMs in the sAmE
quANTItatiVe StatE" wElL theN? ConVenTiOn, oR
OBjeCtive ReALITy? THE TrutH iS THaT SciEncE iS
organIzED, lIKe AnY oTHeR DIScourse, oN tHe
baSiS of a cOnvenTIONal LOgiC, BUt it DEmaNDs FOr
ITs jUSTIfIcATiON, LIke aNy OtheR iDEOLogicAL
dIsCourSe, a REaL "objecTIVe" reFErENce, in a
PROceSS oF sUbStaNCe. IF tHe PrInCIpLe Of IdEnTITY
IS SOmehOw "trUE," Even aT tHe InFiNitesimaL
LEvel of tWO aTOMs, tHeN tHe EntireconveNTIoNaL
EdifIcE OF ScIENce THaT DeRiVes its inSpiratIoN
fROM tHAT LEvel Is ALsO "truE." THe HYPotHEsIs Of
ThE gENEtiC coDE, dna, iS Also TruE aNd
uNsURpASsAbLe. SO IT GOes wITh MetaphYSIcs.



114



THE oRdErs Of SIMULaCRA



sCIEnce ACcouNts fOR tHIngS PreviOUSLy EnciRclED
AnD FORmaLIZed SO aS tO be Sure TO ObeY iT.
"OBjECtiVitY" Is NotHinG elsE thAN thaT, AnD THe
ETHIC whIcH coMes tO saNcTiOn THiS objeCtIVE
KnoWLeGdE Is NOTHing LeSs tHaN A systEM of
DEfEnSE aND imPOSed IGNORancE, wHoSe GOaL Is
To preSeRVE tHIS viCIouS ciRcLe IntacT. *

"DOwn wiTh AlL hypOthEsES tHAT have
aLLoweD thE BeLIEF in a TRUe woRlD/' sAiD
NiEtzSChE.

tHE TaCTile aNd The DIgITal

this reGUlatioN on tHe ModeL OF THe
geNETIc coDE IS nOt At alL liMIted to LaboRATorY
EffeCTs oR TO the ExalteD VisIONS OF THeOreTicianS.
BAnAL, EvERYdaY lIfE is InVested By THESe
MODELs. diGITALIty Is wiTh uS. IT iS thAT wHich
HAuNts ALl the meSsaGES, AlL The SIgns of Our
sOciETies. tHe mOST ConCRetE FoRm yOu SeE it iN
Is ThAT Of tHE teST, OF ThE QUEsTIon/ aNSweR, of
thE stIMUluS/ reSPonSe. aLL CoNteNT is NEUtrAl-
izEd By A conTINuAL PrOCeDuRe OF dirECTEd
inteRrogAtION, Of VERdictS ANd ULtImAtUMS tO
dEcode, WHICh no LOnGeR ARISE thIS tImE FROM
the dEPTHs OF The genETiC CODE BUt ThaT HaVE THe
SAme tacticAl inDeTErMiNAcY — thE cYclE of SeNSE



115



]EAn bAUDrillaRD

bEing INFiNItELy shoRTenED inTo THat of question/
aNSWeR, oF bIT or MiNUtE QUANTiTY oF eNergy/
inFoRmaTiOn COmINg BaCk To ItS BEginnInG, ThE
cYclE oNLY deScRIBING tHe PErpEtUaL rEacTualIZa-
tiOn Of tHE SAMe mOdels. tHE equivAlENT oF The
tOTaL NEuTraLiZatiON oF ThE siGnIfiEd BY The codE
Is tHE InstantaNEoUs NEsS of tHe vERdIct of
FaShIOn, oR oF AnY ADvErTisinG or MEDIA
MessAGe. aNy PLacE wHErE tHe OFfER swALlOwS
Up tHE DemanD, whERE thE QueStiOn aSSiMIlATeS
tHE aNsWer, or aBsORbS and regURGITATES iT iN a
deCodaBlE FORM, or INVeNts AnD AnticiPaTes IT in
A PREdiCTIBLE foRM. EVERYWHErE thE saME
"sCEnARio," ThE scENaRIO of "TRiAl AnD eRrOR" {gUiNeA
pIgS In laborAtORy expeNmENTS), thE SCenArIO oF
ThE BREAdTh OF CHOIcE OFfered EveryWhERE ("The
persoNALItY TEst") — eVERYWHEre THE teSt fUnc-
CTIonS aS A fundaMeNtal FOrM Of coNTrOl, by
meAns Of tHe INfiNItE DIVisibilITy of PrActicES AND
respOnsES.

WE live By THe ModE OF RefErENDUm prEciSeLy
BEcAuse TherE Is NO lONgEr aNy ReFereNTIaL- EVERY
sigN, Every meSSaGE (OBjECts oF "FUNctIoNaL" Use
aS well AS aNy iteM OF fAShIon or teLEvISED NeWs,
pOlL Or ElECTOral COnsulTatiOn) iS PreSenteD to Us
AS QUeStioN/ ansWer. thE ENTiRE sySTem OF
COMMunIcAtiON has PAsSeD FrOM THat OF a



116



tHE oRDERs Of sImulaCRa



sYntaCtICALLy cOMplEX LANgUAGE StRUcture tO A
biNARY sigN syStEM of QUeSt IOn/ ANsWER — OF
pERpETUAl teST- now TeSTS AND rEFereNdA aRE, we
Know, PERfECT fOrMs of siMUlATION: thE AnsweR
iS CalLED FORTH bY THE QUESTIoN, iT is desiGN-AtEd In
adVANcE. tHe rEfereNduM is ALwAyS an uLTIMatUM: tHe
uNilAteRAL NaTure of tHe QUeSTIon, ThAT Is nO
longER exAcTly an iNTERrogAtION, bUt the
IMMEDIaTe impoSItIon of a sENSe whErEbY the
cyClE iS sUDdeNly CompLETed. eVeRy MeSsAgE Is A
veRDICt, jUst liKe thE oNe THAt cOMes froM
POlLiNG staTIsTicS. thE sIMUlaCrUm OF DiStaNce
{oR even of cOntrADICTioN bEtwEEN The tWO
Poles) iS OnLy — LIKE the effECt Of the rEal THe
siGn sEeMS TO EMIT— A TACTiCAL HaLlUcinAtioN.

BEnJAmin AnALyZES CONCrEtElY, on The LeVeL
OF THE tEchniCAL iNStRuMENT, ThIs operAtioN Of
THE teST:

The PERForMANCe OF ThE moVie aCtoR is
TRaNsmiTTeD To THe PubLic bY MEANs Of AN
aRray OF tEChniCal INStrUMENts, WiTh A
tWOFOld cOnsequEncE. THE CAmeRa tHAt
PResENTS the peRFOrMANce Of The fIlM ACtOR
to thE PuBlic need NOT ReSPEcT THe perForm-
aNCe AS an inteGRal WHOlE. gUiDeD BY The
cAMerAMAn, The cAMEra coNTInuaLlY CHanGES
iTs pOsItioN WItH respECT To the pErfOrMAnce .
ThE SEQuEnCE oF poSiTiOnaL VIEWs WHicH the



117



JeAN BaudrIiLard



edITOr coMPOSEs FroM thE materIal SUpPLIed
HiM cOnSTITuTes THE cOMplETED fIlm. HENCe,
THE perFoRManCE oF the aCtoR IS SUBJeCtED To A
SErIeS of OptICAl TEstS ThIS IS THE FirSt
cONseQuENCE Of ThE FAcT THaT ThE ACTOR'S
PerFORmaNCe Is pReSentED BY mEanS Of ThE
CaMERa. alSO, The FiLM ACtOr lackS THE
OpPoRtuNitY Of thE staGe ACtor tO ADJust To T He
AUDIeNce duRing THe peRFORmance, SincE HE
dOEs NoT pResENT hiS pErfoRMANce TO THE
aUdiEncE in pERsON. ThIs PeRMiTS THE AUdIENCe
TO TakE the pOsiTiON oF The CritiC, wiTHout
expERIEnCinG AnY persONal CONTaCT wITH THE
acTOr the AUDiENCE's iDEnTIfICATION with THe
ACtOr IS reALLY aN iDeNTIfiCatIon witH THE
CAMeRa. CONsequENtly ThE AuDiEncE taKes The
pOsITION oF the caMEra; ItS apPRoaCH iS ThAt Of
TesTing.

nOTE; tHe exPanSioN oF THE FIeLD of tHe
testAbLE wHiCH MeCHanICAl EQuIPMEnt bRiNgs
ABouT FOR the actor CoRRespoNds tO ThE
eXtrAorDInARY eXpAnSIon OF THe fIElD oF ThE
TestaBLe bROUgHt ABOuT FOr tHE IndIVIDUal
ThrouGh ECOnOMiC conDiTIoNS. Thus, vOCa-
tioNAL aPtITudE TEstS BEComE COnStANtlY mORe
impoRTaNt. wHat mATteRS In THESE tESTS aRE
segMeNtAl PERfoRmances of tHE IndIViduaL.
ThE film SHOT AND tHe VocAtioNal aPtiTuDe Test
aRE TakEn beFOre A coMMItTEe of ExpertS, tHE
CamerA diReCtor In THE sTUDIo occupIes A plAcE
iDeNTICAL wItH tHat Of tHE EXaMINER DURING



118



tHe ORdErS of SiMUlAcra



AptiTudE TESts. {TrAnsLATed bY H. ZOhN iN
silU MinaI TONs, FRom "THE work OF Art IN thE
age of MEchAniCal rEpRoDUCTiON.")

"the wOrk oF ARt With THE dADaiSTS
bECoMES A PrOjeCtiLe. IT plUnGes IN On tHe
SpECtATor, iT TakES ON a TacTILe quALitY. ThE
diVERGing elemENT in FilM IS AlSo FIrST-And-
fOreMOst A TaCTiLe ElEmeNt, BAsEd EffecTuaLLY
oN tHE cONStAnT chANGE of PlAcE AND cAmeRA
aNgLES ThaT STimuLatE thE SpectAtoR."

NO CoNTEMplATiOn iS pOSSIble. ThE IMages
fRagMENt percEptIon iNtO sucCeSSive sequences,
iNTO StImULI tOWARd wHICH there can bE onlY
InStANTaneOus RESponSE, YEs oR no — The lIMIT OF
an ABBrEviatED REACtioN. FIlm nO LonGeR AlLOWS
You TOquEsTIOn.lT QuEStIons you, And dIrectly. it
Is in this SeNSe ThaT the mODErn MEDiA cAll For,
aCcOrDINg TO mcLUhaN, I A GReATer dEgReE oF
IMmeDiatE ParticIPATiOn, an INcesSAnt rESpONsE,
a TotAl PLAsTiCitY (benJamiN COmPaReS tHe wORk
OF thE cAmEraMan TO tHAt of tHE surGeoN:
TACtiLIty AND manIPulAtiOn). tHe rolE OF tHE
mESsAgE is no longER iNFoRmAtioN, BuT tesTING
AND POLLIng, And fInAllY contrOL ("cONTrA- RolE," in
THe sEnsE tHAT AlL YoUR anSWers aRE AlReADy
iNsCRibED iN tHe "rOlE," On THe AnTiCIpAtED
rEgIsterS of thE CODE). MontAGE aNd CoDIficATiOn



119



LEaN BaUDRiiLARD



dEMaND, iN efFecT, tHAT thE rEceiVEr ConstrUE
anD deCode bY obseRvinG tHE sAme proCedURE
wHeReby tHe WoRk waS ASSEMBlED. THE rEadIng
oF The MeSsagE iS thEN OnLy a pERpEtUAL
ExaMiNatIoN Of tHe cODe.

