JEAN BAUDRILLARD

WHY HASN'T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED 7

T RAN SLATED BY CHRIS TURNER

WITH IM ACES BY ALAIN WlllA UME

\
CO N Te N TS

Fo reword

\Vhy Hasn't Everything Already D is:Jppe m:d?

Sugull Boo k.. 2009
J('~n

Ib udrillard. i>oMrq" l1 /(J.N "~ '" I JI<lJ Ji.J4 tUfJ><lnJr

l3clmons d~ L'I!ernt", 2(1(17

ruhli~hc<1 by nr.ongcmcm ,,j,h !",d irions dc 1: Herne,

c/ o Agcn(;(' lmer.lIfe PIcHe t\~IICf & t\wxic~ AU ngh ts rCK rv('.;I.

Engh;h tr.on ;.bn(m C Om' T urna 2O.Y.l

Im ages C 1\1:.111 \'fillaulIlc 20()')

T his co mpi1:arion C Sn b'llil Boo ks 200')

FlrSI puhhshlm English

ISUN -IJ

hr &a~.'ull iSoah, 2009

9781 'JOM '} H 08

Rrilish Uhrary Cataloguing.in.Publicalion Data

A clrlll'1.'llC" ITcu rd fur Ihi~ book l~ a,",ubble
from II ..: Ih ilhh 1i br...r
Typc~1

and de.o;igncd by Sunlln<hni Ihncr lCC, Seagull Books

Pnm ed at CDC i'nnlcrs 1>"'1 U.1. Cakulta

FOREWORD

He that hath no t, from him shall

be taken even that whi ch he hath
(? latthew 25: 29).1

'W' hy is there nothing rath er than someth ing?'

T hi s is Lcibni z's '1ucs tiot1 , exactly reversed . It is
also a radical way of taking o ne's !c:wc of meta physics.
\.

TbrJoms is

1101 n Oll' Oil

hring, hul Oil

tI)t

IIolbi/~p".

I
3

JAN BAUDRILLARD

WHY HA SN 'T EVE RY TH IN G A LREA DY DISAPPEARED?

;\ I:lccdonio Fe rt1:lndt,z. th e l\rgen tini:Jn wnter

;Jnd frien d of

B ()rgt:~,

N ihili sm ?

10,

nihili sm is precisely th e fo r-

h:ld alre;Jch' r:lken the ex-

getting of th e no thing. It is th e system th:tt is ni -

len gth ~ : ; E \'e r ~'

hi listic through its powe r to cons ign eve ryt hing

j U~1 011

to ind iffe rence. 'f he sys tcm is '!ruly negn io ni st',

th e I'pthing, btu no t entirely, On th (' j\uthing.

to usc 13:t udrilbrd 's ex press ion. ~ in cc it is a denial

pl oration of tht, nUlhing [() grc:u

th ing o n-a nd incl uding- th e Nothi ng,

there

i~

more: some (If it s illlerstices. which are

of th e no thing. a denial of :111 illusion. There re-

IlUT11 I.: WlI S.'! J e:1I1 Ihud ril b rd pushes its limit s

main s th e ch:tll cnge o f radi cal tllOught whic h

eve n furthl..'r :l nd sa tLlr~II CS th e iT1l crstict.:s. It's a

gambl es on th e world being illu :-> iun , which hr

ques tion of bei ng logical. \\ c imaf,rlnl.:d th:lt Good

pOlhcsizes

was the product of dimin:ll ing b il. tht, l: tert1:l1

th an so mething :lnd which 'huill s clown th e no-

the product of dimin:lling the Tempor:!1 or the

thing thai run s benea th the appare nl contin ui ty

All the produc t of dimin:ll ing the N othing, AI -

of Il1 c:t ning'.

W:lys thi s IOtalit:l rian temptatio n to uni fy. to reduce dU :ll ity. [() dil11in:lte I: vil. to exterminate the

th~1

Thi s isn't
contrary of

:I

:I

Ih en: is

perh~p s

nothing rathe r

cOlllr:t rr mc tilph ysics, but Ihl:

mct:lph}'sics.

nothing. W'e ha\'e rid our ~ekes of the :tl11biguit y

of I hI.: world.
\'\ e ha\"e

(0

l e~rt1 to d~ l1Cc

with , hc nothing;

thi s i ~ Ihe g rc:t l ga me and the g r:tl1d style: 'the

j\othing is

~I ~

essc llli:d to life:t s :u c air and wind

to the !light of th e do\'c:: 1 a refe rence to t-.: alll 's

'light dm'C" which im agi nes it wou ld fh beller if
i, cou ld ove rcome :til res ist:tflc c.

\X 'hen I spe:lk of timl:. it is n01 YCt

\,\'hen i spe:lk of

:l

pbce, it has d isa ppc:m:d

\'\ hen i spe:lk o f a man. il!..'s already (Il::ld

\'\ hcn I spc:lk o f timc. it :ltrc:ldy is no Illtlrl:4

!.I .T l ':-; Sp l.., .....

th en . of Ih e world from which

human beings ha\T di sappea red .

It 's a llUl:stioll uf di sappC:Ir.IIlCl:. n01 exha us4

nnn, ex tinctitln or cx termination . Thc cx h:lllsr.io n

of reso urces, th(' cx tinc tion uf spl:cics -thcse
are physi cal processes or narur:ll phe no mena .

JfAN 8AUDRIlLARD

WHY HA SN 'T EVERYTHI N G ALREADY DISAPPEARED ?

' \!ld th :lt 's the whole difference. T he human

li vel y a l ienated. ~ T hi s is th e

1110ll1C lll

wh cn

species is dou btless the only o ne to have Invcntcd

huma n bei ngs, while se tt ing abou t aO:llysi ng :lOci

:l specific mode of di s:lppea rllnce that h:l s noth .

tra nsform ing the wo rl d, rake th ei r !ca\'e of it,

ing

whi le at the sam e time le nding it forcc of rca li ty.

10

do with Na ture's bw. Perh aps cven an

:lr!

of di sa ppear:tnce.

\'('e ma y say, th cn, [hal lh c rca l wurld begi ns. parad OX Icall y,

l.ET 'S BEG I1\: \'\ tTIl

th e d is:1 ppeara ncc of th e re:ll.

10

d isappea r

:1.1

the ve ry samc tin1c :lS

it begins to ex ist.

We have talked eno ugh abotH the murd er of re-

By th eir c.:xce pt:ion:d f:lcuhr fur knuwl edge,

aliry in the age of thc media. vi rru:11 re:11iry :md

hu man beings, while giving meaning. valuc :I nd

network s, withou t enelui ring

rea hty

whcn the rea l began

10

10

:111\', ;:,IIre:lr deg

... ree

ex ist. I f we look closely.

\\'e sec that the rea l world begi

ns , in th e modern
c

10

th e wo rl d , :1 t the S:\l11e ti me begi n

:I

process of di ssolutio n ('to :In:il}'se' me:l ns liter:t.ll )'

'to di ssolve').

:lge. with th e deci sion to tr:t nsform the wo rld ,

But doubtless we have to go b:lck cven fur-

do so by mea ns of science, an:ll\'tical

,
knowledge and the impleme ntatio n of technol -

ther- as far as concept's :l nd bngu:lgc, By rep resenti ng thi ngs to o ursel ves, by nami ng them :l nd

ogY- lh:lt is to say Ih:ll it begi ns, in Hannah

co nccprual izing th em, hU1l1:l1l beings call them

Aren dt's word s, wi th the inve ntion of an

into ex istence and at th e sa me time h:-' slen th eir

Archil11cd ean poi nt outsi de th e world (o n rh e

doom, subtly det:lch thcm fro m their brUl e rcaliry"

basis of the invention of the telescope by G:llilen

ror eX:1111ple, the cbss struggle ex ists fro m th e

and the di scovery of modern mmhcma[ical ca l-

mo ment

culatio n) by which th e n:u-ur:11 \\"o rld is d efin i-

its g reates t in te nsity o nly before being T1:ll11ed.

