The Society of the Spectacle

byGuyDebord

TableofContents: PrefacetotheThirdFrenchEdition 1.SeparationPerfected 2.TheCommodityasSpectacle 3.UnityandDivisionWithinAppearances 4.TheProletariatasSubjectandRepresentation 5.TimeandHistory 6.SpectacularTime 7.EnvironmentalPlanning 8.NegationandConsumptionintheCulturalSphere 9.IdeologyinMaterialForm
BibliographicInformation ByGuyDebord.OriginallypublishedinFranceasLasocitduspectaclein1967byBuchetChastel. TranslationbyDonaldNicholsonSmith.ThiseditiondesignedbyBruceMauwithGregVanAlstyne. PublishedbyZoneBooks,1994. ZONEBOOKS611Broadway,Suite608NewYork,NY10012 ScannedandconvertedtoHTMLbyPeterJaques,SeptemberandOctober1994.Ihavenotalteredthe textinanyway.Sincethistextwasscanned,theremaybeerrors.Ifyoufindany,pleasesendmee mail.PeterJaques

PrefacetotheThirdFrenchEdition

La Societe du spectacle was first published in November 1967 by the Paris publishers Buchet Chastel.Thedisturbancesof1968madethebookknown.Asecondedition,strictlyunaltered,was issuedin1971byEditionsChampLibre,apublishinghousewhosenamewaschangedtoEditions GerardLeboviciin1984inthewakeofthemurderofthepublisher.Thateditionwasreprinted regularlyuntil1991.Thetextofthisthirdeditionisalsoidenticaltothatof1967.(Naturally,the sameprinciplewillbeappliedtomyotherbooks,allofwhicharetoberepublishedbyGallimard;I amnotsomeonewhoreviseshiswork.) Acriticaltheoryofthekindpresentedhereneedednochangingnotaslong,atanyrate,asthe generalconditionsofthelonghistoricalperiodthatitwasthefirsttodescribeaccuratelywerestill intact. The continued unfolding of our epoch has merely confirmed and further illustrated the theoryofthespectacle.Thereiterationofthistheorymayalsobeconsideredhistoricalinaless elevated sense, for it testifies to what was the most extreme position taken up during the confrontationsof1968,andhencetowhatitwaspossibletoknowbythen.Thebiggestdupesof thattimehavesincereceivedaclearobjectlessonintheformoftheirownshatteredexistencesas towhatexactlywasmeantbythe"negationoflifebecomevisible,"bythe"lossofquality"associated withthecommodityformorbythe"proletarianizationoftheworld." Ihavesinceascalledforaddedpostscriptsonthemorestrikingnoveltiesthrownupbythe fundamentalmovementofthetimes.In1979,intheprefacetoanewItaliantranslation,Idealt with the effective changes in the nature of industrial production, as in the techniques of government, that began with the deployment of the power of the spectacle. And in 1988 my CommentsontheSocietyoftheSpectacleofferedirrefutableevidencethattheformer"worldwide divisionofspectaculartasks"betweentherivalrealmsofthe"concentrated"and"diffuse"formsof thespectaclehadnowgivenwaytoacombinedformtoan"integrated"spectacle. This amalgamation might be summed up by slightly revising Thesis 105 of The Society of the Spectacle, which drew a distinction, on the basis of the situation prior to 1967, between two differentformsofpractice:theGreatSchismofclasspowerhavingbeenreconciled,weoughtnow tosaythattheunifiedpracticeoftheintegratedspectaclehas"transformedtheworldeconomically" aswellas"usingpolicemethodstotransformperception."(Thepoliceinquestion,incidentally,are ofacompletelynewvariety.) It was only because this fusion had already occurred worldwide on the economic and political planesthattheworldcouldbedeclaredofficiallyunified.Itwas,furthermore,onlybecauseofthe gravepredicamentinwhichseparatedpoweruniversallyfindsitselfthatthisworldneededunifying posthaste,sothatitmightfunctionasoneblocinasingleconsensualorganizationoftheworld market, at once travestied and buttressed by the spectacle. And yet, in the end, it will not be unified. Thetotalitarianbureaucracythat"substituterulingclassforthemarketeconomy" neverhad muchfaithinitsowndestiny.Itknewitselftobenothingbutan"undevelopedtypeofrulingclass" evenasityearnedtobesomethingmore.Longago,Thesis58hadestablishedasaxiomaticthat