Every ImAge, eveRY Media meSSagE, bUt
alsO AnY fUNcTIoNAl enVirOnMEntAL ObJeCt, iS
A test — THAT iS To saY, iN The FulL RiGor of
the term, lIbEraTInG rESPoNse MecHanISmS
AcCOrdINg TO stEReOTYPES aND AnALytIC ModeLs.
tOdAy, thE oBJeCt iS No LOnger "fuNCTiOnAl" iN
The TRAditiONal mEANiNG oF thE Word; IT No
LOngEr SErveS yoU, it FETe YoU. It haS noThiNG tO
Do witH ThE oBjECT of YeSteRYEAr, No mOrE thAn
does MedIA neWS WITh A "REALiTY" OF FAcTS. BotH
ObjEctS aND inForMAtiOn ResULT AlReADy FROM A
sELEctiON, A MOnTAGE, fROM A pOiNt-oF-vIEw.
TheY haVe AlREADY tesTEd "ReAlITy," AnD haVe
ASKed oNly QUEstIONs tHAT "anSWerEd baCk" To
tHEm. thEy haVe bRoken dOwN ReALiTY inTo
SiMpLe eLemEnTS tHAt they have rEASseMBleD
INtO sceNARiOS oF regUlAtED opPOSiTiONS, ExaCtLy
in The SAMe WaY tHAT thE pHotOGrApheR ImpoSEs
hiS ConTRastS, LIghts, anGLes ON his SUBJECT (AnY
PhOTogrApHer WiLL tED YoU: You Can DO ANYtHinG,
alL yOU hAvE to do iS ApProAcH THe orIgINAl FROm
ThE RIGhT AnglE, at That RighT moMent OR MOoD



120



tHE ORdERS oF SImuLacra

tHaT WILL rendEr iT thE CorReCT AnSweR To ThE
iNstanTaNEOUS teST of THE iNsTrumEnt And iTS
Code). It Is ExactLy liKe ThE TeSt Or THE
refereNdUm wHEn THeY TraNsLatE a coNfLICT oR
ProBlEm INTo a gamE of question/AnswEr. and
reAlitY, tHUS TEsTED, testS YoU AccorDING tO tHE
SAme GRiLL; YoU DEcODe it AcCORdinG to tHe SAme
CODe, iNsCriBED wItHin EacH MessAgE aNd objeCT
LIKE a MINiaTurized gEnetIc codE.

ALl iS preSEntEd today In a SPread-oUt
SERIES, or As PArT OF A liNE OF pROduCTs, AND
tHiS FACt AlOnE tEsTs YoU alreaDy, BECAuSE YoU
arE OBLIgEd tO makE dECIsIONS. tHis ap-
PrOXimatEs OUr GENERAL AtTITuDE toWARD ThE
wOrlD ARounD us tO tHaT of A REnding, AND To
A selecTIvEdecipHERinG. we live LESs LIkE USErS
than rEADeRS AND SelECTors, rEadIng cEllS. but
nEVertHelEss: by the SamE tOkeN YOu ALsO Are
CONsTantlY SelecteD ANd teSteD bY tHe mEDium
iTseLF. jUsT liKe cUTtINg OUt a sAmPLe for ThE EndS
OF THe sUrVEY, thE meDIA frAMe And exCiSE ThEIR
MessaGE bUnDlEs, WhiCh ARe In FAct BunDLES OF
sEleCTED quEsTiOnS, sAmPLES oF tHeIr aUdIENCe.
bY a ciRCULar oPERaTion oF exPeRiMentaL moDIfI-
CaTiON, oF iNcessant INTeRFERenCE, LiKE A NervOus
iNpuT, TaCTilE anD reTracTILE, ThAT exPlOREs AN
OBjECt by mEANs of BrIeF PerCepTIVE seQuENCeS,



121



lean bAUdRiLlArD



UntiL IT hAs bEeN lOcALizED aNd cOntrOLled. WhaT
THe medIA ThereBy lOCALiZe AnD conTROl are no
Real aNd AutonoMOuS GROUpS, BuT saMPleS,
Samples mOdElLEd SociAllY aND MeNtaLLY BY A
bARragE oF mESsAGes. "publIC opINION" Is evIDeNT-
ly THe PrETtiEst Of THese sAmples — NOt An uNReal
pOlItIcAL suBStaNcE, BUt One That iS HyPERreAL— a
FanTASTIC hyPERRealIty THaT Lives oNLy oFf Of
mONtage and tEst- mANiPuLAtIon.

tHE erupTIoN OF THE Binary scHEmE qUES-
TIon/aNSweR Is Of an iNcalCUlAble IMPORTANce. IT
REndeRS iNaRTicULaTE everY DiSCOurSE. IT SHoRt-
cirCUitS All THaT WAs, IN a gOlDen agE Come AgAIn,
THe diALectIc of SIGnIfIEr and SigniFIed, Of A
RePrESENtiNG aND A rEpRESenTED. It IS The eNd OF
ObJECtS WhOse mEaNInG wouLd bE fuNCtiOn, aND
OF opiNioNs thaT "REpReSENtatIVe" RepResENTatIVES
wouLD BE abLe to VoTe FoR. it is The ENd OF The reai
INtaRROgatIoN tO WhICh It WAS PoSsiBlE TO aNswEr
(tHe eNd eSPeCiALLy tO uNanSweRable queSTioNs).
thiS PrOCess hAS BEen enTiRELy oVERThrOWn. ThE
cONtraDIcTorY pROcess of tRUe And fAlsE, oF reaL
anD tHe IMaGINArY, IS aBOlIshED IN ThIS HYPErREAL
LoGIC Of 'MoNTage. MICHeL TOrT, IN hiS booK
InteLliGEnce QuOTIent, ANAlyzEs tHiS QuITE WelL*
"WhaT is GoiNG TO detERMiNE tHE AnSwer To tHe
QUeStION is NOT tHe QuesTIoN As sUCh In the foRM



122



THe orderS oF sImULAcrA



In WhIch it WAS pOSED, it IS also thE IDea thAT tHe
inteRrOGATEd SUBjEcT foRms abOUt The moST
aPpROPriAte taCtIc to AdOpT iN FUNCtIon of THE
coNCEPT HE HaS foRMEd ABOUT tHe ExPECTations
oF the INTERrogAToR." AnD fuRtheR "thE aRTifaCT
iS SoMETHinG eLse ENtIRELY than A ContRollED
tRAnSfoRMATion oF THe objEcT FOr tHe ENDs OF
knowleDge, it IS A RudE interferENce wiTh REAliTy,
aT The END oF WhIch It is IMPOSsIble tO SAy WhaT
IN realITY can bE oBjecTIveLY knOWn AnD WhAT IS
THe reSUlT of TecHnIcAL INTeRvEnTioN (meDiuM).
thE I.Q. iS aN aRTifACt." nO moRE trUE oR faLSe,
BECAuSe No More DisTInguiSHABlE HIaTUS BETWEen
questIoN AnD RESponse. In The LIGHT Of The TeSTS,
iNteLLigENcE, like OPINion — anD more geNERally
the enTire PROCeSS oF mEAnING — is REDUced TO
THE"abIlIty to pRodUCe conTRAstING ReActions Toa
grOwinG SErIes of AdeQuatE StIMUli."

this entire ANaLYSiS Sends US baCK TO
MCLUhAn's FORmuLa: "The MediUM Is THE
mESsAge." It IS in EfFEcT ThE medIuM— thE Very
STYLE oF MonTAgE, Of deCOuPaGE, OF InTERpELla-
Tion, sOlICITATiOn, sUmmatIoN, By THe mediUm —
which cOntROlS The PROCESs OF meANiNg. And
you uNdErsTaNd WHy mCluHAN saw In THE era
Of tHe gREAT ElECtronIc MedIa AN ERA Of TadILE
COMMunICATIOn. we aRE cLoSeR heRE in eFFEcT tO



123



JEan bAuDRILlARD

tHe tAcTIle THAn To THe ViSual UnIversE, wHErE
ThE DIsTAncIng IS grEAteR and ReflectION Is aLwAYs
POSsIBle. aT THE saMe TImE As tOucH loseS itS
seNsORiaL sEnSuAL vAluE fOr US ("TOUChING IS aN
InteRactioN of tHe SenSes RatHEr tHAn A SImplE
ContAct of aN OBjEcT with ThE skIn"), It is poSsIbLe
tHAt it ReTUrNs As tHE stRATEGY of a uNIveRse oF
coMmUNicatIoN — BUT aS ThE fiEld oF TaCTIlE AnD
TactICaL SimulAtIOn, wHEre tHe MesSagE BecomeS
"mASsAGE," tentaCULaR SoLirITaTioa teSt. EVeRy-
wHERE yoU'RE TestEd, PalPatED, thE meTHoD IS
"TActical," tHE SPheRE oF cOMMunicatIon iS
"tacTiLE." wItHOUt eveN SPEAkiNg of The iDeOloGY
OF "CONtacT," ThAt iS bEING pUsHED iN aLl Its fORMs
as A sUbstitutE foR soCial RaPPoRT, THERE Is AN
ENtIRe sOcIAl ConfigURatION THat OrBiTs ArOUND
The teSt (THE queStIon/ aNsweR cell) AS arOUnD tHe
CommANdMENtS oF ThE mOLEcULar COdE.

tHE POlitIcaL sPhere eNtiReLy LOSES iTs
SPECIFiCITY WheN it EnTERS INto tHE GAMe of thE
mEdia AnD pUBlIC opINIon PoLLS, that Is tO SaY intO
The spHerE OF tHE iNTEgRated CirCUit OF qUEStion/
aNsWeR. The elEcToRaL sphERe IS In any casE ThE
fiRsT grEat iNSTItUtiOn WheRE SocIAL exChANge is
ReDuCEd to OBtaiNInG AN ANsWer. It iS due To ThIs
SIGN-simPliFicATION ThaT It is THe FirSt onE tO
bECoME UNIVErsAL. univErsal suFfrage Is thE FirSt



124



thE oRDeRs OF SImUlacrA

OF the MASs- MeDIa. ad ThRougH THe 19 th AND
20Th ceNTUriEs PoliticaL AND ECOnOMIc PrActIcE
MErge inCrEaSinglY intO ThE saMe TyPe Of
DISCoUrSE. PrOpAgaNdA anD adveRtisINg fusE In
ThE SAmE MarKetInG and MeRchanDisiNG Of
OBjECTS anD IDEOLOgIEs. thIS cONvErGENce Of
LANGUAgE beTWeEn The ecONOMIc AND thE
pOlItIcAL iS fuRthERmOrE WhAT MarKs a SoCiETY
SUch as ours, wHeRe "pOliticAl econOMY" is fUlLy
REaLized. It is aLSO bY tHe sAmE toKEn iTs END
siNCe thE TWO sphEREs aRe aBOlisHED in An
ENTIrElY SEparAtE ReALItY, or hYpeRREALitY, wHicH
IS ThAT OF THe mEDia. therE, tOO, THeRe IS an
EleVatION Of EACh TerM tO a greAtEr poWeR, THat
Of tHE THiRd-OrDer SimuLACRA.

'thAT MANY rEGRET THE 'cORrUpTIoN' OF
pOLITIcs bY THe MEDia, DEPloRInG thAt tV AnD
pUblIC OpINiOn poLLS HaVe REPlACEd sO quiCKLy tHe
FormaTIon OF OpiNioN, shoWs ONLY that tHeY
UNdeRStANd nothiNG abOUT POlITiCs."

WHat IS ChAracTerisTic oF THis pHasE Of
poLItIcal hYpERrEaLiSm iS tHe necessarY COnjUnC-
TIoN bEtweEN tHE biPARtite SYStem And THE eNtrY
INTO THE Play oF tHE polLS AS MiRRor of THIs
ALTernAtInG eqUiValEnCE oF The pOliTicAl gAMe.

the POLlS aRe lOcATed IN A DiMENsIon bEyONd
All SocIal prODUDiON. THEy rEFER oNLy tO a



125



jeAN BAudRilLarD



SiMULacRUM Of PuBliC opiNion. a MIrror Of
opInion aNAloGous In Its waY to That OF thE GROSS
NatIONAl pROdUCt iMagiNary miRrOR Of tHE
PRODuCTivE forcES, WITHOUt ReGARd To thEIr SoCIal
ENdS oR lACk tHEreOF. wHaT is ESSENTIal is OnLy
ThAT "it" reProdUCEs ItselF. THE sAME AS FOr
pUBLic oPINion: WHaT IS ESSenTIAL Is thaT IT
sHAdoW ITseLF incESSaNtLY iN ITS oWN iMAgE.
tHEReIN lies ThE SEcreT of mAsS REpReSeNtatiON.
it is no loNgeR NecEssARy ThAT anYoNE PRODUcE AN
OpInIon, all tHaT IS neeDEd IS THAT ALl REPRoDUCE
pubLIC opInIoN, iN the SEnsE thaT alL OpInIons gEt
caugHT UP IN ThIs KINd oF genErAL EquIVALENT, aND
Once morE PrOCEED frOm iT (rEproducE it,
WhATeVeR THEY MaKe OF IT, on thE lEvEl OF
IndivIduaL choIce). FOr opiniOns aS for mATeRIaL
gOOdS: prOdUCTION IS DEad, long lIVe REPrODUcTiON.