:1Ild

10

10

~ I arx

names il. But it no doubt ex ists in

11

WH Y H AS N 'T EVERYTHI NG A LREA DY DISAPPEARED?

thank s ro the deployment of a limi tless tec hn ol

ogy. both menta l and material, human bei ngs are
'j

capablc of fulfilling all their pOlcntiali ties :md , as

a consequence, di sappear, givi ng way

to

an :u ti

ficial wo rld that expels them fro m it. to an integral

perfo rman ce that is, in a sense, the highest stage
o f ma teriali sm. (l\ larx: the idealist smge of inter

.,

preratio n, and the irresistible tr:msformatio n that

leads to a world withou t tis.) That wo rld is per
fec tly o bjective since there is no one left to see it.
Havi ng become purely ope ratio nal. it no lo nger

'.

ha s need o f our representatio n. Indeed, th ere no

lo nge r is any possible representa tion of iT.
Fo r, if what is proper to hum an beings is not
to

rea lize all th eir possi bili ties, it is of th e essence

of the technica l o bjec t 10 exhau st its poss ibilities

and eve n to go quite so me way beyon d th em,
stakjng out in that way the definitive d emarcation line between technica l objects and human
beings, ro the po int of deploying an in fin ite
l

ope ra tio nal potential agai nst human bei ngs

IS

HAN 8AUORIllARO

\ltl'rW,trth ,
thing

t,

It

mneh d('cJmcs. The 1110111COI ,I

tUllled, the moment reprc~(,nlauon Jnd

concept' tah' hold of

1)C~n,

10

It, t,

the !l10Il1COI when

lo!'c II' l:ncrg~'-wllh lht' risk that

II

11

wIll

bcco!l1e a truth or impll'l: Itself a~ ideology. \X 'I:

I1U\ ',1\

the "a me of Ihe: l ' nconsciou:- and

II'

diS.

emcry b~ Frcud. 111:- whe: n a Ihing i!' beginning

10 dl:o.,tppclr thai dll' concl:pl appea r:-;,

T he 0"1.

"';\\:0.

I k gd, tllCS out at dusk.

T ,lhe: gloh,lli/.llIon: If tl1l:rc i!'i so much t.tlk

of

II.'"

01,\ IOU'

t:lct,

I' perh,lp' bccau,e

It

.1'

Indi'plHablc realiry,

lh,ll

I' ;llread~' no longer at II"

hl:lghl ,till! wc ;I re alfl'ad~ contending with "O!l1C.

thll1g d'e.
Tlm<; thl: rc.11 \'anl,hc:, Into Ihe concept. But
\\I1.It ., e\ l:Il Illorl: p;lrJeio,\lcal 1<; the ('xactl, op

pO ... I1C: 1ll0\ l'l1ll'1lI b~ \\hICh concepr...

;tIlt!

idea,

(but ;11'0 pIUIlI.l"les. utopia" dreams and til::-i rc.;)

\,1I11,h IIll0 their \Tn fultilmC:1l 1. \X 'h{'l1 en:f\

thing d"appcar, Il\ c'cc!'s of reality. \\'hc:n,

"

JEAN BAUORlllARO

Il11pl\"ln~. sooner

thcm . . c!n:s .IIH\

or later. their

d''>'lppc'lrancc.
Thu .... the Illodern world forc<;.cen by ,\I an.

dmcl1

011 h~

the work of Ihe ncgau\'C, by the CIl -

gmt: of col1tr:ullction. bcc:1mc, by the \'cry excess

of

liS

fulfilmcllt. another world in which thing!'>

no long1..'r

('\TIl

need th eir opposites in order to

Oi ... l, in which I1ghl no longer needs sh:tdc, the

fl:l11in1l1c no \ongc r needs the masculine (o r vicc

\cr ... a?), good no longcr need ... c\'ll- and the

world no longer need, us.

I I 1...

,l11el: of

\u:n: we

'iCC

thm the mode of (I!sappc:u-

the: hUIlUI1 (and n:lIur:llly of cn:rythmg

rd<ltni 10 11

Gunther \nelcr.. oUldau:dncs .. of

human lX'lIlg.... the cchp ...c: of nilies. etc.) is pre.>

cl\ch the product of

:\11

Internal logic. of a built

in ob"oil:',ccncc, of the hum:1Il mce's fulfilment

of

II'

mo'" g r;lndio, c projcct. the P romcthc:\11

prolect of nla!'tcnng the.: uni versc, of accJuiring

c:-.hauslln:: htlowlcdge. \,\ 'c:

~cc,

which pn.'clpltalc<; 11 tow:\rd"

I.

ttlO, that il is Ihi ..

liS

dis:\ppcamncc.

JEAN BAUDRlllARD

WHY HASN'T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?

All th is may gin : Ih e impression or illu sion

But d isappea rance 11l:l}' be concei'-ed differ

of a raw.1sLnncgr. of an evolution at the end of

en d y: as a singular event and th e o b iect uf a

which we would h:1\"e passed beyo nd tha i

specific desire, the des ire no lo nge r to be there.

va ni shing poin t Can cili speaks of, wh ere, wilh

which is no t nega tive at all. QUi lC to the contrary,

uu t rea lizi ng it, Ih e human race wo uld have left

disappearance may be the desire to sec what th e

rea li ty and hislOrr be hind , where an y distinctio n

world looks like in o ur absence (phutog raphy) o r

bet,vee n th e tr ue :lnd ,he fal st: would have

lO

di sa ppea red , etc.1I

yo nd all mea ning, beyond th c hu rizun of d isap.

see, beyond th e end , beyond the subject. be

In which cast: \\'e and our bodies would be

pea rance, if there sti ll is an occu rrence of th e

mncly the ph anlOll1 limb. th e weak link. th e in-

wo rld , an unprog ram illcd nppear:lIl CC of things.

Emlile.: mabd y of

techno logica l appara rus that

i\ domain of pure appea rance. of the wo rld as it

n:mo ld y Gust as thought wou ld be

is (and not of the r'lI/ world , which is on ly ever the

merely the inf:mti le mabdy of AI o r th e hllm:m

w'Orld of represcnmtio n). which can eillerge o nlr

being the infantile malady of th e machin e o r the

fro m the disappearance of all the added values.

domina tes

LI S

:I

real the inf:mtilc maladr of th e \irrual). All th is

'fh erc arc here the first fruit's of :111 an o f dis

reillains confined still wil hin an evolutionary per

appearance, of anotlll:r Slr.ll cgr. The disso lution

spcClive th:u seTS evcrything in tcrm s of a lin ea r

o f vallies, of the real. of ideologies. of ultim:lt c

tr:ljeclor y, from urigin to end , frolll cause

to

ends.

cffcct, fro m birth to death , from appearanct:

10

ciisappca n l nee.

But there is simultaneo usly a ga me, the pos

sibi lity of playi ng wi lh all th ese things; th e pos
sibility o f an an, th ough

20

11 0 1

in any W :1y:111 an in

21

WH Y HA SN ' T EVE RY TH I N G A LREA DY DIS APP EARE D ?

much m o re cluiekl y than animal sp ecies, by the

:tccel er:nio n it imp:tns 10 :t n evo luti o n th :'! t no
lungt: f ha s an ything n:u u r:il :il)oUI iT.
D o ing so not out of ~ om e d t: ad l dri \'~ o r
som e inVillutive.

reg r ess l \,~

d ispOSiti o n towa rd

undiffere ntiat ed fo rm s. but fro m

go :ts far as possible in Ih e

:\11

impul se

t:x pr~ss i()n

to

of :,11 il s

po wer, all it s f;'tculti es- IO the point eve n o f

dreanllng of abo hsh1l1g d ea th ,
N ow, \\'h:lt is muSI s urpri sing

IS

Ih al th is

amount s to th e: S:ll11e th ing. Thi s ex trelll e

~n

d ellvo ur o n th e pari o f li fe (o r n f I ~ ro s . if. by that

te rm , o ne und erstand s Ih e d e pl oym e nt of :111
ca paCi t ies, t h t.: d ee pe n ing u f kno wkdgc, con sci o usn ess :ln d jollissflllrt') :lrri vt:s :1I Iht: saill e o u tco m e: th e vinu :'! l di sappc:'! ran ce of ,h c hUI1l ;'t1l
sp ecies, as tho ugh th:1I d estin y were prog rammed
somt:wh ere li nd we we re m erely d Ie long -Te rm
exeClIl:lnl S uf the prug ramme (w h ich irres istibly

brings to m ind flpoplosis. Iha t prucess b y which a

cell is pre-p rog rammed to die).

