An economy of loss

A piece of paper with nothing on it has a definite economic value. If you print a poem on it, this value is lost. Here we have a vivid example of what George Bataille has called general economy, an economy of loss rather than accumulation. Poetry is a negative – or let's just say poetic – economy.

- Charles Bernstein, Provisional Institutions: Alternative Presses and Poetic Innovation, 1993.