Situationist

[Monty Cantsin]

http://www.nothingness.org/SI/

what do you guys think of Guy Debord and this whole school of thought known as the Situationist, personaly they seem to Expand on Marx’s ideas of the dominate ideology and Human alienation. theses kind of movments to me just seem like they've updated Marxism in a philosophical way and added aesthetics.

[Pedro Alonso Lopez]

Well I made a post about Postmodern Marxism a while back, basically outlined why I support his ideas.

Keep in mind he killed himself after falling into a deep pessimism about how people wouldnt adopt his ideas.

Debord will be remembered as one of the great philosophers given enough time.

[Valkyrie]

i love the "Society of the Spectacle" especially Ken Knabbs translation.

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord/

Ironically enough, the people who did embrace his ideas, the anarchists, are the people he didn't really write it for. But, his whole Situation Art via Spectacle would be a real stretch for Ideologue Marxists to adopt. It's kinda.. you know... "Out there"!

[Monty Cantsin]

Why do you think its a bit out their ? from want i've read so far it seems to be an extention of alot of classic Marxists ideas

[Essential Insignificance]

Never heard of Guy Debord before; it's an ignominy!

Although, it comes into view that he has just "dressed" traditional Marxism in "prettier clothes"...but I like it.


Debord will be remembered as one of the great philosophers given enough time.

Nietzsche wrote in the forward of the Anti-Christ: "some people are born posthumously".

However, I think he got it wrong; all people are born posthumously.

[Valkyrie]

>>>>> Why do you think its a bit out their ? from want i&#39;ve read so far it seems to be an extention of alot of classic Marxists ideas <<<<<

I don&#39;t personally think it&#39;s "out there" myself, it&#39;s right up my alley, actually. I can relate and don&#39;t have a problem with it. But, for some Marxists, it&#39;s a bit abstract and cryptic, maybe even flamboyant, opposed to straight, dry, technical scientific materialism.

The SI has a pretty fascinating history, though. Like most movements, there was a defining split in 1962, from their origins as a utopian Anti-art movement, formed out of Debord&#39;s Lettrist International and Asgar Jorn&#39;s Imaginist Bauhaus, to a political movement, when Raoul Vaneigem ("The Revolution of Everyday Life.") joined and brought more of a radical element and disagreements on political points and the direction they were heading. Artists Jorgen Nash, Jacquline de Jong and a few other along with Gruppe Spurr broke away and continued with the Situtationist&#39;s insurrectionary art forms, agit-prop and detournement propaganda; which the current anarchists have effectively picked up.

Debord and Vaneigem and some others went on to develop SI&#39;s political base along the lines of Marx-anarchism, as well as influenced by Baudrillard and Lukacs, but specifically in the concept of Marx&#39;s alienation within consumer society, hightlighted in Debord&#39;s "The Society of the Spectacle" ---the autonomous movement of the non-living, ( I think a great work&#33;) and some other not so well-known writings; and big proponents of arnarcho-synicalism&#39;s worker&#39;s councils, --- Debord, noted as saying that Anarchism is the most advanced form of proletarian revolution, though both Debord and Vaneigem were critics of both marx and anarchist theories.

the SI never got very large, about 70 members in the entire time they were active, no more than 10 or 20 members at one time, mostly everybody getting thrown out or leaving. When they disbanded in 1972, they had never really been able to bring it passed the appeal of students to the larger working class. But alot of the writings are now available on the internet and there&#39;s an resurge in interest.

http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/

text translations
http://www.notbored.org/SI-texts.html