Enriquez, Eugène <br/><br/>
A World without Transgression 

 -  2008.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 7 
<br/><br/> According to the media, transgression seems to be on the agenda in our contemporary societies. This paper refutes that assertion. The author argues that the period between 1965 and 1980 was the one of real transgression and that this is no longer the case today. This paper begins by defining the word “transgression” and in doing so, refers to the now “classical” books by Bataille, Caillois, and Otto. It appears that transgression is effective only against the basic structuring prohibitions born of the sacred (holy) world and against the prohibitions of the profane world, which is considered as sacred in a specific society. Therefore, transgression involves the sacrilegious, which “makes” the sacred, but it goes beyond it by creating new values, and it always remains limited so that society does not relapse into primitive chaos and confusion. In today’s societies, which show a lack of ideals and a collective super-ego, it is hard to find sacred values likely to be infringed. In this context, transgression paves the way for perversion. New transgression possibilities require reconstructing “ideals” and collective super-egos. In order for this to happen, some conditions must be met: strong social movements, skills for provocation, derision, “exoticism,” and individuals with convictions and firm beliefs, ready to take risks. Such conditions do not seem to be present today. Still, some signs, even small ones, suggest that modern societies are at a turning point and that, perhaps, transgression may reemerge.