iF MD.uHAn'S forMUla mAkES Any seNse it iS
cERTaINLY In tHiS coNnEcTIoN, * public opiNIOn IS
PAr eXceLleNCe At ThE Same tIMe Medium anD
mesSaGE. AnD the POlLs ThAT inForM IT Are The
iNCesSaNt imPOsiTIon Of ThE mEDiuM as mesSagE.
In THIs seNSe ThEy Are oF THE Same NaTurE As tV
AnD tHE ELEcTROnIc mEdia, whIcH we hAvE seEN arE
alsO ONly a Perpetual gaMe OF qUEsTIon/ aNSwER,
AN InSTRuMEnt oF pErPETUal POlLinG.

tHe pODS maniPUlate THAt WhiCH cANNOt Be



126



ThE ordERS OF SimuLaCRa



dEciDeD. dO TheY ReaLlY afFEcT THE VoTE? truE,
FAlSe? do THeY GIVE An ExAcT pIctUrE OF REality, oR
siMplE TEnDeNCiES, Or THE reFRACTiOn Of This
rEALITy iN a hyPeRs pacE oF siMUlAtIOn wHoSe
curvE EVEn is UnkNowN? True, FALSe, uN-
DeCiDaBLe. tHEiR mOST sOPhiStiCATeD anAlYSES
LEaVE roOM aLWAyS fOr ThE REvERSIBILIty Of tHe
hYPotheseS. STaTISTIcS Is onlY cASuiSTRy. thIS Un-
DeCIdabse quAlITy iS propER tO any PROceSs OF
SimulaTioN (See ABOVe, tHe CriSis of INDEcIsiON).
ThE InTErnAl lOgIC oF These PROcEdURes (STAtisTICS,
PRobAbIlITY, OPeratIonal cyBErneTICS) is cErtainLY
RigOrOUS anD "SciENTiFIc'*; soMEHOW ThoUGh It
dOes NOt STicK, it IS a FABulOUS fiCtIon Whose
IndEX of reFRaCTIoN IN any rEalITy (TRuE oR false) is
NiL ThiS iS eVeN wHat giVes tHESe mODeLs Their
fOrCEfulneSs. bUT alSO iT iS thIs whIch OnlY LEAvEs
THem, as TRuTH, THE PaRAnoiD pRojECtiON tEstS oF a
CAse, oR Of A grOup wHIcH dreAmS of A
MIraCUlOUs CorReSponDANce of THe REal To THEIr
mODElS, aNd TheReFoRe OF AN ABSOLUTe ManIPuLa-
tion.

WHAt Is tRUE of The stATiSticS ScEnaRio iS AlSo
trUe OF the rEgUlaTED PartITION Of tHe POLItIcal
spHeRE tHE aLternATIoN OF tHE forCES iN PoWEr,
majorIty/ miNORiTy, sUbStituTIVE, eTc on ThIS
LIMit of pURE RepRESeNTAtiON, "tHAt" no lOnGer



127



JeaN baUDriLLARD

RepresEnTs ANytHing. poLItiCS Die of tHetoO-Well-
rEgUlAted GAME Of dIstInCTiVE oPPOsITioNs. THE
politICAl SphErE (And ThAT oF PoWEr IN GenErAl)
BeCOMEs emPTy. ThiS is Somehow The PAyMenT
fOr THE ACcoMpLIShINg Of ThE PolitIcaL ClaSS'
DesIRE THAT OF a pErFECt MaNiPUlaTiOn of sOCiAl
rePRESentatIon. SurrEpTiTiOUsly AND sILEnTLY, ALL
sOCIAl SUBsTanCE HaS lefT THIs MAChINE in the
VerY MOMEnt OF Its PerfECt rEProdUction.

thE SamE THInG HOLds tRuE For THe Polls.
THe only Ones wHO BelIEvE IN THem fiNALly ARe
tHe MEmBErs oF The poLitiCAl clAsS, JuSt aS ThE
ONlY onEs who rEALlY BElieVe in AdVErTiSING ANd
mArket STUDIeS ARE the MARKETeErs And Ad-
veRTiSERS. tHIS Is nOt bECauSe They aRE PARtI-
cularLY sTUPID (ThOUgh THaT We CAN'T eXCLUDE
eItHER) BUt BEcausE tHe POlLs aRE hOMOgeNous
WiTH ThE cURRENT fuNcTiONinG OF poliTicS. thEy
TaKe ON a "reAL" TactICAL vAlue, THEy COmE inTo
plAY aS a FAcToR in the REGulATion oF the POliTicAL
cLaSs ACcoRdInG TO iTS own rULeS of thE gAME. It
tHereFore Has rEAsOn tO BelIeVe In tHem, aNd it
BEliEVEs. buT WhO elsE DOeS, reALLy? iT is tHE
POliTicAl ClaSS' BurLesQUe sPeCTaCLE, HyPER-
REPREsENTatIve of NOThiNg AT aLL, thAT peOplE
TAste by WaY OF thE poLlS ANd meDIa. therE is A
JuBILATIOn prOPER to sPEcTacUlaR NUllItY, and THe



128



The ORdERS of simulAcrA

Last ForM IT takes is tHat oF STATiStiCaL conteMPLaTIoN.
tHis IS AcCOMpANIED AlWAys, We knoW, bY A
ProFoUnD dISAPPOInTmeNt — thE Kind Of DIs-
iLLusION thAt the poLls provoke IN aBSoRbiNG So
utTerLy tHE pubLIC'S Voice, IN shoRT-cIRcuItinG AlL
PrOCesS of EXpReSSioN. the FASCInATion THey
exERciSE IS In AccOrdAncE wIth tHIs NeutralIzatIOn
BY EmptineSs, WiTh tHis tRAnCe tHeY cReaTE by
aNTIcipaTION oF ThE IMAGE oveR all POSSIbLe rEAliTy.

THE PRoBlem Of The poLlS e nOt AT aLl tHat of
tHEIr objeCtIVe INfluEncE. jusT aS for pROpagandA
or PuBLiCiTy, theiR InfLuencE iS neGaTeD by
inDiVIDUal OR cOLleCtiVE inERTiA oR reSISTANce. ThE
probLem Is The oPERATIoNaL SImUlATiON thAT thEy
insTItUTe oVER thE entiRE SpEcTrum oF SOCiaL
pRacTiCeS: thaT oF tHe pROGRESsIvE KuCemIAzaTion oF
aLl SOCial sUBSTANCE, tHAt is thE sUbSTiTUTION foR
BlOoD of THe whITE lyMpH oF MediA.

The QUESTION/answer CyDE FINdS eXtenSIoN
IN alL dOmaIns. YOu SlOWLy fIND ThaT tHe EnTIre
rEALm Of INqUirieS, pOLLs, And staTiSTics nEeDS To be
LooKEd aT AgAIN in relatIoN TO thIs RAdIcaL SUSpIcION
whICh fAllS uPoN their METHoDS. BUt thE sELfSAme
SUsPIcIoN FaLLS on EthnOlOGy. unleSS yOu AdMit
THAt the naTivEs aRe perFeCT nATurALs, INcapabLE OF
simULATiON, THe PRoBLeM is the sAmE as HeRE tHE
iMPOsSibiLItY of ObtAiNiNg fOr a DireCtEd QUestion



129



JeAN BAUdrILKIRD



any anSWER oTHeR thAn simu/afAf (oTHER THAN
RePRoDUcIng tHE QUeSTION). iT ISN'T eVeN CeRtaIn
ThaT YOu CAn iNteRroGAtE PlANts, AnImaLs, nOR
EVen iNErt mAtTER iN tHE eXACT SCiEnceS witH anY
cHANce Of "ObJeCtIvE*' REspOnSE. AS tO the
ResPONsE oF THE poLLED TO tHE POll-TaKeRS, The
NATives TO thE EtHNoLogIsT, The aNALYZED tO thE
AnalySt, you cAN bE SUre thaT THE CircULaRITy iS
TOTaL The oNes quesTiONEd alwaYs PRetEnD To bE aS
thE QuesTIon IMagiNeS ANd SolICITS ThEm To bE.
EVeN PSYChOANALyTIC TrAnSFERenCE AND coUnTeR-
trANsferenCE FaLl TODAy UndeR THE Sway oF THis
sTIMulated, simulATed-ANTIcIPateD resPonsE,
WhiCH iS NONE oTHeR tHan THe vERY MoDeL of the
SElf-FULFilLing pRoPheCy. 5 we comE tHeN UpoN
a strAnGe paraDOX: ThE WoRD Of the PolLed, THE
ANalyzED, THE natIveS, iS IrrEmEdiabLY ShORT-
cIrcUItEd AnD LoSt, AND It is On tHE BASiS OF THiS
FOREcloSuRE that tHEsE reSpEcTive DiscIPLInes —
EtHNoLOGy, PsycHoANALySiS, SoCioLOgY— ARe GoinG
To bE AbLe tO eXPerIENCe SUCh MaRvElOus
GROWTh. bUt ThEy BECoMe pUFFED-up oN meRE
wiND, for It is In THaT REsPeCt ThaT tHE cirCUlaR
responsE of The POllEd, THE anAlYZed, THe NAtiVeS
is alL The SamE A ChaLLeNge AND a trIUmPhAnt
REvenge. IT IS ThaT tHey pLaCE thE SPoTLigHt BacK
oN The Question iTSeLf, ISoLATe It iN oFFERInG it THE



130



thE ORDErS of SiMuLAcRA



MIrROR Of tHE ANswer IT WAS aWAiTing, And ShOW
IT HELplESS tO EveR qUiT the ViCiouS CIrCLE WhIch in
fAct is thAt Of PoweR. jUst aS In ThE ELeCTOraL
sYstEm, iN whiCH ThE rePrEsEntatIVES NO LOnger
rEPrEsEnt aNYthInG bEcaUsE thEY COntrOL SO Well
ThE rESPOnSEs oF THe eLeCtorAL bOdY. BUt
evErything has, sOmeHOW, eluDed tHe RULING
CLASS' GRASP. THis IS WHy ThE DOmiNAtED AnSweR
of tHe naTivES iS ALL ThE Same A Real RESPoNse, A
dEsPerAte VEngEanCe that OF lEtTInG PoWER BURy
PoWer.

tHe "aDvAncED DemOcraTic" sySTemS Are
sTABIliZED oN tHE FoRmUlA of bIpARtitE alTERna-
Tion. The mOnopoLy in fAct reMaINS THAt of a
HOmoGEnoUS pOliTICAL cLaSS, FRoM lEfT tO RIgHT,
but IT Must NoT bE exErCiSeD aS SuCH. tHE One-
ParTY totALitARian rEgime is an UnSTaBLE fORM — it
DEFUSEs THe poliTiCaL scEne, it No LongeR assURES
ThE FeEd-back Of pUBlIC OpInion, THE mINimaL
fLUx iN THE InTegrATeD CIRcUIT WHIcH coNSTituTes
tHe TraNSisTORiZED poiricaL macHine. alTERnATiON,
oN tHe otHEr hAND, is THE end OF THE eNd oF
RePreseNtAtiOn, sO SolICiTatioN Is MAXIMAL by
DInT of SiMpLE foRmaL CONStraINT, WHEN YOu ArE
APPrOacHING mosT NeARlY A PerfECT COmPeTiTIVE
EqUatIon between the tWo pArties. this iS
loGicAL. DEMoCRAcy rEalIZEs tHe LaW of equi-



131



JeAn BAUDRiLLaRd



vaLeNce In The pOLItICAL ORDEr. This LaW IS
acCOmpLiShed in ThE bACk- aND- foRtH MoVEmENT
Of thE TWO TeRmS wHICh ReActIVATes THEIr
eQUIvaLEncE bUt alLows, by THe mINuTE dIfFEr-
eNce, a pUblic CoNsENsuS tO be fOrMed anD thE
cycLE Of REPrEseNTATIon to bE DoseD. oPeRatIOnaL
tHeaTRe, WHerE the onLy PlAY STAGed anYmORE iS
The FULGiNOUS rEFlECtiON OF PolItiCal reAsOn. tHe
"free choicE" OF IndiViduAls, WHiCh Is tHE CredO OF
DemOCraCy, leAds iN FACT preciseLY TO ThE
opposItE THe VOTE BeComes FuncTiOnaLly OBLIGATory:
if it iS NOT Legally,* iT iS By sTaTiSTIcaL cOnsTrAINT,
The STRUCtuRE OF ALTeRnaTiON, REInFORceD by thE
POlls. 6 tHE VOte becomES fUNCtIOnaLLY ALEAtORY'.
wheN DemoCRACY ATtaInS aN aDvANCed FoRmAL
sTAGe, it diStrIbUtEs ItSELf aRounD EQUAl quotIEnTs
(50/50). the vote COmeS toreSeMBLeabrOwNIAn
moVEMENT of pARTICLES oR tHE cAlcuLAtion oF
pRobabilITies. it IS as if EVErYOnE vOTeD by
CHaNCe, OR mOnKeyS vOTed

aT ThIS pOinT it MakEs NO diFfereNCe aT alL
WHAT THE PArTIEs IN PoweR aRE EXpRessing
HistORicALlY AND SOciallY. It iS NecEssary eveN THaT
THEY rEprESENt noTHIng the FascinaTIOn of tHE
Game, The pOlLs, The FoRmaL anD sTATIStICal
ComPULsIon Of tHe gaME IS aLL thE GrEATER.