19

JEA N BAUORlllARO

the cultural :lIld aC~lhctlc sense, but sOlllething

clo"er

to:1

marna I an.

,\n It<;clf

In

on the ba<;l<; of

the modern period exi~ls only

It<;

cltsappearance-not

JUSt the

~Irt of making the real disappear and s upplaming

it with antHher :->cc ne, but the

lift

of abolishing

IIself 111 the course of its prac tice (I lcgcl). It was

br doing this that it cOl1sli tLlII.:d an e"e lll, thm it

wa .. of (kcisi\'e importance. I say 'was' advi~t:dly,

fur art today, though

know

It

\I

has disappeared, doesn't

has disappeared and-this is the worst

of it-conunues on its trajectory in a \,cget:lli\,e

';;Iale.
,\nd become ... the par:tdigm of c\'erything
that sur\'\\es it, o\\'n dis:tppc:trance. Th e re arc

tho<;c who phn on their disappt:amnec, make

of il

:\'> :I

lISC

1t\,1Ilg form, l'Xp loit it by excess, and

there arc tl1O:-e who :Ire in a stale of disappea rance :lnd who survive it by default. It is dear that
the political scene, for cX:llllple. merely reneets
the shado\\'s of a cave and the--disembodied-

2l

JEAN 8AUORIllARO

iud~el1lent

m CIlI

WH Y HAS N't EVERytHI NG ALREAOY OISAPPARE07

is te rrifying in itself, but th e judgt:.

of GIKI without God . , .

And in f:lel thc subjt:ct- tht: :-. uh ject as

age ncy of wi ll. o f freedom. of represen tatio n:

\X 'c,: l1l:ly thus suppose that c\'eryth ing that

the sub ject of power. of knowledge. o f his-

disappc:lrs-insri rution!', \'alues. prohibitions. ide

tory-is di s:l ppe:lTing. but it le:l\'l,:s its ghosl be-

o lo,l!;ics. even ide:ls--cominues to le:ld a cb ndes-

hind. its nllrcissis tic doubk, Illore o r less

tine t:X iSICIlCC ~lIld t:xe rt :ln ocellI! influence, as was

C:l t left ils g rin hovering. The su bjec t disapp{'a rs,

s:lid of Ih e :lIlcit:nt gods who, in the Ch ri sri:l l1 era.

gives way to a d iffuse, /loaling. insubsl:lllti:ll sub-

ass ulllt:d th e fo rm of demon s. 1':\,erv, thill 11 th:1I

jectivity, all ectop la sm that envelops e\'cryth ing

dis:lppe:l rs see ps back int u ou r Jives in in fin itcsi-

li nd tnlllsfn rm s evc rything into an imm cnse

Illal dose!', often more (bngerou s than the visible

sounding board for a di se mbodietl, empt y con-

au thority

th ~1t

ru led {)\,t:r

LI S.

In o ur age of IOler-

sciousness-ali things radiating nut from

:IS

:I

th e

sub-

ance and tml1$parency, prohibitions, controls and

jcc[i\'ity \\'ithOlil objec l; c:lCh mo nad . each

inequa liti t.:s disappea r o ne by o ne, btu o nl y thc

molecule ca ughl in the toil s of:l defi nitive narcis-

ben er 10 bc imernali z('d in the

111 (~ ntal

sphcre. \X C

might even suppose o urselves to be following in

the

tT'ack~

of ou r prt:\' iolls li\'t:s, not to spellk of

the Unco nsc iolls. Nothi ng c\'cr di sa ppea rs.

!JUI

sism, a pcrpcftl:ll image-playback. This is thc im:lgc

uf an end-of-\\urld subjcctivit y,

:I s ub jccti\'it~

for

an cnd of th e wo rld from which th e subject as

such h:ls di sappe:l red. no longe r h:l\'ing anyth ing

let's not get into pampsrcho logy. l .c t's star wi th

left

psycholo,l!,r and look

little at the di sappear:lnce

this b fefu l rurn of t:\'e Ilf S, and , in a Sensc, it no

of th e subject, which is, more or less, th e mirror

lo nger has anything st:lnding over :lg:liTlSI it- nei-

image of the di sappcllr:lIlce of the rcal.

ther objects, no r th e real. nor the Other.

26

:l

to

g mpple \\'ith. Th e sub jt:ct is th e victim of

27


WH Y HASN'T EVE RYTHING AL READY DISAPPEAREO?

bei ngs lh al muve around in it, but d o su (Illi te

unwitti ngly (it wo uld take

100

lo ng

10

li st every-

thing 1hat has di sa ppea red in th is wa r -in stitu-

tio m , n ducs, indi vid ua ls). It is, un fo nunat cly,

(Illit e pu ss ibl e th aI wt: ou rsel ves, as a spec ies,

al ready fo rm pan- in the fo rm of clo ning, con1 plilcriz:1.tio n and t.he netwo rks, fo r ex:unplc-o f
th is artifi ci:d sur vival , of rhi s prolong:nion

10

perpcrui ry uf so m ethi ng ,h:11 ha s d isappea red ,

bu t JU St keeps o n and o n d isappea ri ng. \,'I/ hcre ls

th e whole an is

10

kn ow how

10

d isappe:lf be-

fo re d ying and instead of d ying.

At any ratc, no thing JUS t v:t nishcs: o f everyth ing ,h al di sa ppea rs th e re re m ain traces. Th e
p ro ble m is what rem ain s when eve rything l1:1.s
d i:mp pcllred.

It 's a bi t likt: Lewis Cn rro ll's

C heshire Ca t, whose g rin still hovers in th e air

afte r the res t of him ha s vani shed. Or lik e th e
judgeme nt of God: God di sa p pears, but he
!cil\es behind hi s judgem ent . Nu\\~ a ca t's grin is
alread y som ething Icrrif}'ing, but th e g rin wi th
o ut rhe cat is even more terrifying .. . Ane! God 's

25

JEAI\I

8AUDRlll~RD

()ur grc.:;ltt.: .. l

~H_h n"~lfit.:'i

onl~

\\"lIh tht'lr th"appe:lr:lncc.

1111

(.K1 \I

1)1:-. \Pl'l \R \'( 1

now dut':Hen u ..

I:-! 'OT,

then. simply

L1ut of the \Irllul Ir.lI1 . . mul:ltion of

IIw

lIIisf (II (/"11111"

of

of n.:(\l1n, hut that of Ihe diYI

tht.: ,uhltTI 10 IIlfinuy. of a serial pulver-

'Hl!1of
1/,111011

thin~l'.

of con .. ciou,ne:-;~ imo all the

of realin. \,'c.: might

";1\,

intc:r~lict.:~

at a pinch, rhat con

"Ctou"oc .... (Ihe "ill, frecdom) is everywhere; 11

mc.:rge .. \\"lIh tht' course of

thlll~s

and. a" a rt.: .. uh.

become .... upertlllou", T his is the analysis CaHIi lullblllllgcr hllll ..clf made of re1i,!-,rion: a rehwon
which accommod,Ht'" to the world. which atlune .. lI .. clf 10 the (pohtlcal. socia l ...) ,,orld. heC011ll'"

'iupertlllous. It I.. for the samc rC:lSOi1-

bcelll't.:
ICC tin.'

II hCCllllC Incrc:l'1I1gl~

merged with ob-

han:lhn' -that .ut. ceasing to be different

from life. ha .. bl:comc

~upt.:rnuoll:-;.

Onl: might argue, alternatively. Ihat there

h:\\I.: been

~oml:

lence. threats.

'8

po .. iti\'(: di~appc:\fllllces: of vio-

illne~s

or dt.::llh, but we know tha t

,
WHY HASN'T eV ERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?

everything repressed or eliminated in this way re-

sults in a malign, viral infiltration of the social

and individual body.
IT IS, THEREFORE, IMPOSSIBLE to assign disap-

pearance--disappearance as form-to some particular purpose or end (any more than we can
with appearance indeed), either in the order of
Good or In the order of EviL Apart from all the
phantasies we maintain around it-and in the entirely justified hope of seeing a certain number
of things disappear ooet: and for all-we must
give disappearance back its prestige or, quite sim-

ply, its power, its impact. We must reinvest it not

as a final but as an immanent dimension-l
would even say as a vital dimension of existence.

