Alchemist of the revolution: the affective materialism of Georges Bataille

This article examines Georges Bataille?s notion of revolution?as?festival and his attempt, in his writing of the 1930s, to place theories of affect within the framework of Marxist philosophy. Against the various negative characterisations of this project, it looks at Bataille?s ideas in this period in context, in order to understand their vivid contradictions as an attempt to assert a positive project of affect?s utility to the Left, within and against negative categories in early twentieth?century cultural and critical thought.