"Thespectaclehasitsrootsinthefertilefieldoftheeconomy,anditistheproduceofthisfield whichmustintheendcometodominatethespectacularmarket." Thisstriving of the spectacle toward modernization and unification, together withall theother tendencies toward the simplification of society, was what in 1989 led the Russian bureaucracy suddenly,andasoneman,toconverttothecurrentideologyofdemocracyinotherwords,tothe dictatorialfreedomoftheMarket,astemperedbytherecognitionoftherightsofHomoSpectator. NooneintheWestfelttheneedtospendmorethanasingledayconsideringtheimportandimpact ofthisextraordinarymediaeventproofenough,wereproofcalledfor,oftheprogressmadebythe techniquesofthespectacle.Allthatneededrecordingwasthefactthatasortofgeologicaltremor hadapparentlytakenplace.Thephenomenonwasdulynoted,datedanddeemedsufficientlywell understood; a very simple sign, "the fall of the Berlin Wall," repeated over and over again, immediatelyattainedtheincontestabilityofalltheothersignsofdemocracy. In1991thefirsteffectsofthisspectacularmodernizationwerefeltinthecompletedisintegrationof Russia. Thus more clearly even than in the West were the disastrous results of the general developmentoftheeconomymademanifest.ThedisorderpresentlyreigningintheEastisnomore than a consequence. The same formidable question that has been haunting the world for two centuriesisabouttobeposedagaineverywhere:Howcanthepoorbemadetoworkoncetheir illusionshavebeenshattered,andonceforcehasbeendefeated? Thesis111,discerningthefirstsymptomsofthatRussiandeclinewhosefinalexplosionwehavejust witnessedandenvisioningtheearlydisappearanceofaworldsocietywhich(aswemaynowputit) willonedaybeerasedfromthememoryofthecomputer,offeredastrategicassessmentwhose accuracy will very soon be obvious: The "crumbling of the worldwide alliance founded on bureaucratic mystification is in the last analysis the most unfavorable portent for the future developmentofcapitalistsociety." Thisbookshouldbereadbearinginmindthatitwaswrittenwiththedeliberateintentionofdoing harmtospectacularsociety.Therewasneveranythingoutrageous,however,aboutwhatithadto say. GuyDebordJune30,1992

SeparationPerfected

Butcertainly forthepresentage, whichprefers thesign tothething signified, thecopy to the original, representation to reality, the appearance to the essence... illusion only issacred, truth profane. Nay, sacredness is held to be enhanced in proportion as truth decreases and illusion increases,sothatthehighestdegreeofillusioncomestobethehighestdegreeofsacredness. Feuerbach,PrefacetothesecondeditionofTheEssenceofChristianity

1 Thewholelifeofthosesocietiesinwhichmodernconditionsofproductionprevailpresentsitselfas an immense accumulation of spectacles. All that once was directly lived has become mere representation. 2 Imagesdetachedfromeveryaspectoflifemergeintoacommonstream,andtheformerunityoflife islostforever.Apprehendedinapartialway,realityunfoldsinanewgeneralityasapseudoworld apart,solelyasanobjectofcontemplation.Thetendencytowardthespecializationofimagesofthe worldfindsitshighestexpressionintheworldoftheautonomousimage,wheredeceitdeceives itself.Thespectacleinitsgeneralityisaconcreteinversionoflife,and,assuch,theautonomous movementofnonlife. 3 Thespectacleappearsatonceassocietyitself,asapartofsocietyandasameansofunification.As apartofsociety,itisthatsectorwhereallattention,allconsciousness,converges.Beingisolated andpreciselyforthatreasonthissectoristhelocusofillusionandfalseconsciousness;theunityit imposesismerelytheofficiallanguageofgeneralizedseparation. 4 Thespectacleisnotacollectionofimages;rather,itisasocialrelationshipbetweenpeoplethatis mediatedbyimages. 5 Thespectaclecannotbeunderstoodeitherasadeliberatedistortionofthevisualworldorasa product of the technology of the mass dissemination of images. It is far better viewed as a weltanschauung that has been actualized, translated into the material realm a world view transformedintoanobjectiveforce. 6 Understoodinitstotality,thespectacleisboththeoutcomeandthegoalofthedominantmodeof production.Itisnotsomethingaddedtotherealworldnotadecorativeelement,sotospeak.On thecontrary,itistheveryheartofsociety'srealunreality.Inallitsspecificmanifestationsnewsor propaganda,advertisingortheactualconsumptionofentertainmentthespectacleepitomizesthe prevailingmodelofsociallife.Itistheomnipresentcelebrationofachoicealreadymadeinthe sphereofproduction,andtheconsummateresultofthatchoice.Informasincontentthespectacle servesastotaljustificationfortheconditionsandaimsoftheexistingsystem.Itfurtherensuresthe permanentpresenceofthatjustification,foritgovernsalmostalltimespentoutsidetheproduction processitself. 7 Thephenomenonofseparationispartandparceloftheunityoftheworld,ofaglobalsocialpraxis

