The emergence of Capitalism exercizes a strange effect on romance. It can only express it with an absurd fantasy — it's as if the Beloved becomes the perfect commodity, always desired, always paid for, but never really enjoyed. The self-denial of Romance harmonizes neatly with the self-denial of Capitalism. Capital demands scarcity, both of production and of erotic pleasure, rather than limit its requirements simply to morality or chastity. Religion forbids sexuality, thus investing denial with glamor; capital withdraws sexuality, infusing it with despair. "Romance" now leads to the Wertherian suicide, Byron's disgust, the chastity of the dandies. In this sense, romance will become the perfect two-dimensional obsession of the popular song and the advertizement, serving the utopian trace within the infinite reproduction of the commodity.
—Excerpt from "Obsessive Love" by Hakim bey
—Excerpt from "Obsessive Love" by Hakim bey