Simulated murder now serves to sanction a power lacking real substance

Evidence

It is now the era of murder by simulation, of the generalized aesthetic of simulation, of the murder-alibi - the allegorical resurrection of death, which is only there to sanction the institution of power, without which it no longer has any substance or an autonomous reality. — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 90

Categorization

• DEFINE: Contrasts the mythic death of Dean/Monroe/Kennedy with ‘murder by simulation’ — a key distinction in the theory.
• XREF: connects to: Subtler punishment masked sovereign power rather than making it more humane; Simulation threatens power more than real transgression by attacking the reality principle itself — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 74; Feigned punishment could deter crime without real suffering — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 28

Broader Connections

• Feigned punishment could deter crime without real suffering #contradicts (0.85) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 28
• Subtler punishment masked sovereign power rather than making it more humane #qualifies (0.80)
• Simulation threatens power more than real transgression by attacking the reality principle itself #contradicts (0.75) — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 74