thathassplitupintorealityontheonehandandimageontheother.Socialpractice,whichthe spectacle'sautonomychallenges,isalsotherealtotalitytowhichthespectacleissubordinate.So deepistheriftinthistotality,however,thatthespectacleisabletoemergeasitsapparentgoal.The languageofthespectacleiscomposedofsignsofthedominantorganizationofproductionsigns whichareatthesametimetheultimateendproductsofthatorganization. 8 Thespectaclecannot be setinabstractoppositiontoconcretesocial activity, forthedichotomy betweenrealityandimagewillsurviveoneithersideofanysuchdistinction.Thusthespectacle, thoughitturnsrealityonitshead,isitselfaproductofrealactivity.Likewise,livedrealitysuffers thematerialassaultsofthespectacle'smechanismsofcontemplation,incorporatingthespectacular orderandlendingthatorderpositivesupport.Eachsidethereforehasitsshareofobjectivereality. Andeveryconcept,asittakesitsplaceononesideortheother,hasnofoundationapartfromits transformationintoitsopposite:realityeruptswithinthespectacle,andthespectacleisreal.This reciprocalalienationistheessenceandunderpinningofsocietyasitexists. 9 Inaworldthatreallyhasbeenturnedonitshead,truthisamomentoffalsehood. 10 Theconceptofthespectacle bringstogetherand explainsawiderangeofapparentlydisparate phenomena.Diversitiesandcontrastsamongsuchphenomenaaretheappearancesofthespectacle theappearancesofasocialorganizationofappearancesthatneedstobegraspedinitsgeneral truth.Understoodonitsownterms,thespectacleproclaimsthepredominanceofappearancesand asserts that all human life, which is to say all social life,is mere appearance. Butany critique capableofapprehendingthespectacle'sessentialcharactermustexposeitasavisiblenegationof lifeandasanegationoflifethathasinventedavisualformforitself. 11 Inordertodescribethespectacle,itsformation,itsfunctionsandwhateverforcesmayhastenits demise, a few artificial distinctions are called for. To analyze the spectacle means talking its languagetosomedegreetothedegree,infact,thatweareobligedtoengagethemethodologyof thesocietytowhichthespectaclegivesexpression.Forwhatthespectacleexpressesisthetotal practiceofoneparticulareconomicandsocialformation;itis,sotospeak,thatformation'sagenda. Itisalsothehistoricalmomentbywhichwehappentobegoverned. 12 Thespectaclemanifestsitselfasanenormouspositivity,outofreachandbeyonddispute.Allitsays is:"Everythingthatappearsisgood;whateverisgoodwillappear."Theattitudethatitdemandsin principle is the same passive acceptance that it has already secured by means of its seeming incontrovertibility,andindeedbyitsmonopolizationoftherealmofappearances. 13 The spectacle is essentially tautological, for the simple reason that its means and its ends are identical.Itisthesunthatneversetsontheempireofmodernpassivity.Itcoverstheentireglobe,

baskingintheperpetualwarmthofitsownglory. 14 Thespectacularcharacterofmodernindustrialsocietyhasnothingfortuitousorsuperficialaboutit; on the contrary, this society is based on the spectacle in the most fundamental way. For the spectacle,astheperfectimageoftherulingeconomicorder,endsarenothinganddevelopmentis allalthoughtheonlythingintowhichthespectacleplanstodevelopisitself. 15 Astheindlspensablepackagingforthingsproducedastheyarenowproduced,asageneralglosson the rationality of the system, and as the advanced economic sector directly responsible for the manufactureofanevergrowingmassofimageobjects,thespectacleisthechiefproductofpresent daysociety. 16 Thespectaclesubjectslivinghumanbeingstoitswilltotheextentthattheeconomyhasbrought themunderitssway.Forthespectacleissimplytheeconomicrealmdevelopingforitselfatoncea faithfulmirrorhelduptotheproductionofthingsandadistortingobjectificationoftheproducers. 17 Anearlierstageintheeconomy'sdominationofsocial lifeentailed anobvious downgrading of beingintohavingthatleftitsstamponallhumanendeavor.Thepresentstage,inwhichsociallifeis completelytakenoverbytheaccumulatedproductsoftheeconomy,entailsageneralizedshiftfrom having to appearing: alleffective "having"mustnow derive both its immediate prestigeand its ultimate raison d'etre from appearances. At the same time all individual reality, being directly dependentonsocialpowerandcompletelyshapedbythatpower,hasassumedasocialcharacter. Indeed,itisonlyinasmuchasindividualrealityisnotthatitisallowedtoappear. 18 Foronetowhomtherealworldbecomesrealimages,mereimagesaretransformedintorealbeings tangiblefigmentswhicharetheefficientmotoroftrancelikebehavior.Sincethespectacle'sjobis to cause a world that is no longer directly perceptible to be seen via different specialized mediations,itisinevitablethatitshouldelevatethehumansenseofsighttothespecialplaceonce occupiedbytouch;themostabstractofthesenses,andthemosteasilydeceived,sightisnaturally the most readily adaptable to presentday society's generalized abstraction. This is not to say, however,thatthespectacleitselfisperceptibletothenakedeyeevenifthateyeisassistedbythe ear.Thespectacleisbydefinitionimmunefromhumanactivity,inaccessibletoanyprojectedreview or correction. It is the opposite of dialogue. Wherever representation takes on an independent existence,thespectaclereestablishesitsrule. 19 ThespectacleisheirtoalltheweaknessoftheprojectofWesternphilosophy,whichwasanattempt tounderstand activitybymeansofthecategoriesofvision.Indeed thespectacle reposesonan incessantdeploymentoftheverytechnicalrationalitytowhichthatphilosophicaltraditiongave rise.Sofarfromrealizingphilosophy,thespectaclephilosophizesreality,andturnsthemateriallife