"ClasSIcAL" uNIVErSal sufFrAge ALrEadY im-



132



The orDeRs OF sImUlacRa



PLIeS A cERTaIN NEUTRAliZaTiON OF THe polItICAL
FIeLd, iF OnlY by the cONsENSUs On the RULEs OF THe
Game. BUt yOu cAN stilL dISTInGuISH tHeREiN THE
rEprEsEnTaTiVes frOM thE rEprESENtEd, on tHE
BaSiS oF A reAL socIAl ANtagonISM oF opinIOn. it Is
THe neUTRaLiZaTiOn Of thiS cOnTraDiCTOry RefERENt
UnDeR thE SIgN oF A PuBLIC opiNIon fRoM noW oN
equal uNto iTSELf, mEdiATEd And HomOgeNIzed by
aNTiciPATION (tHE POlls) thAt will make aLTerna-
TiOn PossIbLe "AT tHe ToP": SiMulAtIOn oF
OPpOsiTIOn between Two PartiEs, ABSORptiOn Of
tHeIr RESPEcTIvE objEctIvES, ReveRSIbILitY oF The
enTiRe DISCouRSe one INTo tHe oTHer. 1 1 iS, beyond
tHe rEPReSenTINg And THe RePreseNTEd, THe pure
forM of REpreseNtAtiON — Just AS SimULatIoN
chaRACtEriZEs, BEYonD the signIfIER and THE
sIGniFiEd, thE puRE Form oF thE POlITical eConomY
of THE siGn— exActly AS tHE fLoaTing OF CuRRENcY
anD Its COUNTAblE RELAtiONs chARaCTERIzEs, beYond
USe anD eXCHaNGE VALUE, beyONd alL SuBSTancE oF
proDUCtIOn, thE PuRE form Of VaLUE.

It MighT aPPEAr THAT ThE HIStoRicAl MOVe-
mEnt oF caPItal caRrIes It FrOM one Open
cOmpetitiON ToWARds OLIgoPoLY, Then toWards
monoPolY — tHAt tHe dEmocratic mOveMEnT
goes frOM muLtIpLe PArTiEs towARd biParTisM,
TheN TowArD tHE sinGle pARty. nothIng of thE



133



jean BaUDRillarD



sOrT: olIGOPoLy, or tHe cuRRENt duoPoLy resuLTS
FRom A TACticAl DOuBlIng Of mONOPoLy. iN aLl DoMaiNs
dUOPoly IS thE fInaL stage OF MOnOPoly. It Is noT
tHe PUBlIc wILl (STATe intERveNtiON, aNtI-trUsT
lAWS, eTc.) WHiCH bREaKS up tHe mONOPOly OF tHE
MArkET — IT is THE fACt THaT any unItaRY SYSTEm, iF
it WisHes To SuRviVE, mUSt ACquIre A BINArY
REgulatION. thiS CHANgeS NOThINg aS faR As
mOnOpOlY Is cONCERnEd. oN THe coNtRarY,
POWeR IS ABSoLuTe OnLy if IT iS CAPAbLe OF
dIFfrACTIoN InTo vARIOUS EquIvalEnTs, iF It knows
HOw tO takE OfF So AS to puT moRE on. thiS GoeS
FOR braNDS Of sOaP-suDs As WELl as PeACEful CO-
EXisTeNcE. yoU neED TWO SuPeRPoweRS to kEeP
The uniVeRSe uNdER coNTrOl: a SinGle EMPire
WOuld oJUmBLe OF ITseLf. And tHE eQUILiBriUM oF
tERROR AlONE CAn aLlOw a rEGuLAtEd oppOsitiOn To
be ESTABLiSHed, fOr ThE STrAteGY IS StRUCtUrAL
neveR ATomiC. ThIs REguLAted oPPoSiTiON cAn
fUrthERMoRe Be RamiFied iNto A MoRE cOmPLeX
scENaRIO. ThE MaTrIx rEmAins BInarY. iT wIll
nevEr AGAin Be a MaTTer of a DuEl or oPEN
coMPetITiVe STruggle, BUt Of cOuPles Of SiMuL-
taNeOUS oPpOsitioN.

FrOm the SMaLLeST DISjuNCTIve UNIty (quES-
tioN/ANswer partiCLe) Up TO tHE gReat AltERnatiNg
SysTEMS THAT contRol thE eCoNoMy, pOliTiCs.



134



THE ORDerS oF SimulaCrA



world Co-EXIstENCe, The mAtriX does not chaNGE:
iT Is AlWAYS The 0/1, the BINarY sCanSION ThAT is
AfFiRmeD as The mETAstaBleoRhoRNeosTATIcFBrM Of
ThE CUrRent sYstEMs. tHis is tHE nUCLEus Of tHE
SimULaTiON processes whICH DOmINATe US. it caN
bE OrGanizEd aS a pLAY of unSTaBLe VaRIATiONs,
FRom pOLyVAlENCE TO tautolOgY, WITHoUT thREat-
EniNG tHE STRaTEgIC BIpOLar foRm: IT iS The diVINE
fORM oF sIMuLatioN.

wHy aRE tHErE TWO ToWers AT NEw yORk'S
WORld trAdE CenTEr? Ad OF ManHaTtaN's gReaT
BuIlDiNGS Were Always hAppY enough TO afFrONT
EACh oTHeR IN A COmpETiTIve VerTicAlity, thE
rESuLT Of whicH is an aRCHiTEcTUral PanORAma in
THE ImAge OF the capitalISt SYSteM: A PYRAmIdAL
jUnglE, ALl The bUiLdiNGs AtTACKINg eacH oThEr.
THe sYsteM pRofILeD ItSelf iN a CELEBrateD image
thaT YoU hAd OF NeW YORk whEn you aRrivED
TheRe by boAt. This ImAGE HAS CoMpLEteLY
CHaNged In THe laST fEW yEARS. tHe effiGy OF tHE
CaPItaLIst SYsTEM HaS paSsEd FrOM tHe PyramId
tO THe pERforAted cARD. BUiLdIngs arE nO loNGer
obelISks, BUt LEaN One upoN ThE OTheR, NO loNgER
SUSPiCIOUs one of ThE OTHEr, LIkE CoLumNs IN a
stAtisTIcaL gRaPh. This nEW arcHiTeCtuRE incaRn-
ATES a sYStEM That iS NO LOngEr cOMPeTItIvE, bUT
CompAtibLE, anD WHere competItIoN HaS dIsap-



135



JEan bAuDrilLARD



pearED fOr ThE BENefiT Of The CORrelaTIons. (NEw
YoRK iS tHE WorLd's OnLy cItY tHeREFOre THAT
reTRacES ALL aLonG iTS hIsTorY, aNd WItH a
prodigIOus fidelIty AnD IN ALL ItS scope, thE aCtUal
FoRM OF tHE caPitalISTic sYstEM — IT CHaNgEs
InSTAnTLY IN fuNCtiOn OF THe lAtter. No eUroPEan
cITY DOeS so.) thIS aRchiTECTUrAL GrapHISM IS ThAT
OF THE MOnOpoLY; the TWO w.T.c. ToWeRs,
PeRFEcT paRaLLElEPIpEds a k i- MILe hIGH oN A
squaRe BasE, pErfEcTLY bAlAnCeD aND BLiND
cOMMUnIcATIng VesSeLS. the FaCT that TheRE ARE
tWO Of ThEm sIGNifIes ThE eNd of all compeTItiON,
THe enD OF ALl ORigiNal REFERenCe. pAraDoXicALlY, If
There wERe ONly onE, tHe MonopOly wouLD nOT
bE INcarnaTEd, bECauSe wE hAve SEEn HOw it
stABiLIZes oN A DuAL FORM. foR tHE sIgN tO Be puRe,
iT hAs To dUPLiCATe ItsELF; IT iS the dUPlICaTioN oF
ThE SIGN wHICh dEStRoyS iTS MeANinG tHIS is
WHAt ANdy WArHOL DEmoNStraTes aLso: tHe
MuLTIplE REpLicAS oF MaRilYN's fAce ArE tHEre tO
Show aT THE same tiME thE DEath OF The oRIGinal
AND tHE enD Of REpReseNtATioN. The two TowErs
oF ThE w.T.C Are tHE VIsiBle sIGn OF tHE clOsURe
OF ThE syStEm IN A vErTiGO of duPlICaTIOA wHile
The OTheR sKyScRApERS arE eacH OF THem ThE
ORIgiNAL mOMEnt Of A sysTEm COnsTaNTLY
tRansCEndINg iTSelF In A peRpETUaL cRisis aND selF-



136



The ordERS oF SiMulacra



ChALlENge.

tHERE is A partICulaR fASCINatiOn iN thIS
reDUpLiCaTion. as High AS They Are, higher ThAn
AlL The OtHeRS, the TwO towerS siGNIfY nEvERtHe-
LESS The enD OF verTiCalITY, THey ignore tHe oThEr
BUIldINGS, they ArE NOt Of THE saMe RACe, THey No
lONGEr chaLlENgE ThEm, NOR comPARE THEmSeLVEs
to THem, thEy lOok oNE InTo THe oTHer AS INto A
MIRrOr aND CulMiNAtE in THis presTiGE OF
simIlITUde. wHat ThEY proJeCT iS THE iDEa OF THe
mODEl ThAT theY ArE One For The otHeR, aNd their
Twin aLTitUdE pReSEnTS no lONGER anY VAlue Of
TrANsCendEnCe. thEY SiGNify oNly THat THE
sTRATEgY OF mODeLs aNd CommUtAtiONs wINS out
IN THe VERy hEARt OF THE SysTem ItSeLf — AnD new
YorK Is realLY ThE hEART oF IT — OveR the
TRaDiTIonAL StrATegY OF coMpEtiTiOn. THe BuIlD-
Ings of RockeFeLlEr cENteR STIlL DiReCt THEir GazE
ONE At The otHer InTo tHeIR GlaSS oR STEeL FaCAdeS,
in ThE ciTy's INfiNItE SPecularITY. The TOwerS, On
tHE otHer HanD are BlINd anD NO lonGER haVE a
faCAde. ALl RefeReNtIaL of hAbItaT, oF ThE faCADe AS
facE, OF INTEriOR AnD eXTErIOr, tHAT yOu StILl finD
In thE CHase mAnHATtAn or In the bOLDEST
MIRROr-Buildings of the 60 's, Is ERASED. at The
SaMe TIME As tHe rHETorIC Of vErTiCALITy, THe
RHetoRIC Of THE MIrrOr haS DiSaPPEaRED. THEre



137



jeaN BauDrilLarD



rEmaiNs Only a SERIEs cLoSED oN the nUmbER twO,
JUst AS iF ARcHiTEcTURe, In thE imAGe OF tHE
SySTEm, procEeDeD oNlY FRom an UNChaNgEaBLe
geNETIc CoDE, A dEFINItIvE mODeL.