Things live onJy on the basis of their digappearance, and, if one wishes to interpret them with
entire lucidity, one must do so as a function of
their disappearance. There is no better analytical
grid.
0

31

HAN 8AUORIllARO

h\' ln~
IS

be lllg!' not to fultil :til thei r potc.:nr ia litic!', it

of the essence of technical objects

1O

e;.,.hawa

all of their" and to deplo} the.:m despite all oppO"lI1o n. dC"I)ltc human be ings them5cl\'e5.
\\'hich implic5. in th e longer or shorter term, the
disappearance of humans. /\t th e en d of this irresistibl e proCCS5, 1C:lding to a pe rfectly object i\'c
universe. \\'hich is, as it \\'ere, the sup reme stage
of n.:,dit)'. th t re i5 no sub ject any longer; there is

no

OIlL:

th t: rc

10

"ec

H.

T hat world no longer has

need of us. no r of o ur representation. f\nd the.:re

i~. ind eed. no lo nger am possible representation

of it.

'11) II J.I

...,n{

,n

1IIIs Tit '\.=--ITI<)\. to

the hegemonic,

there is no finer :In:tlog} than that of the photograph

th ~H

ha s becol1lt: dl,lQTal. being liberated at

a s1l1gle stroke from bOlh the negalive :t nd the.:

rea l \\'orld. And the conseclllt:l1cCS of both these
things :Irc inc:tlcllbble, though Oil diffen: nt sca les.
of cou r!'t:.

34

Thi ~

mark s th e e nd of a singubr

JEAN BAUDRlllARD

WHY HASN'T EVERYTHI NG ALREADY DISAPPEARED'

I' (\ IV I.l!)J()'. J ~Jt \t.J . :-.TKI _":-.

th e total ambigu-

savou rs, would be the cur rent des ti ny of the

ilY of Oll r relation tu the rt.:;J1 ;Jnd its d is:lppc:lr-

il11:lge. of th e d is:1ppe:l r:lncc o f th e image in th e

ha ~

ino:u rablt:: mo\'t.: from tht: :In:.Jogic:ll to th e digi -

Ami Ihal is the sou rce of its fasci -

tal. Tht.: dt.: s tin ~ of the imagt: being eXt:l11pbr~

na llon. Behin d \'irilial rea lity in all ils forms

fo r th e invemion of th e technical imag{' in a11l1s

(tc1ematics, IT. eligiliz:llion. etc.), the rcal has d is-

forms is our laSt grea t il1\'cmiol1 in the unremit-

appeared. t\nel that is Wh:ll fa!'cinalcs C\'l;f\'on e,

ting llLieSt for

According

trllth

anct.:. Bt.:hind evcry

di ~a ppeared.

10

im :l~ e.

sOllle thin!4

the officia l version. we worship tht:

(0

:I ll

'ob jeCl ive' re:tl ity, an objec tive

be mir rored to

LI S

by technology ... It

real :lnd the reali ty principle, bu t-and this is tht.:

would seem that the mirror has gOt caugh t up in

source of all the

the

CU ff C11I

suspe nse- is it. in fact.

tht.: re:ll we worshi p. o r its di sappearancc?

~I S

and ha s transfo rmed e\'cryth ing into a

\'inual, digital, compu te rized , nume ric;) 1 ' rc:d iry'- th c

\'\'e may. the n. take thc sallle ge ncr:ll si tua tion-cxactly the sal111;-c.:i ther

~~me

d es ti n ~'

of the im:lge being merel y th e

tin y de tail of thi s anth rupulogical n: \'ulutinn .

a cu rse.:1S th e

commonplacc critical ve rsi on h:l s il. or:lS:1 pl easure into which we ca n rCtrea t, :lS a h:lppy cven-

O N THE HEGEMONIC AND THE DIGITAL, . ,

lU:llit y so to spc.:ak.

\X'hCI1, from aTl exct:ss of re:lliry, e\'e rp hing dis-

A co ntradictory two fuld posrulale thm

not , in

:IIW

appe:lrs th:ll1k s to th e deployment o f

C!1Il -

\\':1\'. be resolved.

:l

lim itless

mel1l:11o r ll1:lt cri!l.t technology, when hUIll!l.n beings arc capabl e o f fulfi ll ing :ltl th eir pOlemi:ll i-

'1'111

FI t"\. I-.5T IU .L:::.TIt\TIO;'\.

o f this s),stcl11:ltic van -

ishing of a rea lity, whosc tw il ight, as it were, one

31

li es. then, by th at \'cry loh n. they ent er a wo rld

that ex pds thc.:m . Fu r, if it is char!l.cterisli c of

33

WHY HAS N 'T EVERYTHI NG AlR[ADV DISAPPARD?

presence for th e objec l, since it 1n:1)" now be d igil:1ll )" Cl II1 Sl rtI Ctt:d , ,\ nd the l: nd of Ihe

~i ngu lar

mo me nt o( th e ph tJlog r;lph ic ;lCI. sin ce th e

1111;111e Gill now be im mcdi:uck,

~

t: r!l~ed

o r recon -

stru c led, An d the end of th e irrefu l:lbl e

I C~ l j

mon y of Ih e nega ti ve, Bo th the timc-b g and

di stance di s:"Ippl':"Ir :11 th e

~ :lT1le

ti lll e, :lIld with

thel11 th:"lt blank between objl:ct :lIld i l1l:"lge that

\\':"IS the ncg:"l l-j\t:. T he tradition:ll phOlogr:lph is
:111

im:lge producl:d by Ihe world. which. th :..nks

to th e med iu m of film. still i l1 voh'l:s:1dime nsi on

of represent ation. flle digital il1l:lge is an image

th ai comes straigh t out of th e sc ree n ;lnd becomes submerge,-I in th e m:.. ~s uf :..11 th e o th er
images fro m sc ree ns. II is of tht: ord er of flow,
and i!'

:I

priso ner 10 the aUIOI1l:l!ic operflli o n of

the c:lI1,e r:1. \X /hen ca icublioll fmd th e d igital win

O llt

over fo rm, when softw:.. rc wins

Ollt

over the

eye, ca n we still spe:.. k of phi HI Igr:lphy?

J7

JI AN 8AUORIUARO

dc<;um of (!1glll/;lllon looms o\er the world of

the Illlnd ;lIlcl IIll' whole range of thought.

\\111\\1

IllRt

1111

;-,\\\1

:'(I'\RIO,

term for

term: with programmes ba sed on the 0/ I binan

con"lrLlCI, \\ hleh i" a kind of integral calcu lm.
Ihl'

cnurc

s~

mbolic articulat ion of languag(' and

thought dl'i:tppe:lfs. Soon there will no longcr be

<In\" thought -sensltl\'e surf:tcc of confrontation,
;U1\

"u"pell"ion of thought between illUSion and

realu\'. T he re will be no bLinks any more. no

SI -

lences. no cOlllradtcllon- just a single continu

Oll"

110\\, :t "lIlglc IIlll'g rated Ci rCUIt. ,\nd

computer Intellige nce lend .. Hsclf

to--Of,

more

accur.ucly, like the digital in the ca;;;e of tht:

lIll:1gc. forces us lillo-

clpncit)u"ne""

()f

the sa me faciliry, the same

pn)(luclion and accumulation.

of 'photo '" nthe~i~' of the whole of the possible n::11. Thl'- giganlic- illu sion is to confuse
thought with :t prolife ration of calculation:.- o r
photography wuh a prohfcr:H lotl of

40

ill1agc~.

,\!lel

..