ofeveryoneintoauniverseofspeculation. 20 Philosophyisatoncethepowerofalienatedthoughtandthethoughtofalienatedpower,andas such it has never been able to emancipate itself from theology. The spectacle is the material reconstructionofthereligiousillusion.Notthatitstechniqueshavedispelledthosereligiousmistsin whichhumanbeingsoncelocatedtheirownpowers,theverypowersthathadbeenwrenchedfrom thembutthosecloudenshroudedentitieshavenowbeenbroughtdowntoearth.Itisthusthe mostearthboundaspectsoflifethathavebecomethemostimpenetrableandrarefied.Theabsolute denialoflife,intheshapeofafallaciousparadise,isnolongerprojectedontotheheavens,butfinds itsplaceinsteadwithinmateriallifeitself.Thespectacleishenceatechnologicalversionofthe exilingofhumanpowersina"worldbeyond"andtheperfectionofseparationwithinhuman beings. 21 Solongastherealmofnecessityremainsasocialdream,dreamingwillremainasocialnecessity. Thespectacleisthebaddreamofmodemsocietyinchains,expressingnothingmorethanitswish forsleep.Thespectacleistheguardianofthatsleep. 22 Thefactthatthepracticalpowerofmodernsocietyhasdetacheditselffromitselfandestablished itselfinthespectacleasanindependentrealmcanonlybeexplainedbytheselfcleavageandself contradictorinessalreadypresentinthatpowerfulpractice. 23 At therootof the spectaclelies thatoldest ofall socialdivisionsoflabor, thespecialization of power.Thespecializedroleplayedbythespectacleisthatofspokesmanforallotheractivities,a sortofdiplomaticrepresentativeofhierarchicalsocietyatitsowncourt,andthesourceoftheonly discoursewhichthatsocietyallowsitselftohear.Thusthemostmodernaspectofthespectacleis alsoatbottomthemostarchaic. 24 By means ofthespectacle the ruling orderdiscourses endlessly upon itself in an uninterrupted monologueofselfpraise.Thespectacleistheselfportraitofpowerintheageofpower'stotalitarian ruleovertheconditionsofexistence.Thefetishisticappearanceofpureobjectivityinspectacular relationships conceals their true character as relationships between human beings and between classes;asecondNaturethusseemstoimposeinescapablelawsuponourenvironment.Butthe spectacleisbynomeanstheinevitableoutcomeofatechnicaldevelopmentperceivedasnatural;on thecontrary,thesocietyofthespectacleisaformthatchoosesitsowntechnicalcontent.Ifthe spectacle understood in the limited sense of those "mass media" that are its most stultifying superficialmanifestationseemsattimestobeinvadingsocietyintheshapeofamereapparatus,it should be remembered that this apparatus has nothing neutral about it, and that it answers preciselytotheneedsofthespectacle'sinternaldynamics.Ifthesocialrequirementsoftheage whichdevelopssuchtechniquescanbemetonlythroughtheirmediation,iftheadministrationof society and all contact between people now depends on the intervention of such "instant"

