"Ritual society is a society of rules. It is based not on virtues but on a passion for rules."

"In the empire of signs, the soul, psychology, is erased. There is no soul to infect the holy seriousness of ritual play."

"It is not honourable to attack an enemy without putting yourself at risk."

"Thinking is more erotic than calculating."

"The pornographic body lacks any symbolism. The ritualized body, by contrast, is a splendid stage, with secrets and de…"

"Twenty-first-century society is no longer a disciplinary society, but rather an achievement society [Leistungsgesells…"

"Violence and freedom are the two endpoints on the scale of power."

"The task of power is to transform the always possible 'no' into a 'yes.'"

"Power is not opposed to freedom. It is precisely freedom that distinguishes power from violence or coercion."

"The liturgy of emptiness dispels the capitalist economy of the commodity."