,
JEA N BAUDR IHARD

THb I~ ;-"OT \ 11 RI.! Y "

WHY HASN ' t EVERYTHI NG AlREAD Y OlSAP PEARD 1

I.Pb() l)l ~

tcchno logy: with thi s ru rn

to

in the hi~ lUr} of

to menti o n the magic o f th e im:lgt.:'$ t.:l11 ergence

the digita l. th e

as it is d evelo ped),

whole of :lIlalo/!,ue photograph y, th e im:lge in il ~

en tirety -conc eivcd a~ th e conve rgence of th e

It is the wo rld and our vi sion o f th e wo rld

that is ch;1. nged by thi s.

light from th e obj ec t with th e light from th e

gaze- is s:1 crificc d. is doom ed fure ve r. As di~iti

PARTI Cl' L\ RI.Y 1;-': T IILSE RLCI~:-"T T I\I I..S o (

r3pid technu logical progress, the :Ibsurd ide l h3S

emerged of libemting' the re:ll by me;1. ns o f the
im;1.gc, :Inc! of 'libemtingOthe image by l11e:1I1S o f

zmion ad":1 l1cc!', soon th ere will no longer be any

film . :l1ly light -sensitive slIfbcc onto which things
inscrib ed themsd ves nega ti vely. f herc will onl y
be an image $oftw;1. fe pa c b~e, a d i~6tal effect
runn ing

th e digiul . The 'libera tio n' o f th e rcal 3nd o f the

il1l:lge arc s;1.id to be effects o f profusio n :md pro

thc bil1ionrh o f a pixel and, a t th e

sa me time , unprecedent ed e:-lse of pi cture- ta kto

liferati on. Thi s is to forgct the dcwcc o f ch;1.1lcnge

and risk involved in th e pholOgT;1.ph ic act, the

ing, of image -playb ack and o f rhe photo -synthesis" of anything whatc ver, Metap ho ricall y, th e

fra~';lity and :Imbivalcncc ()f the relatio n to the ob-

ject- th e ' failure ' o f th e !!;aze, we might say. That

is all essc nri:ll f O photo!!.raph y- and it is :t rare

sophis tica tion o f th e play o f prcsen ce and absence, of appea rance ;1. nd disapp ca mncc -allth e

thi ng! Yo u canno t liberat e pIH ,tt'~"l ph}'!

sop hi sticati o n o f th e photographi c aCl-d isa ppca rs wi th the coming of th e digital (the phlll u ,
gr:lphic ac t causes th e ob ject in its 'rea lit y' to
vani sh for a mome nt ; the re is no thing o f th e sort
in the virtu;1. 1 image, nor its digi t;1.1c;1.p ture- not

38

ultra-

O nc!.: aga in, thi s is :tIl JUSt o ne tin y exa mple

o f wha t is happe ning on :1 m:tssivc sca le in :IJl
fields -parti cularly in th e field s o f tho ught, con

ccpr s, bngu :tge and repres ent ation . Th e

S:ltll C

39

WHY HASN'T [V{RYTHING ALREADY DISAPP(ARED?

th e fu rt he:r

\\T

W) in tha t d irutioll.

tlll: fllnh ~ r

we Sh :lll be: from ,h e s~ crc ' -:lI1d th e pl ~:l ~ ure:

of b()th. T he e:xtlrbita l1t pri\'il q.:,c: granted

10

the

br:lin. n o t itl ~ t in th e n c urosc i ~ ll ce~ but in :111

field s. is symplOma lic

or th is. i\:( )1 It) m e mion I,c

l ':ly's rCCt.:111 propos:ll on cnt:in~'c r in t: the amoullt

of

hUIl1 :Ul

brain lilli e a\'ailable (for Coca Cob. :ld

vc n s) . w hich

cis m :I nc!
I-i e:l d

W :IS

excc(xlcd in ill\'oiull ta ry cr ni .

ri d ic liloll ~ n ('ss

hy the p rupos:d uf th e

or Cul tllf:ll ,\fffliri' of th e P:lris C il"y 1!:tIL

Chri stoph e G ira rd : '\X 'h:11 we w:lnt is 10 llI :lke the

brain anibb1c. n o t fo r :Id \'c ni :- int: :l.nd cflpitaL
but for C ult urt.: :md C rea tion !'
Il owc\'cr thi s m a\'
\\TC)n ~. be, wha t is totall,
. '
hC:ld cd is

(0

lie Ic rl11in:l1.

see th e hrain :lS:l rece i,'e r.

:1

:l

synap-

sc ree n f'lr br:lill i m a~e r } in r(':l l

rime (in thi s sen se. it ii', :11

:l

pinch, k s", ah"tml to

corrd :lI c a 'ru llctinn:d' b r:li n wit h :111 :ld n .: rti sing
m :lrke t ,h:\I1 to st..:e it a:- the \'chicle for 'C re -

:lLiun'!). In short, in h 'cping wi dlthc abe tTant as s llmplio n flf the whol e

or

cOllltlluniC:l1io ll

th eory ('\'\ 'c a rc a ll ull\\"illiTlt: receivers :lncl tr:lIl :--

.,

HA N BAUO RtUA RO

shutter relc3se aix)hsilmg the world and the ga/c

for:1.

a ,~nCllpc.:1 fH'lik IIIOrl thai tnAAers

Ill(HllCI1I,

the maclllllic performance of the ima!!c--disappear!'

III

digItal, Ilumcncal processing.

,\11 thts IC:lds Illc\'itnbly

to

the death of pho-

tography :, .. an original Illtxi iulll. \X 'ilh the an:1 -

loguc imagc it is the csscncc of photography that

disappcar~.

T hat im:lgt: sti ll

:ltlcSlcd 10

tht.: lh c

presence of :\ subject to :-tn objec[--{mc laSt rc pm"','!.: from the

dl"'''Cllllnatl0!l

\\,,)\ c th.u hc.:s

store for

111

and digital udal

liS.

The problem of reference was already an al mo ... ,

lIl ... oluhlc

one: how

., It \\

IIh n: prc<;t.:IlI:lf1on? BUI when, \\'lIh the \'ir-

l'i 11

with the real? I low

lu,11. the n :f<.:rcl1I dl':lppC:lr~. wht:n it dis:lrpC;lr~

Into the technical programnllng of the il11:lge,

\\hell there I" no

l()n~er

world :-ct o\'cr .again." a

the SItU:1.tl0n of :1. rC:1.1

li~ht - ~cn~itin; film (it i'l

the :-.I111e with 1.lI1gU:lgc, which is like.: the.:

~e.:miti\e.:

tilm of idc;\.,), then there is, ultimatdy, no po:-:-.iblc.:

reprc<;CIlt:lIlOn

46

:111\

more ..

WHY HASN'T EVERytHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?

JEAN BAUORlllARO

l11il1c: r:o: "), once: you mo d d the: brni n o n comput -

Fo r thaI hegemony i" notiling olht:r Ih:l11 the re-

t:rs, sc:ci n~ it :1S :1 supe r machine in th e image of

absorption o f any neg:lI i\'it y in human affair". the

othe: r digi tal l11:1chine:s, th en th e brnin and (\'ir-

reduction to th e simpk sl lInll:1r ~ forlllub, th e

tu:i1) rea lit y simpl y illt crf:1ce, o pe rate in a loop

formula to which th e.: re i:o: 110 alt e rn ,lI ive:. 0/ 1-

with, or m irro r, e::lch ot her in nccordance with

pure difference o f pot en ua1.

:1

wh ich the.: aim

Into

single p rogr:u111l1c- th c whole resulLing in wha t

is to have :l1l conl1i cI:' \',Ini:;; h d igll:1l1 y

we c:lll Aflifi cb l Intelligence o r A I. \,\Iilhin th is

THE VIOLE N CE DO N E TO THE IM AGE

fram e.: work , in which wc havc d e.:fi nitively p rivi -

T he ulril11at~ \'iolen ce done to the im:1ge.: i:<> thc

Ie.:ge:d th e.: brain as a str.ll cgic source of tho ugh t-

viol ence

:H

the ex pense o f :l il y o ther fo rm of intelligence,

part ic u1:1r1r th e intel ligence of E vil , which is rd eg:ltnl to IIll: zonc of lIsd e:ss fun ctions -\\"l' as sure it of Ilcge: mo nr. o f hegem o ni c po werprecisely in th e like:ness of the po we r that reign s
in the geopolitica l sphe.:rc. The: sam e mo no po ly,
the S:1I1lC pyramid:11 symhesis o f po wers.

of

the:

cgi- compul e r-ge nc rc:l lcd

im:lgc-which em ergc" r.... millfo from l1um ~ ri ca l

calcula tio n and th e comput er.
This PlII S:111 e.: nd nCIl to the inl.lgil1lng of tll('
image. to its fund al1lcnt:11 'llIu ,",lIm'
put er gcnernLio n, th e r~ fe n.; nl
lh cre: is no place e\'en

tor

T ill S 1) 1 ~S CR mES

an ove rall hege mo nic

proce:o::o:. :lnd thi s is \\'hy th e digressio n o n photography :1nd the.: dig it:11 can serve as the micro mo del for a generalized analys is of he gc l11 o n ~.

