a gift, an act of renouncement. It always presupposes that the worshiper give some of his substance or his goods to the gods. The reason the worshiper does this is to survive by insuring the god's survival. "If he is to live, the universal life must continue and consequently the gods must not die."

Since the gods are the personifications or symbolic representations of society, it is through them and their worshipers that the society's dependence on its members is expressed.

Richard Koenigsberg: In war, the substance given to the god is the body of the soldier. The god itself is the nation-state. The perpetuation of society is born out of the sacrifices of individuals who constitute society.

Society itself is the god which is worshiped and for which sacrifices are made. I pose the question: why has "society" assumed such power over the minds of the individuals who constitute society?

In Civilization and Its Discontents (1929), Freud articulated an opposition between the happiness of individuals and the perpetuation of civilization. The idea of "dying for one's country" is the most radical example of the dichotomy between what is good for "society" and what is good for the individual. What is the nature and meaning of "society"--such that it requires monumental sacrifices in order to perpetuate itself.