Porn and Empire
By Peter Leithart
Augustine discerns an inner connection between imperium and pornography.
Imperium is the political form of the libido dominandi . Pornography is the sexual form of the same libido .
Both imperium and porn reduce human persons to bodies to be manipulated for the manipulator’s pleasure.
Decadence is built into imperium .
(This from a brilliant paper by John Cavadini at the Wilken Colloquium at Baylor University.)
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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