44

in

COI1l -

lI1ge.:r e:\t~t1' and

the n:~ll to 'u kc p1:1ce',

being i ml1l cdi:1td ~ pn KllIce:d a<; \ ' lff U.11 Rea lit y,
D iglt al pnx iliction

,\1.1.

III I II

,",i n c~,

C r:1 ,",C'"

th e.: inugc ,11' (/",,10-

,ejJlr, it erases lhc rcal as :..( ltm:tl ltng c lp:lbk

( )f

I.x.:i ng

'imagi ned', The photog tilphlc :I( t, Ihi " lllon1c:!l1 of

di s appc ~mlll (c

of both th e sub ject ,mel Ih l: o b ject

in the same installl:mcou" con fron t.ll iol1- the

45

W H Y HASN'T EVE RYTHI NG AL READY DISAPPE A RED?

TIIERE IS \'('O RSE,

\Vh:\{ di stinguishes th c an:lloguc

image is that it is the pb cc where a fo rm o f di s:lppeara ncc. of di st:lncc, of 'freezi ng' of th e

wo rld pl ays lI se1f o ut. "rh:l t nothi ngness al th e
hea rt o f th e im:lge which \X'arho l spokc o f.
\\;1hcre:ls, in th c digital image, Of, mOfe generaUy, t.he cgi, therc is no nCb":l.tive :lily longer, no

<ti me lapse', Nothing dies o r disappe:l rs there, The

image is merely th e product of

,In inSl"fucti on and

a progr:lllllll c, agg ravated by auto mat.i c di ssemination from o nc medium to the o ther: comput er,
mobile pho ne, T V sc ree n, elc.- the llutOTl1atic
nanlre of rh e network- respo nding

10

the auto-

mat.ic nature o f th e constru ctio n o f the im:lgc.

So should we save absence? Shou ld wc save
the void and thi s nothi ngness at the hea rt of th e
image ?
AI any

mlC,

rcmov ing I11 c:l.Iling b ri ngs o ur

thc essential point: namel y, thaI rh e iTl1 l1gC is more

impo rtant than what it speak s about- j uSt as
language is morc importan t r.h:lTl what it signifies,

49

JEA N 8AUDRIllARD

BlT IT

\It

wa~, i\ul

ST

WH Y HASN'T EVERYT HI NG ALREADY DISAPPEARED?

\I _~(}

RI

\ 1 \ 1' \1.1 1 , to

lonl

it~clf :I~

itself in somc

lhe illl:lge in which the d ivi nity W;IS dirc,:clly

r:l ke

prcsell1-:ls in th e \'eil of Ih e Il ol} F:lce lll-w:I:-

ror :U1 i m:l g{~ , It must r{'Il1:1in :I fiction, a f.-Ibk

:Il1t hc mic- :l1l foil" rf tllllolI/aliqllt' of lhe d ivin e

and hence ec ho the irn:sukablc fiction o r th e

(:I CC without :l ny hU111:l11 h:l nd h:l\'ill ~ int ervened

C\'CI11 . It mu st nOi bc caught in its own trap o r let

("a cllt:iropuie1.ic'), through a ki nd of

it'~elf

n: /lecl

itself bl: im prisoned in

mediulll ,

1101

1111: i Tl1 :1ge~ pby lxlck.

lr:lIl s lc r~

priming ana logous to thc m:g:lli n : or th e phlli o.

T he worst thing, in ou r \' iew, is JUSt thi s im -

gra phic film. On the othe r h:md , they violcml y

possibi li ty of a wo rld withollt il11 age -pbyb:tck-

rcjccred :11 1 ico ns prlldu ced by hlll1l:ll1 h:l nd

a world that is :tlways c:lug ht, ca pturcd, lil m cd

(,cheiropoil: lic') which for them were mere

:l nd photogra ph ed e\'l:n 1>I.: fore it is ~ee n. Th is is

lIbCr.l o f th e di d nc,

a T1lo!'l:t1 d:lI1gcr for the ' rc:l1' wo rld, but also for

s illl ~

By COll1 r:tSI, th e photogr:lphic :lCI is. in

:1

the il11:tge. since. when it merges with the real and

senst:, 'achei ropui elic'. As aut o m:ltic ligh t. writi ng

si mpl y im lll erses it self in th e real :md re cyck s

Ih:lt neither p:lsses through th e rea l nor Ihe ide:t

ii, th erc no longe r is :l ny il1la~e-:11 l e:t~ t

uf the re:ll. pholOgf:tphy 1ll:1Y ht: ~:l i d , by thi ~ :tu

/1f)l

as

cxct:p tion,:ls illu sion, :ls p:mtlld \\orld . In th t: \i-

lut11:1t:ici t); 10 be the prutut)ve of

~ 1I :l 1

the wo rld, wi th no interference (mm human h:lIld.

!low in which wt: :Ire cu rrentl y s ubnlt:r~ed,

Ihere i" n'l eVl:n th e tim L' 10 become an im:lge.

The world produci ng itself

:IS

:1

lit cr:llness of

r:ldiC:11 illusion,

:I ~

I d ream of an illl:lgt: that wou ld be th e iail -

purt: tr.1ce, \\;thOlH :tlly simubtioll, without hum:tn

of thl: world's singubrit y. :is

il1l er\'c mion :l nd, :lbo\'e all. no t :ts truth, for, if

drl::ll1lt of b\ the Iconoclasts in th e famous

there is onc ~ lIpJ'enH': pnxluct of the hUI1l:lIll11ind ,

Bynntinc controversy. T hey contended th:l! o nly

th:t! product is truth :tnc! objccti\T rC:llity.

flrl' tllIlOlJltlliqllf

50

51

WHY HASN'T EVERyTHING AlREADY DISAPP[ARED?

physical- !<Ocn ses of the word , of th e 'i nngc in

th e carpel'? T he V:mi shing Pllin! o f the Pic rurc.

~ I.KI \I.ITY IS ~O'\ II.TIl"( . :1.ltn os l i n c vjLlhlc.: in

ph olOgra phy. fo r th e rcasoll th:u the C:lI1H:r.l (c:o: p cc ially th e dig ital ca m c f':l) ICl1 d ~ tuw:ml s till: in -

finite ex ploita tio n of its possi bilities. Fnr bck of

:1 11

intu iting of th e d ct:l il of th e world. fo r want

of full y plumbing il s m C:lIling and c xh:llI sling ils

~lpp Ca rat1ces,

th e sc ri:ll digil:'!l im:lgc fills ,he \'oid

by sclf-muILipli cuioll. In the limi l (:1St.' which is

o ur presc m con dit ion. we arrive

:11

an un stop -

pable seri es of shots.

But this is no lo nger :l pho tograph :Ind , lil e rall y spea king. it is no

l o n~(' r

(,\,(,11 :1.11 im:lgc. T hese

shot s may be said. r.ahcr. tn be pan o f the murder

of the image. Th a, murde r is hei ng pe rpc lF.lt ed

continually by aU the

il11 age~

th:\I :lCculllubt<.' in se-

rics, in ,hcl1l:lt.ic' seque nces. w h ich illustrat e thc

same evcm

tlt/lltlllSetll/l.

which th ink th ey :lrc acclI-

mulating, but are, in fan, canC(.: lling e:tc h t Hiler t Jut,

ti ll th ey reach the zero degree of info rm :llioTl .