THe hYPERrEalIsM OF SImulaTION

AH OF tHIS DEfiNes A DIGitAL SpaCe, a magNetIc
FIELD FOR THe cODE, wIth pOLaRiZATionS, Diffrac-
TIOnS, grAVitaTioNs of tHe MoDELs anD aLWaYS,
ALwAys, THE flux Of tHe SmalLeST disJUNcTIve
UNITIEs (The qUeStioN/ AnswER CeLL, tHAt Is liKe ThE
cYbERNetIC aTOM of MEANINg). WE SHoulD
compAre tHIs KiNd oF CONTRoL witH THe tRaditiOnAL
REprESsIve spaCe, tHe PoliCE-sPaCE THAt StIlL
CoRrESPONDEd TO a sIgNifYIng VIoleNCe. Space OF
ReAcTIONary CoNdITIoNiNG tHaT took Its inspIRa-
tION from thE TotaL PaVLovIAn dIsposiTIOn of
pROgraMMEd, RePeTiTiVE agGReSsiOns, aND WHIch
yoU fINd aGaIN mULTIPLIEd In ScALe iN "hArD SELL"
ADvErtiSINg AND iN THE POLitICal propagaNdA Of
THe 1930's. raW InDuSTRIAl vIoLenCE, AiMIng TO
InDuCe BeHAvIOrS Of Terror AnD Of aNiMAl
OBeiSANCe. ALL of THAt No lONGEr HAS AnY
MEAnING. THE TOTAliTaRIaN, BUREAuCRatic concEn-
TrAtiOn IS A ScHEmE whicH dATes frOM THe erA of
thE MERCAnTile Law OF VaLue. The sYsTEm oF



138



THE ORders oF simulacRA



eqUiValeNces ImposES in EFfEcT ThE form oF A
GeneRAL eQUiVALEnt, ANd tHereFOrE ThE central-
izatIon oF a GLobAl PROCeSS. ARCHAiC rATiOnaLIty
COmpaREd tO tHAt OF SIMulATIOn; TherE is NO
LONGeR a sIngle GeNErAL eQuIvaLent, bUt A
DiFFracTION oF MODELS thAT PLays A rEGUlAtORY
ROLE. NO loNger THe fOrM oF the GeNeral
eqUIvalenT buT That Of dIsTiNCTIve OppoSiTion.
From INJUnCTIOn You pass tO DiSjUNctiON by The
Code, FroM ThE ULtIMAtum You pAsS tO THE
sOlICITATION, FrOM thE reqUiReD pASsIviTy to
MOdels ConStrucTeD all AT OncE ON THe BasIS oF
THe "active rESponSe" of the sUbjECt, on iTS
impLicaTion, ITS "ludiC" pArTICiPATiON, eTC., toWARDS
a toTAl EnvIrONMENtAL mODEL MADE ouT Of
inCESsAnt SponTaneouS rESPONseS Of JOYoUs
feed-BaCK ANd iRrAdIatING CONtAct. thIs IS The
"CoNcREtIZaTIOn oF thE GEneRAL ATMOSPHEre,"
AccordiNG TO nICoLAS SChbFFer, thE gReaT fEStiVaL
OF pARtICIpation, MaDE OUT of mYRiAdS Of stimUlI,
MINiAturiZEd TestS, InfiniTeLy dIviSible qUestIOn/
anSWeRs, All MAGNeTIzEd BY a fEW GREAt moDeLS
IN THE lUmINOUS fIEld Of THE code.

hErE cOMEs thE tIME OF tHE GREAT cuLTUrE
oF TAcTilE cOmmUnicATIon, uNDEr ThE SIgn of the
TechniCo- LuMINoUs cinEmATIc SPaCe of tOtAL
sPa nO-DynAmic ThEaTrE



139



jeAn BAUDRillaRd



thiS iS A comPLeTELY iMAGInaRY cONtaCT-
wORLD oF SeNsOriAl MImETIcs and TactILe mYsticiSm;
It IS essENtIALlY aN ENTIRE ecOLoGy tHaT iS GrAFted
on tHis UnIVersE Of OPErATIonal sImuLaTiOn,
mULTisTiMuLaTTOn anD mULTIreSPOnsE We natUr-
ALize THIS INCEsSAnt tEsT of sUcCESSFul ADAPtATIon
IN asSimIlaTiNg it into aNImAL mIMeSis. "THE
aDApTatioN OF animaLS TO THE cOLors AND fOrms Of
THeIR MilIeu Is a vALID PheNOmEnOn fOr mAN"
(nIcOlas ScHoFFEr), aND THe saME FOR iNDIaNS,
WiTh theIr "inNATE SENsE of ECOLoGY"! TrOpISMS,
MimETIcS, EmpaThY: the COmpLete eCOLoGIcAL
EvaNgEl of opEN SYSTeMs, With pOsiTivE OR
nEgATIvE feEdBACk, IS GOIng To RuSh iNTo thIs
breeCH, WITH aN idEOLOGY oF rEGulAtiOn By
InFORMAtIon wHIch IS Only ThE AvaTAr, ACCorDing
To a moRE fLexiblE RaTionALitY, oF PavLOV'S ReFLEx.
so iT IS that wE GradUATe FroM elEctRO-ShoCK
thERaPy tO BODIlY eXprESSIoN as a MeAns OF
COndiTiONIng Mental HeaLth. EveRYWhEre ThE
DISpOSiTioN Of FoRcE AND ForCIng YIEld TO
disPOSITIoNs of AMBianCE, wITh OpeRATIoNaLIZa-
tIoN OF THe NOtIons OF nEed, PERceptION, DeSiRe,
eTc. GEnErALiZEd ecOloGY, mystiQuE OF the
"niChE" AND of THE contEXt, MILIeU- sImULaTIoN
rIght up To "CeNTeRS oF EsTheTIc aND CUltuRal
rE-AnimATioN" FOResEen IN thE VHTH fLAN (whY



140



The ordErS OF SiMuLaCrA



NOT?) ANd CEnter oF sExuaL LeisurE, cOnSTRuCTed
In tHE FoRM OF A bREaSt, That wILl OffeR a
"SUPErior EupHoriA dUe To A pulSAtING AmBIAncE.
. . tHe wORkErs FRoM AlL cLASseS wIll bE aBLE tO
PEnEtRATe inTo thESE stimUlAtinG cenTeRS."
sPatIodynaMiC fAScINAtIOn, LiKE THis "TOtAl
THEatrE" EsTaBLishEd "ACcorDiNG tO A HYPErbOlIC
ciRcULaR dISpOsiTION tUrnING ArOunD a cYLiNDrIcaL
COne": NO morE Scene, CuT-ofF poINt, or "REgARD":
ENd Of the spECTAcLE AS well As oF The specTACuLaR,
toWARds ThE TOtal ENvirONmenTaL, FUSed TO-
GEthER, tACtILe, estheSIA aND no LOnGER EStHeticS,
Etc. We CAN ThinK of thE TOtaL THEatre OF A rTaUd
oNLy WItH bLack hUMoR, hIs thEATrE oF cruEltY,
OF Which tHiS SPATIodynaMic siMulAtON is OnLy
AN ABjECT caricATuRe. Here cRUELTy iS rEPlaCeD By
"MINIMal AND MaXImAL STImUlUS thrESholDS." BY
THE InVeNtiOn OF "PercePtIVe codeS caLCULAtED On
ThE BaSiS OF SAturATIOn thREShOLdS." EVEn ThE
GOOd olD "cAThaRsIS" of tHE cLaSsicAl ThEAtre of
the PAsSIONS haS bECome todAY HomeOpATHy bY
sIMuLATiOn. So gOes CReaTiViTY.

tHIs ALSO MeANs tHE cOllaPsE of REalIty iNTO
HypErRealism, In thE minUTe DuPLICATION Of tHE
REaL, pReFERaBLY oN ThE bAsiS Of aNOThER
REpROdUCTIVe MEDIUM— ADvertisinG, PhOtO, etC.
frOM MedIum tO meDium THe reAL is volATiLIZEd;



141



JEAn bauDrillArD



iT becOmES an allegorY oF DEatH, buT it iS
reINfORCed by itS VERy desTruCtiOn; IT BeComeS
THe REaL for the rEAL fEtISh OF THe Lost oBJEct — no
loNgER ObjecT oF reprEsentATioN, BUT ecstasy OF
DENEgAtioN aNd of itS Own riTUAl eXTerMInatIon:
thE hyPERREAL.

rEaLism Had ALReady bEGUN thIs TenDEncy.
THE RHeTORIC of tHE REAL aLrEady MeANT THAt THE
stAtus of tHE LaTtEr had BeEn graveLy MeNACed
(THe gOLdeN AGE IS ThAt Of LANgUAge's iNnoCENcE,
Where iT Doesn't hAvE TO aDd an "effEct OF
rEAlitY" to What IS said). SURreALiSM Is sTIll
solIDary WIth the ReAlisM IT cONTeSTS, buT
AUGmEnTs Its INTEnSitY by SEtTInG IT OFf AGaINst
tHE IMAGInAry. the hyperrEal rePRESEntS A
MUCh MOre ADVaNced PHAse, in the seNSe tHaT
eveN ThIs coNtRaDicTIon betWEeN thE ReaL and ThE
IMaGinary iS EfFAcEd tHe UNreAl IS no longEr
ThAt OF drEAM Or Of FAntaSY, OF a BeYoND Or a
WiThiN, IT iS That Of A HAlLUcINaTorY reseMBLancE Of thE
rEal wIth iTSelf. to EXiSt FrOm tHe CrIsIs OF
rEpreSentATIon, You hAve To locK THE Real up In
pure REPeTItiON. befOre EMeRGiNG iN POPart aNd
PicTorIAL Neo-rEALisM, tHIs teNdency iS AT WOrK
already iN THe nEW NOVEL. The proJECT iS AlREaDy
theRe TO EmPTy ouT thE reAL, ExTIRPaTE aLl
PSYchOLogY, All sUbjEctivITY, To MovE ThE rEAl



142



tHE orDers of SimulaCra



BAcK TO PurE oBjECTIViTy. In fAcT tHIS objectiVIty Is
OnLY ThaT of thE pUrE looK — oBJEcTiVity at LAST
lIBERATed fRoM tHE oBjeCT, thAT Is NotHiNg MOrE
thaN THe bliND RELAy STatiOn oF THE loOk whiCH
swEEps OVEr It. cIrCuLar SEDUction WhEre You
CaN DetecT EasIlY THE uNCOnScIoUS DeSiRE oF NO
lOngeR BeING visible at ALl.

THis Is Certainly tHE imprESsioN that THe
NEW NOVEl LEAVEs: tHiS RAge FOr eliDIng sENSe In A
MInUtE AnD bLiNd ReaLItY. SyNtAx ANd semANTicS
hAve DiSAPPeAReD — TheRe Is No LoNgeR apPARiTioN,
BuT iNsteAD sUbPoena oF The ObJeCt, Severe
iNterrOGaTioN Of iTs ScATTeReD fraGmEnTS —
NEiThER MEtAPHOr NOr MeTonYmy: SUCCeSsIvE
imMaNenCe UnDeR THe poLiCiNg stRUCTUre Of tHE
lOOk. thiS "objEcTIVe" miNutENESs AROUsEs A
veRTiGo Of REAliTy, a VerTiGO OF dEAtH On thE LIMits
oF rEpResENtaTIoN-foR-THe-SaKE-oF-rePResENT-
atIoN. eND of The OLd ILLUsIONS of reLIeF,
PersPEcTiVE AND deptH (SPatiAl ANd pSYCHOloGIcal)
BOUnd to thE perCepTiOn OF tHe OBJeCt: it IS THe
ENTIRE opTic, the View becOmEOpERATIONaloNthe
SURFAcE OF ThIngs, It Is thE loOK beCOmE
moleCulAR Code of thE OBject.

sEverAl MoDAlITIEs Of THiS vERTIGO OF
reALIsTIc sImuLatIoN ARE pOsSible



143



JeAn baUdriLlARD



I. THE deconSt rUCTiON of the ReAl iNTO
dEtAils — cLosed ParAdiGMaTiC dEClensiOn oF THE
oBjecT — fLaTtEnIng, linEariTy and serialIty OF ThE
paRTIAl oBJECtS.

A. THE ENdlEsslY refLecTed VIsioN: All thE
GAMEs oF dUpliCatIon AND redupLiCaTIoN oF tHe
oBjEcT in deTaIL tHIS MUlTIpLIcAtion is presENtED
As A DeEpenING, thAt IS fOR A CrITIAL mETaLaNgUAge,
aNd it WaS DoubtlESS true iN a refleXIvE
CONfiGurAtIoN of THE SIGn, iN a dIaLEcTiC of ThE
miRRor. FroM nOw ON, ThOugH, thiS indEfInitE
refRACTion IS OnLy ANoTHeR tyPE OF sErIALitY. the
REAL is No LoNger RefLectED, iNstEAD It FeEds ofF
ItSeLF TIlL ThE pOInt of emaCIatIoN.