communication,itisbecausethis"communication"isessentiallyoneway;theconcentrationofthe media thus amounts to the monopolization by the administrators of the existing system of the means to pursue their particular form of administration. The social cleavage that the spectacle expressesisinseparablefromthemodernState,which,astheproductofthesocialdivisionoflabor andtheorganofclassrule,isthegeneralformofallsocialdivision. 25 Separationisthealphaandomegaofthespectacle.Religiouscontemplationinitsearliestformwas theoutcomeoftheestablishmentofthesocialdivisionoflaborandtheformationofclasses.Power draped itself in the outward garb of a mythical order from the beginning. In former times the categoryofthesacredjustifiedthecosmicandontologicalorderingofthingsthatbestservedthe interestsofthemasters,expoundinguponandembellishingwhatsocietycouldnotdeliver.Thus power as a separate realm has always had a spectacular aspect, but mass allegiance to frozen religiousimagerywasoriginallyasharedacknowledgmentofloss,animaginarycompensationfora povertyofrealsocialactivitythatwasstillwidelyfelttobeauniversalfactoflife.Themodern spectacle,bycontrast,depictswhatsocietycandeliver,butwithinthisdepictionwhatispermitted isrigidlydistinguishedfromwhatispossible.Thespectaclepreservesunconsciousnessaspractical changesintheconditionsofexistenceproceed.Thespectacleisselfgenerated,anditmakesupits own rules: it is a specious form of the sacred. And it makes no secret of what it is, namely, hierarchicalpowerevolvingonitsown,initsseparateness,thankstoanincreasingproductivity basedonanevermorerefineddivisionoflabor,anevergreatercomminutionofmachinegoverned gestures,andaneverwideningmarket.Inthecourseofthisdevelopmentallcommunityandcritical awarenesshaveceasedtobe;norhavethoseforces,whichwereablebyseparatingtogrow enormouslyinstrength,yetfoundawaytoreunite. 26 Thegeneralizedseparationofworkerandproducthasspelledtheendofanycomprehensiveviewof the job done, as well as the end of direct personal communication between producers. As the accumulationofalienatedproductsproceeds,andastheproductiveprocessgetsmoreconcentrated, consistencyandcommunicationbecometheexclusiveassetsofthesystem'smanagers.Thetriumph ofaneconomicsystemfoundedonseparationleadstotheproletarianizationoftheworld. 27 Owingtotheverysuccessofthisseparatedsystemofproduction,whoseproductisseparationitself, thatfundamentalareaofexperiencewhichwasassociatedinearliersocietieswithanindividual's principalworkisbeingtransformedatleastattheleadingedgeofthesystem'sevolutionintoa realm of nonwork, of inactivity. Such inactivity, however, is by no means emancipated from productiveactivity:itremainsinthralltothatactivity,inanuneasyandworshipfulsubjectionto production'sneedsandresults;indeeditisitselfaproductoftherationalityofproduction.There canbenofreedomapartfromactivity,andwithinthespectacleallactivityisbannedacorollary of the fact that allreal activity has been forcibly channeled into theglobal construction of the spectacle. So what is referred to as "liberation from work," that is, increased leisure time, is a liberationneitherwithinlaboritselfnorfromtheworldlaborhasbroughtintobeing. 28 Thereigningeconomicsystemisfounded onisolation;atthesametimeitisacircular process

designedtoproduceisolation.Isolationunderpinstechnology,andtechnologyisolatesinitsturn; allgoodsproposedbythespectacularsystem,fromcarstotelevisions,alsoserveasweaponsfor thatsystemasitstrivestoreinforcetheisolationof"thelonelycrowd."Thespectacleiscontinually rediscoveringitsownbasicassumptionsandeachtimeinamoreconcretemanner. 29 Theoriginofthespectacleliesintheworld'slossofunity,anditsmassiveexpansioninthemodern perioddemonstrateshowtotalthislosshasbeen:theabstractnatureofallindividualwork,asof production in general, finds perfect expression in the spectacle, whose very manner of being concreteis,precisely,abstraction.Thespectacledividestheworldintotwoparts,oneofwhichis heldupasaselfrepresentationtotheworld,andissuperiortotheworld.Thespectacleissimply the common language that bridges this division. Spectators are linked only by a oneway relationshiptotheverycenterthatmaintainstheirisolationfromoneanother.Thespectaclethus uniteswhatisseparate,butitunitesitonlyinitsseparateness. 30 Thespectator'salienationfromandsubmissiontothecontemplatedobject(whichistheoutcomeof hisunthinkingactivity)workslikethis:themorehecontemplates,thelesshelives;themorereadily herecognizeshisownneedsintheimagesofneedproposedbythedominantsystem,thelesshe understandshisownexistenceandhisowndesires.Thespectacle'sexternalitywithrespecttothe actingsubjectisdemonstratedbythefactthattheindividual'sowngesturesarenolongerhisown, butratherthoseofsomeoneelsewhorepresentsthemtohim.Thespectatorfeelsathomenowhere, forthespectacleiseverywhere. 31 Workersdonotproducethemselves:theyproduceaforceindependentofthemselves.Thesuccess ofthisproduction,thatis,theabundanceitgenerates,isexperiencedbyitsproducersonlyasan abundanceofdispossession.Alltime,allspace,becomesforeigntothemastheirownalienated productsaccumulate.Thespectacleisamapofthisnewworldamapdrawntothescaleofthe territoryitself.Inthiswaytheverypowersthathavebeensnatchedfromusrevealthemselvestous intheirfullforce. 32 The spectacle's function in society is the concrete manufacture of alienation. Economic growth corresponds almost entirely to the growth of this particular sector of industrial production. If somethinggrowsalongwiththeselfmovementoftheeconomy,itcanonlybethealienationthat hasinhabitedthecoreoftheeconomicspherefromitsinception. 33 Thoughseparatedfromhisproduct,manismoreandmore,andevermorepowerfully,theproducer ofeverydetailofhisworld.Thecloserhislifecomestobeinghisowncreation,themoredrastically ishecutofffromthatlife. 34 Thespectacleiscapitalaccumulatedtothepointwhereitbecomesimage.