55

HAN 8AUOII'llAIiO

T1I1IU /..., (.RI \1 \111 (T\IIO, 10

a<;cnbing mean

111j.{ 10 the photographiC 1Il1age, To do so I,

nuke ohlec,,", ..,Irlkc

,I

"eke .. bq,~111

111

"oon

;1"

of

po"e

IhlllgS

them -

the light of meaning as

Ihl'Y fed a subject's ga7e upon them.

II \\ I \\ I
I.I"Y

10

po<;c, \nd

to

'()"J

a \\1

Irld

\I \\ \"
lhal

had the deep-sca led phan -

would go

Oil \\'llhOUI liS?

Th e

poetic lempI.lI10n 10 M.: e the world in Our ab"enCl:. free of am hUlllan, all -loo -human will?
The IIllen'l' plc;l"ure of poetic language li('s in
"cclng J.lIlguage opeC"lting on ils own. in its Illa

lenal,,\. :1.I1d lileralu\, without Iransitll1g through

lllean1l1g-thi" is wh:1I fasClnatcs us. It is il1('
same with anagrams or anamorphoses. with the

'figure in the ca rpel', l1 The \'nnishing Point of

l ':l1lguage.

\1 \, '()J PHOTO(,R WHY :1150

be said

10

fUI1Clion

as 'revealing', in the I\\'()-tech nical and mCla -

52

lEA N 8AUDRIllARD

muge

\U,

nude. In the pn't,

10

(he day" of the

'rcal world', so 10 .. peak, photography wa<;, as

Ihnhe"i argued,

\\']{nc~~ to

"ence, to sOl1lethll1g

lIUl

,lIld for .111 IIIne. h)r

11"

III

real

(bd

tlmc

an insuperable ab

had been p rc~ellt once

pan. rhe digital photo is

and bC;lrs witncss to something that

take place, btl! whose absence ~igni tie "

nOI

Ill)t hll1g.

In till'. digiul hberahl'flllOIl of thc photogr:1plllc act, 111 Ihl ..

impcr~on<ll

process in which

the medium Itself gcncral l;s mass-pnKluced im a~e ... \\'lIh

we

C;\Il

no mher Il1lerCeS"lon but the techlllcal,

'ee seriality

111

its consummate form. In

the licld of ullage ... Ihl .. 1<;, as it were. the e<ltll\'aiCI1I

of .\1. \,\ 'e

hy

(lignal Cll1lCrn

;1

I1U\ Ihtl<,

regard the Image .. taken

gcne rall~

as an infinite

with ,III the pO"'lhditics of manipulallon,

~c ric s
pla~,

correcllon, inugc pl:lyback and all rhe thing" that

afC 1Il1lhlnk,lbk in the 'analoguc' world. It "al .. o

the end of any suspe nsc: the image I:; thcrc:lt th e.:
.. a me lillle as the scene- .l

58

ridicul()ll ~

pnlmi .. cuity

I
JEAN BAUDRILLARO

WHY HAS N "

There j" a vi olence done to rh e world in rhls

way. but there i~ :ilso a \'iolence don e

image.

h)

Ihe

s o\crcig1ll~

10

th t:

uf images. j\;u\\', an

image has to b e sO\e n~ ign; it has

10

have;: its own

(VERYTHI N G ALRE A DY DISAPP[ A RED?

1\ total de regubtiol1 of th e il1la~e-pho

togrnphy ca n get lost in

I1K Ilt:ltion. in

:t

:I

mind boggling fr:lg-

technical delirium of visi bil it} at

all costs, where everything inSISt's on

~Ippca ring on

symbol ic space. If th ey arc li\'ing images-'aes-

:l fr:tct:ll o r microscopic sca le. It's not :ll1latt er of

thetic ' (.lu:ililY is no t at issue hc n.:-th cy ensure

disaplx.-aring into the pby of forms any more. but

the t.::\i~ten cc of that ~y mbulic ~ pacc by dimimlt -

o f an automatic substitution. whe re the world it -

ing an infinite number of other spaces frOln il.

self zaps from one im:tge to the o ther in precisely

T here

a pe rpe tual ri\:tlry betwee n (tru e) im -

th e S:Ulll.: way as the individunl c:m di ssolve him -

ages. But it is exactly th e o pposi te {oelay wilh th e

sel f imo th e m ental di:lspora o f ,h e nt:\"wurks :tnd

d igi 1:!1, when: Ih e parade of im:lgcs n:semblcs th e

the reby :utain a de finiLi\'c spectrali!'y.

IS

sC,] lIcncing o f the ge no me.

T hc ulLim:ttc stage o f thi s d c-regulation is

the cgi. From faked phutos of tht: d ying D in na to

T il L OI'I'O:-ITI. 1'I ',R':" IJI-CrJ\,I"

ph~ in liS pure :lb slr:lClioll-

would be

phologra -

roIIi mmlltll'---el1vi -

srudio-manufacrured TV rt: pI Jrt s. tht: immedia te

live shot. taken nt

:111

irrevocable m o ment, is pas t

sinn ing:1I1 alrc:ldy photog raphed world in one's

lInd go nl.:- b st gli mm cr of :lcrunlirr in a virtu:l1

head- withou t there being :l ny need to material

dime nsion \\'he rc im:lgcs no lo ngl.: r h:lvt: the

ize it in aC lu:l1 shut s- by imagi ning the world

slightest connecrion wilh lime.

precisel y as the len s Ir:ln sforms it. Th e innt:r

ecstasy of photography. as it wcre.

In the vinu:l1 im:lgc there's no longer an yth ing uf that punctual ex actitude. Ih:1I p"l/rllllll in
time wh ich is th e 'poim ' w11l.:11 tht: :l11alugu e

56

57

WHY HASN'T EVRVTHING AlRAOV OISAPPARO?

J(AN 8AUORIllARO

the choice has been madc :l11d it is cmbo d icd in

to oper:ll c within an illlcgr:-tl indi\'iduality, free

from all hislOry and $ubjl.:Cl.i\'c constraints ...

the supremacy o f Artificia l

I nldli~c n ce.

At th e cnd -point of this ri se of the machim:,

in which al1 human intelligencc is encapsubted-

IT IS ,\TTIIE OlT I' 1{ 1.l\IIT !'I

:1 ll1:1 chine which is now :Iss tlfcd of total auton-

appe::tral1ce, which h:1s, it wou ld !"eelll. been uni -

o my as a res ult- it is cl c:u that mankind ex ists

vcrs:1.l ly accep tcd. but whose d ynamic ulti mately

only :\I the COSt o f its 0 \\" 11 dc:uh. It Ix:coll1 cs illl -

remains mys tcrio us (\'\ '11:1.1 do digi fal

Illort:'ll only by p:'lying th l.: p rice of it s tcchn()log-

o f ? as Philip r.::: . D ick mig ht have :1. sked). thaI

iC:'l1 di s:'lppC:lli UlCC, of its in scription in the d igital

somc rroubli ng p::t radoxiC:ll (llIcs liu ns :trise:

order (Ihl.: Ill CIl1:'l1 di:1 !>pora of the network s).

of this: systc mat.ic di s-

1. Is ('\'c rything doom cd

10

~ h cc p

drcam

disllppea r---( Jr,

mo re precisely. ha sn'l eve ryt hing alread y disap~ J"lII . !'I\ \ !lU)1. (JI

\ 1.1 \'1'( . DI~PI.R!)IU:-".

tllc ide:1.1

pea red? (\\'h ich connect!" lip with Ihc vcry dislant

spider, which !"pi ns its web and is silllu itaneous ly

p:mldox from a phi losophy th:1I nc\'cr was: Wi lY

spun by its web: Or bCller slill. ' I :1.111 1l0l the spi -

IS TH E RE NOT Il ING R,IT II " R T ll tlN

der who wC:I\'es Ihe web. and I am nut c\'cn a fl\'

SCH IETH ING')

c:lUglli in the wcb. I :tm the web it self. strea ming

2. \'\ 'hy isn't everything

off in all direc tiun s with no ce ntre and no self

3. \,\'c arc fa sci naTed by ,hc ph:l1 l1 :ISIll of :1I1

Ih:lI I c:-In c:tllmy 0\\"n.'12

But Ihi s is Th e o pcn form of immortali ry and
in realiry. so far :IS the human species is concerned.

