The Accursed Share

The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy
Cover of the first edition
AuthorGeorges Bataille
Original titleLa Part maudite
TranslatorRobert Hurley
LanguageFrench
SubjectPolitical economy
PublisherLes Éditions de Minuit, Zone Books
Publication date
1949
Publication placeFrance
Published in English
1988
Media typePrint (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages197 (Zone Books edition, vol. 1)
460 (Zone Books edition, vols. 2 and 3)
ISBN0-942299-11-6 (Zone Books edition, vol. 1)
0-942299-21-3 (Zone Books edition, vols. 2 and 3)

The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy (French: La Part maudite) is a 1949 book about political economy by the French intellectual Georges Bataille, in which the author presents a new economic theory which he calls "general economy". The work comprises Volume I: Consumption, Volume II: The History of Eroticism, and Volume III: Sovereignty. It was first published in France by Les Éditions de Minuit, and in the United States by Zone Books. It is considered one of the most important of Bataille's books.