TheCommodityasSpectacle

Thecommoditycanonlybeunderstoodinitsundistortedessencewhenitbecomestheuniversal categoryofsocietyasawhole.Onlyinthiscontextdoesthereificationproducedbycommodity relationsassumedecisiveimportancebothfortheobjectiveevolutionofsocietyandforthestance adoptedbymentowardsit.Onlythendoesthecommoditybecomecrucialforthesubjugationof men's consciousness to the forms in which this reification finds expression.... As labor is progressivelyrationalizedandmechanizedman'slackofwillisreinforcedbythewayinwhichhis activitybecomeslessandlessactiveandmoreandmorecontemplative. Lukacs,HistoryandClassConsciousness

35 Theselfmovementofthespectacleconsistsinthis:itarrogatestoitselfeverythingthatinhuman activityexistsinafluidstatesoastopossessitinacongealedformasthingsthat,beingthe negative expression of living value, have become exclusively abstract value. In these signs we recognizeouroldenemythecommodity,whichappearsatfirstsightaverytrivialthing,andeasily understood,yetwhichisinrealityaveryqueerthing,aboundinginmetaphysicalsubtleties. 36 Herewehavetheprincipleofcommodity fetishism, thedomination ofsocietyby things whose qualities are "at the same time perceptible and imperceptible by the senses." This principle is absolutelyfulfilledinthespectacle,wheretheperceptibleworldisreplacedbyasetofimagesthat aresuperiortothatworldyetatthesametimeimposethemselvesaseminentlyperceptible. 37 Theworldthespectacleholdsuptoviewisatoncehereandelsewhere;itistheworldofthe commodityrulingoveralllivedexperience.Thecommodityworldisthusshownasitreallyis,for itslogicisonewithmen'sestrangementfromoneanotherandfromthesumtotalofwhatthey produce. 38

