The term 'performance' is omnipresent in politics, economy, and society. Yet when a definition of performance is requested, the response is usually silence. Tracking down the reason for this is the goal of this book. It stands out from the widespread criticisms of meritocracy, by proving how all the rhetoric about performance leads to an irreconcilable contradiction. Lars Distelhorst explains: What can be seen behind the concept of performance is the emptiness of a society whose center lies in the movement of capital accumulation, while she plays the last cards of ideology.