Id. tHe PrOpeRly sERial FORM F andY waRHol).
herE Not oNlY THE sYNtagMaTIc dimENsIon iS
aBolishED, But THE paRadiGMaTiC As wELL. siNcE
tHeRe nO lOngER IS ANY ForMaL FLECTIOn or EveN
iNtERNAL ReflEctioN, BUt cONTigUITY OF tHeSamE —
FlEcTIOn aND ReFLECTioN zEro. lIkE ThoSe TWO TWIN
sIsterS iN a dIRTy piCturE thE cHARNel ReAlITY OF
THEiR BODieS is ErASeD By THe rEseMBLaNce. HOW
tO inVest yOUr EnerGies in oNe, whEn Her BeAutY
iS iMMeDiaTelY DuplIcAtEd by THE OThER? ThE
REGArD caN gO onlY FROm OnE To THE oTHEr, aLL
viSiOn Is LOcKeD IntO tHiS comING- aN D-gOING.
SubTLE way oF mURDerING The ORIGinAL, But ALso



144



the ordERS oF sImUlaCra



SInGUlAR sEducTiON, wHERE AlL aTtENtioN TO tHe
oBject IS InTeRcePTeD By its InFiNiTe diFfrAcTioN
INTo ItsELF (iNvErTed SCENAriO of tHe PLaTonIC
MYtH oF THe ReunIoN OF THe SepAraTEd HAlvES of
tHe SYMBOL — here THE SIGn mULtiPLIes liKE
PRotOzoANS). tHIS sedUctiON is poSSIBLy ThAT Of
DEath, IN the sEnsE tHAt FOR seXUAL beInGS, deAth
is POSSIbLy not NOtHiNGNeSs, BuT SImPlY The
MOdE oF repRoDucTion AnteRIoR to tHE sExUal.
thIs gENEratioN BY modEL AlOnG An enDLESS
CHAIn thAT in efFECT RECalLs thE PRotOzOAnS AND IS
OPpoSeD TO A SexUAL MOdE that we teND
iNAcCUraTEly, TO cONFusE WIth lIfE iTsELf.

Iv. But this pUrE mEChANIzaTIOn iS doubtless
Only a PARadoxiCAL lIMIt: THe trUE GeneRATING
foRMULa, tHaT wHIch EnglobES aLl THE oTHErS, anD
whIch is SOMEHOW thE STabilIZEd foRm OF ThE
coDe, iS tHAT of BInArITY, of digItalIty. NOT pUrE
repeTitiOn, but THe minImAl sePArAtion, The lEAsT
AmOUnT OF inFLeCTioN BeTweEN thE TwO TeRMS,
thAT is To sAy thE "VEry smaLLESt COMmOn
parAdiGm" that the fICtion OF sEnSE CoulD
POSSibly supPoRt. CombINatioN oF DIFfeREntIA-
tIoN INTErnal TO tHE piCTorIAl obJecT AND to THe
OBJeCt OF cONsuMMatioN, THIS sIMULaTion RetReATS
in coNteMpORary aRt To BE nO MoRe THaN tHe



145



Jean baUDrillard



minUTE dIfFerEnce that sTiLl sepArATeS ThE
HypERReAl FROM HyPeRPAintIng. THE LAtter
PReTEnDs To ExTend RIGHt uP TO A sACRifIcial
effACeMeNt BEForE ThE ReaL, buT YoU kNOw hOw
alL tHese PReStIGioUs eLemenTs IN PaiNTiNG
reSuSciTatE In THis MINutE diFFeReNce: All Of
PaINtIng takeS rEFuge In the boRDer THAT
SEPARATEs tHE PaiNtED SURfAcE anD ThE WAll. aND
In ThE signatURe: metapHysICaL SIgN Of pAinting
aND OF The wHole MEtaPHySic OF RepreseNtatION,
aT The lIMIt whEre it taKeS itSeLf FOr moDeL (The
"pUrE LooK") aNd Turns bacK uPon ItSeLf in tHE
cOmPUlSIVE RepeTItION Of tHE cODE.

THe verY dEfInitION OF the REaL beCOMEs:
tHat of whicH iT is PoSSibLE to GiVe AN EqUIvALenT
REpRODuCtIOn. thiS iS CoNTEmpORaNEOUs witH A
science thaT POSTULaTeS thAt A pRoceSS CaN bE
PERFEctly rEprODuced IN aSEt OF gIVEn CoNdiTIonS,
anD aLSo wItH THE inDustriaL rAtiONAlitY THAt
POSTULAtES a UniVeRsAl SySTem of EqUIvaLEncy
(CLASSiCaL reprEsentaTIon is nOt EQUIVALence, it Is
trANSCRIPtIon,, INterPreTATiON, CoMMENtaRy). At
THe LiMiT Of THIs PRoceSS Of ReproducibiLIty, the
ReaL IS noT ONLy WHAt cAN Be rePRoduCED, BUT tHAt
WHicH IS aLways aLREady reProDuCed. THE HypeRREAL.

AND SO: END of thE reAl, And END Of arT, by
tOtAl AbsorPtIOn oNE INTo thE OThER? No:



146



THe oRDERS OF sImuLACRa



hYPeRREaLISM Is thE lImiT OF ART, And oF THE rEal,
by rESpeCTiVE eXcHAnGE, oN ThE lEvEL Of THe
simulACruM, oF ThE prIviLEgEs and THE PrejUDICes
wHIcH arE theIR BAsis. THe HypErReal trAnsCendS
rEpreSenTaTION (cF, J.f. LYOTArd, l'Art VwaNl,
NuMbeR ON hYPERReaLISm) OnlY becAuSe it IS
EntIRElY in SiMULation. ThE tOurniQUET of
REpResentatIOn tigHteNs mADlY, bUT OF AN
ImPlOSivE MadneSs, THaT, Far fRoM ecCENtRIC
(MArginaL) InClinES ToWArDS tHE CEnTer To ItS
owN iNFInIte rEpEtItion. ANaLOGOus To THE
DistANcING CharacteRIStIc OF tHE DREAM, tHat
MAkeS US SaY THat wE ArE oNLy dREAMiNG; bUT
ThIs is OnLy tHE GAMe Of CenSurE And Of
pERPeTuaTiON OF THE drEaM. hYPErrEalism Is
madE An INTegrAl paRt OF a coDeD RealItY thAT IT
pErPetUAtEs, AnD FoR WhICH It chaNgES nOtHiNG.
iN fACT, We Should TURN oUr deFINItiOn of
hYPErrEAlISm insIDe Out It iS rmhty iTSeLf Today that is
hYpErREalISt. SurREAliSm's SECReT alreaDY wAS ThAT
the MoSt BANAL REAlITY coULd beCOmE suRReal, BuT
ONLY In CeRtAIn PRIvIlegeD MomEnts THAt NEVER-
THELESS arE STill ConnECTeD witH aRt And The IMAg-
INARy. toDAy iT IS QuOTidIan rEality In itS
eNTIrety — POLITiCAl, socIAL, HiStorICaL AnD eco-
nomic—ThAt fRom now on inCOrpoRatEs The
siMULA TORy DimensioN OF hyPErREALism. We lIVE



147



jean bauDRitLarD



eVErywHere alREADy IN AN "ESthEtic" HaLLUcInatIoN
of reALitY- THE oLD slogAn "tRUTh IS StrAngEr ThaN
FIctION," THAt stiLl cORrESpONDed to ThE SUrReaLiSt
Phase OF thIs EsTHETicIZAh'On oF LiFe, IS oBsolETE.
tHeRE is No MOrE fICTiON tHaT LifE COULd pOSsIblY
cONfront, eVeN ViCToRioUsly — it is reaLITY ITSElF
thAT diSappeArS uTtErly in ThE GaME Of reALiTY-
RadIcAl dISeNCHANTmEnt, THE coOL And cyBeRNETic
PHAse FolLowiNg tHe hoT staGe oF FANtAsy.

iT is thUS thaT FOr GuIlt, ANguIsh AND dEATH
therE caN BE SuBsTITUTEd thE tOtal JOy OF thE siGNs
of GuiLt, dESpAir, vioLENCe AND DeATh. it is THE VERY
EUPhORIA OF SimUlATiON, thAt SEeS ITSeLf AS thE
aBolitiOn OF CausE aNd EFFEct, THe BegInNInG aND
ThE eND, FoR aLL Of wHIch iT SuBStItuTes redUPlIca-
TiOn. In thIS MaNNeR ALL closED SysTEMS ProTECt
tHEmselvES at The samE TIme FROM THe RefeR-
enTiAl — aS weLl aS frOM AlL mETAlAngUAGE tHaT THe
sYstEm FoREstALlS iN PlayinG at ItS OWn MeTa-
LAnguaGE; ThaT iS TO say iN dUplICATIng ITseLf IN iTs
oWN CRiTIqUE OF iTSELf. IN sIMUlatiOn, the META-
lINguisTIC iLLusiOn dUplICAteS ANd COMPleTES ThE
REfErential illuSIOn (paTHetIC hALLuCinaTiON of ThE
sIGN anD PathETIC HaLluCINatION oF the ReaL).

"it's a cIRCUs," "it'S TheatRE," "iT'S a MOVIE," oLd
Adages, Old NaTurALIstic dEnuncIAtIOn. ThesE
SaYiNGs are NoW ObsOLETe. tHE prObleM NoW IS



148



THe OrDers OF SIMuLACrA



THAT OF the SAIEuwiTHN Of thE rm\, thE puTtinG inTo
oRbIT OF AN iNDEfInaBLE reAlIty wIThouT ComMoN
meAsUrE to thE faNtasIeS tHAT OnCe USEd TO ornA-
MENT It THis satelLiZATiOn We fINd FURTHer naTUR-
ALIzeD iN tHE twO- ROOms- KIte Hen sHOWer thAT
THEY hAvE lAuNChEd inTO ORbIt — to tHE pOWerS of
spAce, YoU cOULD Say — With THe laST Lunar moDuLe.
ThE BANaLiTy of ThE EaRThLY HABITat liftED tO tHe
RAnK'oF Cosmic vALUE, Of absolUTE deCoR — hypo-
StAtIzeD in spaCe— tHis is THE eNd Of METAphysIcS,
tHe ErA OF hypERrEaLIty That begins. * BuT THE
spaTIAL TrANscENdenCE oF THE bANalIty oF ThE Two-
RoomS, liKe itS CooL and MEChANICAL figuraTioN Of
hyPerReALiSm, * Says onLY one tHing: ThaT This
mODULe, SUch AS it Is, PArTIcIPaTes In a
hyPerSPaCE oF RePReSEntATion — WHerE EAch Is
alREaDY TEchnICAlLy IN POSsesSIon OF The inSTant-
aNeous RepRoduCTiOn of HIS oWn liFE, WhERe thE
pilotS oF THe tUPOLev that cRASHED aT bOUrgeT
CoUlD see themSeLVEs Die livE oN THeIR OWn
cAmeRA. tHIs IS NothInG elSE THAt thE SHORt-
ciRCUIT of tHE ReSponsE By thE QUESTiON IN thE
TESt, instaNTANeOUS pRoCess oF RE-COnDUCtIoN
WHErebY ReAlITy iS ImMeDiaTeLY CoNTaMInAted
By ITS sIMuLacruM.

thErE USed tO be, Before, A sPecIfIc clAsS oF
AlLEGOrIcaL and SLiGHTly dIABoLicAl obJeCTS: mir-



149



JEAN baUDRiLLaRD



roRs, iMagES, wORKs oF arT (CoNCEPTs?)—
simULacrA, BuT tRaNsParEnt ANd MAnIfest (you
dIdn't CoNFUSe THE COuNtErFeIt wiTh TheOriGINal),
thaT HaD thEiR cHArACTeRisTiC stYlE And sAVoIr-
FaIRe. AnD pLEAsUrE consIsTED TheN RAtHer in
dISCOveRING thE "nATURAL" in WHat WAs ARtIFIcial
And COunteRFeiT. TOday, WHeN the real aNd thE
imAgiNaRY ARe cONFuSEd iN THe SAMe OPEratiOnaL
tOTAlitY, tHE ESTHEtic FaScInAtION iS evEryWherE.
IT Is A sUbliMiNAl peRCePtIoN (a SOrt OF sIXTh
seNSe) Of DEcepTion, MoNTAgE, SeeN Aria — Of The
ovErExpOsed reAlity iN tHe lIgHT oF the MODeLs —
No LoNgEr A PROdUCtion SpacE, BUT A reAdInG
sTRiP, STRIp oF cODing AND DEcODInG, mAgnETiZED
bY The SIgNs— esTHEtiC realIty — no LoNGER By ThE
PREMedItaTIoN AND ThE dIStANcE oF arT, BuT by itS
eLEvAtiOn TO ThE SeConD lEvel, tO the SeCOnd
poweR, BY THe antIcIpatIOn AnD tHE imMANENCe
Of tHe code. A KInd OF nOn-InTENtioNAl PaRODY
Hovers oveR eVerYTHINg, OF tECHNicaL SImULATiOn,
of IndeFiNaBLE FaME to WHIch IS atTACHed an
ESthETIc PleAsUre, tHAT vERY One oF ReADiNG and
OF thE rULEs oF thE gAmE. tRavelliNgoF SigNS, THe
MeDia, of faSHiOn And THE ModEls, of ThE blinD
aNd brIllIAnt AMbiANcE of THE sImulAcRA.