62

uni \, ('I"~ al ?

in tegral rca li fY. by fhe :llph:1:md Olllct:a uf d igi lal

progml11 l11 ing. T he rl.::l. i is th e Ieitillotif :lnd ubsess io n of all di scourses. BUI arc we not fa r tess

63

WHY HASN'T EVERYT HING ALREADY DISAP PEA RED ?

(wha t a m:l rvcl, by Co ntr:l::; t, is the slow g rad ual

risi ng

to

th e surfact: of th t: imagt: in th e Pobroid

ca mera!). 'fhl ::; i::; what the digi tal b ch: th e rim e
of e me rge nce, failin g which it is merel y a ran do m segme nt of the uni ve r::; al pi xclli zatio n,
which no longc.: r ha s anything tv du with th e
gaze, no r with th e pia), of th e negative. the play
of d istance. A new view of th e world , glo b:tliz:tcio n's view o f the wo rld : th e sub jectio n of everything to :t single prug ramm e, th e sub jection of
:tll images ('Q:t single 'ge no me', Thi s is why il is a
mi stake

(Q

rega rd the move

tec hni cal advance, as

:1

10

digit:t l as :t mere

supe rio r form of au-

!Umatia n o r eyen, indeed, II finallibenu-inn o f the

Image.
Fo r th is really is the b st straw. this :tspir:ttion
to

d ear the wa y, with the digital, for the integral

im:1.ge, free from an y real -wo rld constraints. And

we would nor be forci ng the analog), if we exlend ed th is sam e revolution to hum:l n beings in
general , free no\\-; thank : ;

to

this digital intelligence,

61

WHY HA SN 't EV ERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEAR EO'

nen;r re ill y bCl:n taken into

cons id t: r~lI i() n,

except

in :1 Iluml)!.;r of r:lpidly s:lcrificed ht:resies).

D Ui\ 1.1'1"'1'. Th e inviubblc gold e n ru le of

dllalil"Y. And th cn.: ':o; no need ttl g n b:lck

to

:11\.

thropology'5 roOl5 to rediscover thi 5 mdie:11 d elllet11 of hllm:lt1 being; it is present everywhere:
it is what

n OI

o nl y leavc:o; Ihe ~l lI t..:s l i(Jn s po sed

:l bove etero:llly in sLi spen se, but :l lso etcrn:lll y

,hw:lrt s hum:ln und ert akings (:lll b:lsed on syn
dH.:sis, intt..:g r:dity and lh e dclibc r:ll c fo rgelling of
all rCfr:lClOry form s, of eve rything that canno t o r
wil l not be in tt..:grated or reco ncikd .. ,).
Funcbmcmall y.lhc

N OR~ I A I .

hUIll:! n being

:llw:I}'S lives in a SI:lI e of d epcndency o r cou llt e r

de pend ency: he i5 dcpc nc\t;nl on his mode l
(wI1:IIc\'cr it

111 :l )'

be: mode l of

:lnic)Il,

social or

imagina ry project), but. :11 the :o:1I11e lime. perina

nendy challengi ng th:1I l1Iodel. l ie is Il1Ol.i":lI cd and
cOlll1tcr mori\aled in the sam e 1l1()\'em cnt . The re
is no need for psycho logy o r psyc ho:lI1:ll ys is or,
indced. :l.Ily hlll1l:1Il science.: for lhis. Thc.. c scicnccs

67

JEAN BAUDRILLARD

fascmated by th e real than b\

liS

vanishing.

liS

IneiuCt,lble dl..,apPC;lrJnce?
4. WhIch gin: ... me to th e Inliy m,-srcnous
llllc..,,,on: how docs tim Irresistible global power
succeed

111

1I11differentiaung the world, in wiping

out Its c:\trcmc si ngula rit y? ,\nd how can the

world be so vulnerable to thi.., IilJuicbtion, this dict'llorship of integral re:tli ty, and how call it be fas cl11:Hed by it- not exactly fascinated by the real

but

b~ the disappcar:lI1cc of reality? Th ere j ...

hO\\"(:\"cr,

,I

coroll a[\'

LO

this: what is the source of

the fragIlity of thI S global power, of its ,ulnerahllny to mll)or

('\'CI1I",

lClIltIII them<,cke<,

to c\-em .. that are imignif-

('fO)..'\IC

(',-ems', terrorism.

but

:tl"o the plctun:" from .\bu Ghr:ub, etc.)?

DOl I nll~~, If \\'c

,lfC to

a\"old these 1I1soiublc

llue"tlons. \n: ha\c ttl fefcr

10

thaI Olh cr amhro -

pologic:d rn-olutlon. exactly antithetical to our

cur rcnt diglt,ll ' re\"(}iutlllll ', that is never takcn
lilt<> con"'ldcLlIion (wc mIght cven sal it has

64

JEAN BAUOR!llARO

(il:lhnhc. n ;lltnlo(llIou:-. Th e
!-!OC'i

dllpliclr~

merrih

ovcr to thc othcr side.

If !'ublectl\"c

appears

111

Iro!1\'

disappears-and H dl!'-

the play of the (lIgllal- th en irony be-

comes ubjccli\T. Or It becomes sile nce.

I' 1111 111.(,]"1'(. \\ \,:. 1111 \\(llm.

It was

onl\

:lfterward " thar th(' Sikncc camc.

T he end It self h:lS cllsappc:ucd ...

jmll((lf)

70

!()(r

W HY HASN'T EVE RYT HING MR ( AOY DISAPPfAR(O ?

JEAN BAUORlllA RO

CX ISt only 10 reconci le th e irreco nc ilable. t\ s

T his raises th e whole (llleSllOn of the intell i)!;encc

:1

of Evil.

cOnSC(l lH::nce, human bcings

do :llw:l\'s
bOlh \\'h:11
<
,
th ey need

LO

fo r lh eir model

10

succeed :md all

\\:'e an.: simplifi ed by technicalmanipubtio n.

that is necessa ry for it 10 fa il. Here agai n. there's

r\nd thi s sim pl ification goes off on a c rn}'

no need of :l ny wea kening o r pc r \"(: n~ i o n or de:l th

course \\hel1 we reach d igiral manipul:uiun.

dri ve. It is from [h ei r p rima l duality Ih:1I hum:1I1

What beCO meS :ll t.hi s point of th e vCTltrilo-

bei ngs derive th is :llwl.go ni stic energy. Thi s is the

n Onl1:l1

hum;ln bei ng :lnd eve rything rh:lt sets

abom reconcil ing him with himself ;lnci finding ;l

so lUTion TO th e Icillest.ion s raised above is of the
o rder of superstitio n :l nd mystification. "

'-luKit)' of
j

l : v il ? l~

It is th e S:ll11e wilh the r:ldical -

iSIll of yun::; whe n it d ese rt s Th e ind iv idual.

reconcil ed with him self :lnd humoge nized by t.he
good offices o f the digital. and when all criri c:d
thinking has di s:l ppe:mx l, radi ca li sm passes in to

T he A BN OH,i\ j t\L individ u:l1 tOday is th e

on e who nuw livcs o nl y in a unilal eral po sitive
adherence

10

thi ngs. Th e vcm riloC]ua cil), of Evi l IXlsses into

tech no lugy i tscl f.

what he is or what he docs. Total

For duality can be neit he r climin:l1 cd nor

subjection and ad juslmcm 14 (th e perfcctly no rma li zed bci ng) . Co untlcss ind i\'id llals have go ne
o\"er

10

rea lil\'.
. tu t.heir own rcalin',
, b\', elil11i nat -

ing all considerati o n of lh e du al and the

liquidat ed- it is rh e rul e o f the gam e. Th e ruk of

:1

kind of inviulable pact Ih:1I

~ cal s

lh c revcrsi bil-

ity of things.

inso luble. And th e mystcry of t.hi s positivc crys-

I f their own duplicity dese rt s hu man beings.

I:lUi z:u ion, of this suspensio n of do ubt :1bom the

t.hen the ro les :l rc reversed: it is the machin e Ihat

rcal -

goes gag:l, that fal le rs and bccolllcs pe rve rse,

68

necessa rik, real- wo rld rem:l1n s e nnre.

69