Thelossofqualitysoobviousateverylevelofthelanguageofthespectacle,fromtheobjectsit laudstothebehavioritregulates,merelyechoesthebasictraitsofarealproductionprocessthat shunsreality.Thecommodityformischaracterizedexclusivelybyselfequivalenceitisexclusively quantitative in nature: the quantitative is what it develops,and it can only develop within the quantitative. 39 Despitethefactthatitexcludesquality,thisdevelopmentisstillsubject,quadevelopment,tothe qualitative.Thusthespectaclebetraysthefactthatitmusteventuallybreaktheboundsofitsown abundance.Thoughthisisnottruelocally,excepthereandthere,itisalreadytrueattheuniversal levelwhichwasthecommodity'soriginalstandardastandardthatithasbeenabletoliveuptoby turningthewholeplanetintoasingleworldmarket. 40 The development of the forces of production is the real unconscious history that has built and modifiedtheconditionsofexistenceofhumangroups(understoodastheconditionsofsurvivaland their extension): this development has been the basis of all human enterprise. The realm of commodities has meant the constitution, within a natural economy, of a surplus survival. The productionofcommodities,whichimpliestheexchangeofavarietyofproductsamongindependent producers,waslongabletoretainanartisanalaspectembodiedinamarginaleconomicactivity whereitsquantitativeessencewasmasked.Whereveritencounteredthesocialconditionsoflarge scale trade and capital accumulation, however, such production successfully established total hegemonyovertheeconomy.Theentireeconomythenbecamewhatthecommodity,throughout thiscampaignofconquest,hadshownitselftobenamely,aprocessofquantitativedevelopment. Theunceasingdeploymentofeconomicpowerintheshapeofcommoditieshastransfiguredhuman laborintolaborascommodity,intowagelabor,andeventuallygivenrisetoanabundancethanks towhichthebasicproblemofsurvival,thoughsolved,issolvedinsuchawaythatitisnotdisposed of,butisratherforevercroppingupagainatahigherlevel.Economicgrowthliberatessocieties fromthenaturalpressuresoccasionedbytheirstruggleforsurvival,buttheystillmustbeliberated fromtheirliberators.Theindependenceofthecommodityhasspreadtotheentireeconomyover whichthecommoditynowreigns.Theeconomytransformstheworld,butittransformsitintoa worldoftheeconomy.Thepseudonatureinwhichlaborhasbecomealienateddemandsthatsuch laborremaininitsserviceindefinitely,andinasmuchasthisestrangedactivityisanswerableonlyto itselfitisableinturntoenrollallsociallypermissibleeffortsandprojectsunderitsbanner.Inthese circumstancesanabundanceofcommodities,whichistosayanabundanceofcommodityrelations, canbenomorethananaugmentedsurvival. 41 The commodity's dominion over the economy was at first exercised in a covert manner. The economyitself,thematerialbasisofsociallife,wasneitherperceivednorunderstoodnotproperly knownpreciselybecauseofits"familiarity."Inasocietywhereconcretecommoditieswerefewand farbetween,itwasthedominanceofmoneythatseemedtoplaytheroleofemissary,investedwith fullauthoritybyanunknownpower.Withthecomingoftheindustrialrevolution,thedivisionof laborspecifictothatrevolution'smanufacturingsystem,andmassproductionforaworldmarket, thecommodityemergedinitsfullfledgedformasaforceaspiringtothecompletecolonizationof social life. It was at this moment too that political economy established itself as at once the dominantscienceandthescienceofdomination.

42 The spectacle corresponds to the historical moment at which the commodity completes its colonizationofsociallife.Itisnotjustthattherelationshiptocommoditiesisnowplaintosee commoditiesarenowallthatthereistosee;theworldweseeistheworldofthecommodity.The growth of the dictatorship of modern economic production is both extensive and intensive in character.Intheleastindustrializedregionsitspresenceisalreadyfeltintheformofimperialist dominationbythoseareasthatleadtheworldinproductivity.Intheseadvancedsectorsthemselves, social space is continually being blanketed by stratum after stratum of commodities. With the adventofthesocalledsecondindustrialrevolution,alienatedconsumptionisaddedtoalienated productionasaninescapabledutyofthemasses.Theentiretyoflaborsoldistransformedoverall intothetotalcommodity.Acycleisthussetintrainthatmustbemaintainedatallcosts:thetotal commoditymustbereturnedinfragmentaryformtoafragmentaryindividualcompletelycutoff fromtheconcertedactionoftheforcesofproduction.Tothisendthealreadyspecializedscienceof domination is further broken down into specialties such as sociology, applied psychology, cybernetics,semiologyandsoon,whichoverseetheselfregulationofeveryphaseoftheprocess. 43 Whereasattheprimitivestageofcapitalistaccumulation"politicaleconomytreatstheproletarianas amereworker"whomustreceiveonlytheminimumnecessarytoguaranteehislaborpower,and neverconsidershim"inhisleisure,inhishumanity,"theseideasoftherulingclassarerevisedjust as soon as so great an abundance of commodities begins to be produced that a surplus "collaboration"isrequiredoftheworkers.Allofasuddentheworkersinquestiondiscoverthatthey are no longer invariably subject to the total contempt so clearly built into every aspect of the organizationandmanagementofproduction;insteadtheyfindthateveryday,onceworkisover, theyaretreatedlikegrownups,withagreatshowofsolicitudeandpoliteness,intheirnewroleas consumers.Thehumanityofthecommodityfinallyattendstotheworkers'"leisureandhumanity" forthesimplereasonthatpoliticaleconomyassuchnowcanandmustbringthesespheres under its sway. Thus it is that the totality of human existence falls under the regime of the "perfecteddenialofman." 44 Thespectacleisapermanentopiumwarwagedtomakeitimpossibletodistinguishgoodsfrom commodities, or true satisfaction from a survival that increases according to its own logic. Consumablesurvivalmustincrease,infact,becauseitcontinuestoenshrinedeprivation.Thereason thereisnothingbeyondaugmentedsurvival,andnoendtoitsgrowth,isthatsurvivalitselfbelongs totherealmofdispossession:itmaygildpoverty,butitcannottranscendit. 45 Automation,whichisatoncethemostadvancedsectorofmodernindustryandtheepitomeofits practice,confrontstheworldofthecommoditywithacontradictionthatitmustsomehowresolve: thesametechnicalinfrastructurethatiscapableofabolishinglabormustatthesametimepreserve laborasacommodityandindeedasthesolegeneratorofcommodities.Ifautomation,orforthat matteranymechanisms,evenlessradicalones,thatcanincreaseproductivity,aretobeprevented fromreducingsociallynecessarylabortimetoanunacceptablylowlevel,newformsofemployment havetobecreated.Ahappysolutionpresentsitselfinthegrowthofthetertiaryorservicesectorin responsetotheimmensestrain onthesupplylinesofthearmyresponsiblefordistributingand