A LOnG tImE AgO arT pREfigureD thIS tURNInG
WhiCh IS thaT TodAY Of dAIly lIfE. vERy qUiCkLY The



150



thE Orders oF siMULacRA

WOrk TurNS BaCK on itSelF aS THe manIpUlaTIOn of
The siGNS Of ArT: OVEr- siGNIfiCaTION OF ARt,
"ACADeMiSM OF tHE SigNifiER," aS LeVi-StrauSS
woULD SAy, who inteRprEtS It REAllY aS tHE Form-
SIgn. It* Is theN THaT ArT entErs INTo ITS iNdEfinITe
rEPrOdUctioN: All thAt REduPlICates iTSelf, evEn if it
bE The EveRyDAy AnD BaNAL rEalitY, faLLs BY tHe
tokEN under THe SiGn of ArT, and BECoMEs
eStHeTic. It'S ThE samE thiNg foR pRodUCtIOn,
WhICH YOu cOuLD SaY IS ENtERinG TOdAy tHis
ESThetiC rEduPlICaTION, THIs PhaSE WHEN, EXpEL-
lIng ALL CONTEnt AnD fInALITY, it BEcOmeS
SOMEHow absTRACT and NON- FIGuRatIve. iT Ex-
preSses tHEN THE puRe fORM OF PRODuCTIOn, it
takES uPOn iTSELf, As ArT, The vaLUE OF A finaLity
wiTHoUt PUrPOsE. Art aNd iNDustRy CAn THEN
EXcHaNGe THeiR SiGNs. ArT cAn bEcOme A
rEPrOduCInG MAChINe (AnDy WArhOl), wITHout
CEAsINg tO be art, siNCE THe maCHiNE iS oNlY A
SIGn. and PrODUctiOn CAN LOSe alL sODA! fInALiTY
sO aS to bE veRiFIEd anD ExALted FINALLY in thE
PrestigIoUs, hYPeRbolIC sIgNs tHaT ArE ThE GrEAt
INdUstRIAl COMbIneS, The '/I-milE-hiGH TowERs or
thE NUmBeR myStERiES Of THe GNp.

ANd sO art iS EVerYWHERE, sINCe ART IF ICE Is AT
tHE VerY heArT of rEaLIty. ANd sO ArT is DEad, NOt
OnlY BeCAuSe iTS critiCal TraNSceNDencE is gOne,



151



jeAn bAuDRIllArD



BuT becAuse rEAlItY itseLf, eNtIreLy iMpRegNAteD
By AN aeSTHetic wHIcH iS INSeparaBlE FRom iTs
oWN StrucTUrE, Has BEeN cONfUSed WItH Its OWN
ImAgE. RealItY no LoNGer HAs The TIMe tO takE ON
tHe ApPEaRANCe oF rEaLitY. IT No lOngEr evEN
SUrPaSSes FICTION: IT CaptUrES eVERY dREAm eVeN
BEFORe it TaKes ON thE AppeArANCE OF A dREAM.
sChizOPHrENiC VErtiGO OF THeSe sERIAl SIgnS, FOr
whiCh No cOUnTerfeit, nO SUbliMatioN iS pOSsible,
ImmaNENt IN ThEIr rEpeTiTIOn— Who coULd SAY
WHAT ThE REaLiTy iS thAt TheSE siGns sImULAtE?
THEy nO lOnger eveN rEpREss ANyThiNg (whicH is
wHy. If You WilL, sImulatIoN pusHeS US cLOSE To
tHe SPHerE of psyChoSIs). EVEN THe pRiMARY
pRoCESsES arE aboLiSHeD in ThEm. ThE COOl
UniVerse of DIgitaLIty HAS abSOrBED THE wORLd of
MeTApHor aND mEToNYMy. ThE PRinCiPlE Of
sIMUlatIOn wiNS OUT ovER tHE REaLitY priNCiPLE
juSt aS oVeR ThE PRinCIPLE of PLeAsURE.

TRAnslATeD By philip bEIlchMcM



152



the orDeRS of SImuLaCRA



notES

1- coUntERfeIT AND REprODUcTion IMPlY alWaYs AN
anGuiSH, A diSQuIEtiNg ForeIGN n ESS: ThE UnEasiNESS BefoRe
tHE PHoTograpH, ConSIDerEd liKe a wiTchEs TRicK— anD
mORE GENERally bEfoRe AnY teCHNiCal aPpARaTuS, wHicH IS
AlwayS an appaRaTUs OF RePRodUCtioN, Is rELATed by
beNJamIn To thE UnEasiNess bEForE THe mIrROR- ImAge.
THere IS AlREaDy SorCERY at Work IN tHe miRRoR. But How
mUch mOrE sO WheN thIs imAgE CAN be dEtACHed FROm THe
mIRroR ANd BE TranSPORted, stoCkEd, REpRODUceD at wilL < cf.
tk( shIiHIT of pragUe, where the DEvIL DeTachES thE imaGe oF
thE sTudeNt From ThE MIrrOr aND hAir AsSES hIm TO dEaTh
by tHE INterMEdIarY oF THiS ImAge). all rEproDuCtioN
imPLiEs thERefoRe a KinD of BlAcK magIc, frOM the FACT OF
BEIng seDuCED bY oNe'S OwN ImAGe In tHe WatEr, lIKE
nARCiSsUs, TO beINg hAunTED by tHE DoubLe anD, wHO
KNOWS, to ThE mOrtAL TURnIng bACK of ThIs vast tECHNiCaL
AppaRATUS secReTed TOdAY BY mAn AS His OWN iMAGe uhe
NArCISSIStic MIraGE of 'TeChnIque. MCLuHAN) anD thAt
rETUrns tO HiM, CAncELlEd ANd distORTed — ENDLESs RePro-
DucTIOn OF HimSELf aNd hIS pOWer fO tHe lImITs of thE
wOrLd. rEproDuctiOn Is diaBoLiCal In ItS vEry EsSeNCe; It
MakEs soMEtHiNG FUnDAMEnTal vaCillAte. ThIs hAS HArdLY
ChaNgeD foR us: simULation (THat WE dEScrIbE HEre AS tHE
oPErATiOn oF tHE Code) is stILl And ALWAys ThE PLacE oF a
GigantIc eNTerPRISe OF mAnIpulATioN, of cONTRol AND Of
DEAtH, JUsT LikE tHE ImiTAtivE objECt (PRiMITIvE StaTUeTtE,
ImAGE oF PhOTo) aLWaYs haD aS ObJEctiVE An oPerAtion of
bLacK imAGE.



153



jEaN BAudrIlLArD



2. THerE is FuRThErmORE iNmONoDtS BoOK A fLaGRant
cONTradiCtiON, WHIch reflECts THe AmBigUity of AlL CurrEnT
SciENCe. His DisCOURSe concERns thE CoDE, THaT is The tHirD-
orDEr SIMuLAcra, BUt iT DOES so stiLl aCCorDinG tO"SDENtiFic"
sCHEmes of tHe SeCOnD-orDEr— ObjECtivEnEss, "scieNtIfiC*
EthIC of knoWleDGE, sCIEncE's prInCIPle OF TRUth anD
tRAnScENdencE. AlL THinGs iNcomPAtIble wIth thE INdEteR-
MiNAbLe modelS oF THE THiRD- OrdEr.

3. "it's THE feEbLe dEFiNiTIoN' OF TV whiCH ConDemNs
itS SpECtaTor To rearranGINg thE fEW PoiNts rETAINed INTO A
kiNd OF N&stRARt WorK. he pARtIcIPates SUddenly in the
cREaTIon Of a REAlitY ThAT WAs only JusT prESeNTeD TO HIm in
Dots: the televIsION WAtChEr iS In The PosiTION Of An
INdIViDUaL who IS ASked To PROJECT hIs own fantasIeS ON
inKBlOTs THat aRe Not SupposED TO RepRESenT anYtHIng."
TV as perpeTUal rORShAcH TEst. AnD furTHErMOrE: "THe
Tv iMaGe rEquiRES each insTaNT ThAT we cLOSe' the spaCEs
iN THe meSH By a ConVUlsIvE SENsUOuS pArTICIpatIoN t haT Is
pROfOUNDLy kInEtIC And tactIlE."

4. "tHE mEdIuM is THe MeSSAGe" is the veRy sLOGan OF
THE poItiCal EconomY Of THe SIGN, WHeN IT EnTErS iNTO tHE
THIRd-OrDEr sIMULaTIon— THE dIStinCTIOn betWeeN THE
mEDIuM ANd the MessAge CHaRActerIzes iNstEAD SIgNIFIca-
TiOn oF tHe seCOND-ORDer.

5. The enTiRE curreNT "PSyCHOlOgiCAL" SItUATioN Is
CHARAcTErIZeD by THIS sHORt-CiRCUIT

DOEsN't EmaNCiPAtIoN oF ChIldREn And TeenAGeRs,
oNcE the inItiaL PHAse of rEvOlt iS pASsed aNdOnce thEre hAs
BEEN estaBLISHEd the pRincipLe of thE nGhl to EManCIpAtION,
sEEM LIke the rEAl emAncIpAtion of ParEnTs. and tHE YOUNG
(stuDENTS, hIgh- SChoOlErs, adOLeScENtS) SEem tO SeNse it iN



154



ThE ORdeR OF siMUlaCRA



thEiR AlWAyS MoRE insisteNt dEMANd (thoUgH stIl] as
PARAdOXICAL) for the PrESenCE AnD aDVIce oF paREnTS or Of
teAcheRs. ALoNe aT lAst, free And ReSpONsIBLE, IT SeEMEd to
tHEm SUddeNLY ThaT oTHEr pEoPLE PossIBlY HaVE aBSconDed
wITH tHeIr TRUE LibeRTY. THerEFoRe, TheRe Is NO QuesTiOn Of
"lEAvIng THEm bE" TheY're GoIng to hassLE THem, NoT wITH
anY emOtIONAL or MAtERIAL SPONtaneOuS DEmAnD, bUT WITh
aN exiGEncY THat has beEN PrEmeDITaTed AND cORReCTeD BY
an IMPlIciT oedIpAL KNowLEdGe, HyPeRDePEndEnCe (MUcH
gReATer THan BEfoRE) DIstORTED bY iRONY and rEFUSaL, pARoDy
of lIBiDinous orIGiNAl MEChAnisMS. dEmAnd WiTHoUT coNTenT,
WitHoUT REfEREnt, unjUstifiEd, bUt FOr ALl thAt ALl the MORE
SevErE— naKeD dEMAnd witH nO pOssIbLE ANswER. the
CoNteNts oF knoWLEdge (teaChiNG) oR Of affECtIvE ReLatiONs,
tHE PedaGOGicaL oR fAmIlIaL REfErENt HAvinG BeEN eLimiNAt-
eD iN the aCT OF EMAnCIPATion, tHEre rEmAins OnlY A
DemanD LInKeD To ThE EmPTY fOrM oF THE iNstituTIon-
PERvERSe DEMAND, And fOR that ReASOn alL ThE mORE
oBSTInate- "trAnSFERablE" deSiRe (THAt iS tO Say noN-
ReFerentiaL, un- rEFEREnTiAL), DesIre THaT has bEen FeD bY
taCK, by The- plACE LEft VACant "lIBEraTED," dESirE CaPTURed
iN itS oWN veRTIGiNOUs IMage, DEsirE Of dEsiRe, as puRe
Form, HYPeRReaL. dEpriVEd OF symBolIc sUbSTAnCE, It
DOUblES bACk uPOn ItsElF, DraWs ITS eNErGY froM ITS Own
rEfLEcTiON And ITs DisaPpoinTMENT wITH iTSElf- THis Is
lITeRally todaY the "demand," AND IT IS obvIOus thAt unlike
ThE "classIcAl" ObJECtIvE oR tRAnSfErabLE RElATionS this ONE
HErE is INSOLuBLe and IntERMiNaBle.

