Topology of Violence

Psychological internalization is one of the central topological shifts of violence in modernity.

The camp is a non-place. In this sense it is different from the prison, which still is part of a place.

The concentration camp is also an expression of this topological change.

In modernity, brute violence was delegitimized not only on the political stage but also in nearly all other social milieus. It has lost virtually every show-place.

It was neither silent nor naked but rather eloquent and signifying.

violence did not conceal itself. It was visible and manifest. It had no shame.

In premodernity, violence was ubiquitous, and above all both mundane and visible. It was a significant component of social practice and communication. Thus it was not merely wielded but also expressly put on display

In modernity, violence assumes a psychic, psychologized, internalized form. It takes on intrapsychic forms.

It was a society of blood, distinct from the modern society of the psyche.

External violence unburdens the psyche because it externalizes suffering.