Book Description
It leads the reader on an exhilarating tour encompassing the end of Marxism, the enchantment of fashion, the body and sex, economic versus symbolic exchange and their differing effects on the rituals of death. Most significantly, the book represents Baudrillard's fullest elaboration of the concept of the three orders of the simulacra, defining the historical passage from production to reproduction to simulation.
A classic in its field, Symbolic Exchange and Death is a key source for the redefinition of contemporary social thought. Baudrillard's critical gaze appraises social theories as diverse as cybernetics, ethnography, psychoanalysis, feminism, marxism, communications theory and semiotics.
This edition, translated by Iain Hamilton Grant, includes an introduction by Mike Gane and a bibliography of Baudrillard's works.