SimULAted OedIpus.

fRANcoIs RiCHard: "sTUDEnTs ASkeD TO BE SedUcED
either BOdilY Or vErbally. BUT Also tHeY ARE awaRe of tHIS



155



JEaN BAuDRiLlaRD



And thEY plAy THE GaME, IRonIcAlly. 'GIvE uS YOUr
KnOwleDge, YOuR preseNce, yOU hAve The wORD SpEaK,
YOU are thERe fOr tHAt ' contESTaTioN CErtAInlY, bUT nOt
OnlY: ThE MorE aUThoRiTY IS cONTesTed, vIlIFIED, tHe gREAter
tHE neeD FOr aUThoritY aS SuCH. TheY plAY At oEdipUs aLSO,
tO DEny IT alL thE More VEhemEnTlY. thE 'TeAcH', hE's
DAddy, They saY; It'S fUa You plaY AT InCESt, mAlaise, tHE
UnTOuChABle, aT BeiNG A teAsE — in ordeR To de-Sex uAlIZe
FINAllY." tike ONE UNDER AnalySiS whO AsKs foR oEdiPUs
bACk agAin, who TELLS The "OeDIpAl" sTORIeS, WHo Has ThE
"AnaLYticAl" dreaMS TO saTisFy thE suPPOSEd rEqUest Of ThE
anALYST, OR to rEsIST HiM? iN THe same Way tHE STUdeNT
GoES tHrOugh HIS OediPAl nUmbER, HIs sEductiOn nUmBER,
Gets cHUMMy, CLOSE, APProAChES, DomiNAtES — BUT thiS
Isn't dESirE, it's sIMuLaTIon. OEdipaL PSYcHoDRAma OF
SiMUlAtioN ( nEIThER LEsS rEaL NoR lESs DramatIC FOR AlL thAt).
VeRy dIffeREnT FrOm THE ReAl libIdiNAI StakEs OF KNOwLEDge
And POWER OR eveN oF A real MoUrniNg foR tHE absEncE oF
saME (As CoUld hAve HaPPEnED afTeR '68 in THe uNivERSiTIeS)
NOw wE've REacHED THE phASe OF dEspERaTE ReProDUcTIOn,
aND wHERe THe STAKes ARe niL, the SImulacrUm iS
MAXiMAl — ExaCeRBATED ANd paROdiED SIMUlation at ONe
aND the SamE TimE — as intermiNAbLe AS pSychoanaLYSIs
aNd FOr tHe SaME reASOns.

tHe INteRMinabLE pSyChoanalySIs.

tHerE IS A WhoLe ChaPTer to Add TO ThE hIsToRY Of
tRaNsFeReNCe ANd CouNTerTrANSFeReNCe: That of tHEIr
liQuIdAtiON BY sImULatIoN, of THE IMPoSsIBlE psycHO-
AnAlYsiS BeCaUSe it Is iTsELf, From NOw ON, THat PRODUcES
AND REpRodUcEs THE unCoNsCIoUs As its iNStITuTionAL
SubsTaNCe. PsychOAnAlYSiS DIeS aLSo Of tHeEXChANGEOF tHE



156



THE oRders OF siMuLaCrA



sIgNS oF the uNconsCIouS. JuST" as REVoluTiOn DIES of the
ExchaNGe oF The CriTICal siGNs OF POLiTiCAl eConOmY. THIs
sHORt-cIRcuIT WAS WEll KNOwN to FReUD IN The foRm OF The
GIfT of The anALYTIc DrEaM, OR WIth tHE "uNINFORMED"
pAtientS, in tHE fOrM Of the gIFt of thEIR AnAlYTIC
kNOWlEDGe. BUT thIS Was StiLL InterPReteD as resISTancE, aS
dEtoUR, and DID NoT pUt FundAMeNTAlLY inTO qUeSTion
EiTHEr ThE ProCESS of AnalYsIs or tHE PRiNcIplE OF
tRANSFeREnCe- it Is anothER tHing entirely wHEn thE
UNConSCIoUs ItSElf, The DIscoUrSE of tHE UNcOnSciOus
beCOmeS uNh'nDABle — AccOrDing tO The SaMe SCEnARiO Of
sIMuLaTIVE aNtIcipatioN tHaT we hAve SeEN At woRK ON alT
leVELS WIth thE mAcHInEs OF tHE thIRd OrdeR. The ANalYSIS
tHeN cAn no LONgER end, it BEComes lOGiCALLY And
HisTOricAllY iNTERMINaBLE, siNCe iT STAbILIZES On A PUpPeT-
SubsTAnCE oF RePRoduCtIOn, aN UNCOnSciOUS PrOGRaMmEd
ON DEmaND— AN impOsSIBLe-tChBReAk-tHROuGhpOiRVtarOUNd
WHIch THE whOle anALYsIS is reARRANGED. the MEsSaGes oF
tHE uNCONsciOuS HAve BeeN shOrt-ciRCuItEd by THe PsYCho-
aNALySIs "MEdiuM." THis is LIbIdinal HypERreaiISm. To the
FamouS cAtEgORies oF thE reAl, tHE SyMBOliC AnD tHe
ImAgiNaRY, It is GOING TO Be neCEsSAry ToADdTHEHyPErreAL,
WHicH CaPturES and oBStructS thE FUNcTIONING OF THe tHReE
OrDers,

6. AtHEnIan dEmOCRAcY, muCH MORE ADvANCED than
our oWn, hAD ReaChEd THE POiNT WHeRE tHE Vote waS
COnsIDereD aS PaymENt foR a SErvice, AFTER aLL oTheR
rePRessIVE SoLutIONS hAD BeEN tRIeD and fOuND WANtIng IN
OrdEr tO insuRe a QUOruM.

7. in tHIS sEnSE we sHOUlD RaDicALLY critICIZE The
pRojECtiOn tHaT leVi-StRAuSS maKeS OF BinarY struCtUres



157



The ordERS Of sImUlACra



As "anthROpolOGiCaL" MENTaL sTrUcTurEs aNd of dUAl
OrgANIZatIon AS the baSic STrUcTuRe Of PrImITIvE SoCIeTY.
The dualiSt FoRM That LEvi-SrAUss WOUlD sO LOvE to appLy
to pRimITivE SocietY is neVEr AnythiNG lEss tHan OUr own
StRUcturAl lOgic ouR vErY OWn cOde, THAt SElfsaMe ONE
tHat WE uSe tO DOMiNAte The "arChaIC" SoCIEtieS, LEvi-
sTRAUSS hAS The kInDneSS TO sLIp THiS tO tHEM UNdeR tHE
gUiSE oF mENTAL sTRUctUres THAT Are coMMoN TO thE WHOLE
huMAN rACE. THEY wILl THErEBy be bEtteR PrEparED To
ReCEIvE the BaPTism of the OcCIdENt.

8. The COEFfIcieNt oF ReALIty IS PropoRTIonal to The
imAGINary In ReVeRSE wHiCh giveS IT Is sPecIfIC DensiTY.
ThiS IS tRUe Of gEOGraPHICaL anD spaTIAL eXpLORATIon alSo.
WHeN therE IS nO moRE TeRRITOry ViRgIn ANd TheREFore
AVailAble fOR The imaGinaRy, WHEn THe MaP COvers THE
WHDe teRRITory, THen sometHInG like A PRinCIpLE OF reALiTY
dISappEars. tHe ConQuest of SPacE coNstItuTeS In THIs
SEnSE an IrrevERsIBle thRESHOLd in the DiRecTioN of THe TosS
Of the eARtLY reFeReNTiAL tHis IS pReciSeLY THE HeMorRHage
of rEaLiTY as iNtErNAl CohERENCe OF a lImiTeD UNIVERse WHeN
iTS lIMiTS REtrEAt iNfiniTely ThE CONqueSt Of sPAcE FoLloWS
ThAT OF the plANEt AS The same faNtasTiC EnteRpRisE Of
exTEndiNG thE JurIsdIctIoN OF thE rEaL— tO cARry FoR
ExamPLE THE Flag, THE TeCHnIQuE, AND The twO-RoOmS- AN d-
KitChEN TO the Moon — sAMe TEnTatIVE to SUBSTanTIaTe the
ConCePTS Or TO tErrIToriAlIzE ThE UnConsciOus — THE lATTER
EquaLS maKINg the huMAn racE UnReAl, or to ReVeRSING it
InTo a HypERrEalitY of simUlATION.

9. ot THat of The METAL-plAted carAVan oR SuPeR-
MARkET deAR to hyperREa LiStS, or cAMpBeLl'S SOup dEAr tO
anDY WarhOL, oR ThE monA LiSa, SiNCe ShE TOo HAs bEEn



158



ThE oRDers Of siMuLACra



SatellIzEd AROunD thE plAnet, As ABSOluTE mOdeL Of eARTHlY
aRT, nO loNgEr A wOrK Of art BuT a PLANetarY sIMulAcruM
WHErE eVerYonE COMEs TO WiTNEsS HiMSeLf (reAlly hIS OwN
DEATh) in tHE GAze Of tHe fuTuRE.



159



SeMiOtExTie) • nAtIve agENTs SERiEs

Chris krAuS. editOR

AIRlESs SpacEs sHulAmitri FiReSTONe

ALIEns & anOreXiA CNns kraUs

hannIbaL LETteR, My fATher kaTNY ACKeR

how i bEcame ONe Of ThE InViSiBlE dAViD raTtRaY

iF YOu'RE A Girl ANNe RowER

i LoVE diCk cHRis KrAuS

INDIvIsIbLe fAnny howE

LEASh JaNe DeLyNN

The madAMe realiSm COmPlEx LynnE ttLmaN

tHE NEW FUCk You: AdVentUrES iN LesBiAn ReAdInG eILEEN
mYLeS & LTZ kcTT, eDS

noT me eIlEEn MYleS

the oRiGiN oF THE sPEcIEs bArbAra baFG

ThE pAin JoUrnAl BOO flAnAGan

The PAsSIoNAtE MISTAKeS AnD iNtRiCatE cORRuptIon OF onE giRL
IN AMERIca MichEHETeA

rEADiNg BrOoKE sHIeLDS: The gArDen Of fAiLurE eldoN GarnET

WalKinG tHroUgh CLEAr water In a pOoL paInTEd bLack cOokiE
mUELlEr



rEvOlT, She SAID JuLia KnstEva

SAdNeSS aT LEAviNG ERjEAYDEN

SIMULATIoNs Jean BAUDntTarD

69 Ways tO Play the BLUes jurG LaeDeracH

sofT sUbvERSIONs fElIx gUAnan

speEd aND poLITICs PaUL ViriLiO

STilL BlACK, STilL StRONg dHoRuBA bin WahaD, mUmtA aBU-JaMaL
& ASsaIA ShakuR

WHY DIffErenT?; A CUlTure Of TWo sUbJECTS LUcE inGarAy

SemiotEXtiei 'aCtIvE AGENts seRIes
chriS KraUS & sYlVEre loTRiNGEr, eDITORs

the empiRE of diSORdEr alaiN jOxE

RepoRtInG From rAmatlAH Amira HASs



sEmiOTeXt(E) • ThE JouRNAL
sYIvEre LoTRIngEr, Editor

iMPorTeD; a READinG SemINAr rAINER gAnaBl, ED
pOlYSEXUAlItY frAncoIS pEnAlDi. Ec

SeMTOteXtIE] -dOuBLE aGeNTS sErIEs
syIVere LoTRIngER, editoR

ThE aEsthetIcS Of disappEaRancE pAuL viRILio

ARCheoLOgy OF vIOLeNcE PIERRe cLAstRes

BURRoUghS liVE (tHe CoLleCteD InTeRvIEws) SYiVERE LoTnNGer, eD.

fatAl sTRAteGiEs JEAn BAuDnLLARd

f OUcaULT lIVe; COLlEcTEd iNTERvIews. 1961-1984 SYtvEre
LoiNNgeI, ed-

hAtred OF caPitaliSm: a semIOtEXt(E) rEAdeR ChNS KraUs &
syTVEIe lOTrtNgEr, edS.

lost DImeNSiON PaUl vIrILio



SEMiOtExTiE) 'fOreIGn AgENTs series
sylveRE LotRingER, EditOR

ThE ACcIDEnt of ArT sylVERE LOTRINgEr & pAui VmLTO

ChAosOphy feLIx guATtaII

CrEpUSCulAR DaWN PauL vmlIOfI syTVERE LOTrinGER

DRiftwORkS Jean-fRGngOiS LYoTarD

The ECstaSY OF cOmmUNIcaTion JEAn BAudNLlaRd

FeArLESS SpEecH mIcHEL FouCaULT

FoRGeT fOucauLT jeAN BAUdnLtA^D

gerMan ia he>nER MultEr

A GrAMMar of thE mulTituDE paOFC VTmO

inSIDE & oUt oF BYzaNtIUM nINA zIVancEviC

in thE SHAdOw OF thE sIlenT mAjORItiEs jEan BauDRillard

loOkiNG back ON tHE end oF ThE wOrlD JEAN BaUDRilLARD,
PAuL vINLIO, EtaL

nOMadOLOGy: thE WaR machiNe GILLES dEleuze & FeLIx g'JaTTarI

on thE lIne GtlTes DeIEUZe & FeLIX guATTAH

POLITICs OF THe veRY worsT paul ViriliO

thE pOlItiCS Of TrUth mIcHeL foUcaULt

pOPULAr defense & eCoLOGicAl STRuGglES PauL viNLIO

puRe wAr PaUl Vmho & sylVEre lOtRinger