hypingthecommoditiesofthemoment.Thecoincidenceisneat:ontheonehand,thesystemis faced with the necessity of reintegrating newly redundant labor; on the other, the very factitiousnessoftheneedsassociatedwiththecommoditiesonoffercallsoutawholebatteryof reserveforces. 46 Exchangevaluecouldonlyhavearisenastheproxyofusevalue,butthevictoryiteventuallywon withitsownweaponscreatedthepreconditionsforitsestablishmentasanautonomouspower.By activatingallhumanusevalueandmonopolizingthatvalue'sfulfillment,exchangevalueeventually gainedtheupperhand.Theprocessofexchangebecameindistinguishablefromanyconceivable utility,therebyplacingusevalueatitsmercy.Startingoutasthecondottiereofusevalue,exchange valueendedupwagingawarthatwasentirelyitsown. 47 Thefallingrateofusevalue,whichisaconstantofthecapitalisteconomy,givesrisetoanewform ofprivationwithintherealmofaugmentedsurvival;thisisnottosaythatthisrealmisemancipated fromtheoldpoverty:onthecontrary,itrequiresthevastmajoritytotakepartaswageworkersin theunendingpursuitofitsendsarequirementtowhich,aseveryoneknows,onemusteither submitordie.Itistherealityofthissituationthefactthat,eveninitsmostimpoverishedform (food,shelter),usevaluehasnoexistenceoutsidetheillusoryrichesofaugmentedsurvivalthatis therealbasisforthegeneralacceptanceofillusionintheconsumptionofmoderncommodities.The realconsumerthusbecomesaconsumerofillusion.Thecommodityisthisillusion,whichisinfact real,andthespectacleisitsmostgeneralform. 48 Usevaluewasformerlyimplicitinexchangevalue.Intermsofthespectacle'stopsyturvylogic, however,ithastobeexplicitfortheveryreasonthatitsowneffectiveexistencehasbeeneroded by the overdevelopment of the commodity economy, and that a counterfeit life calls for a pseudojustification. 49 Thespectacleisanotherfacetofmoney,whichistheabstractgeneralequivalentofallcommodities. Butwhereasmoneyinitsfamiliarformhasdominatedsocietyastherepresentationofuniversal equivalence, that is, of the exchangeability of diverse goods whose uses are not otherwise compatible,thespectacleinitsfulldevelopmentismoney'smodernaspect;inthespectaclethe totalityofthecommodityworldisvisibleinonepiece,asthegeneralequivalentofwhateversociety asawholecanbeanddo.Thespectacleismoneyforcontemplationonly,forherethetotalityofuse hasalreadybeenbarteredforthetotalityofabstractrepresentation.Thespectacleisnotjustthe servantofpseudouseitisalready,initself,thepseudouseoflife. 50

With the achievement of a purely economic abundance, the concentrated result of social labor becomesvisible,subjectingallrealitytoanappearancethatisineffectthatlabor'sproduct.Capital isnolongertheinvisiblecenterdeterminingthemodeofproduction.Asitaccumulates,capital spreadsouttotheperiphery,whereitassumestheformoftangibleobjects.Societyinitslengthand breadthbecomescapital'sfaithfulportrait. 51 The economy's triumph as an independent power inevitably also spells its doom, for it has unleashedforcesthatmusteventuallydestroytheeconomicnecessitythatwastheunchangingbasis ofearliersocieties.Replacingthatnecessitybythenecessityofboundlesseconomicdevelopment canonlymeanreplacingthesatisfactionofprimaryhumanneeds,nowmetinthemostsummary manner,byaceaselessmanufactureofpseudoneeds,allofwhichcomedownintheendtojustone namely,thepseudoneedforthereignofanautonomouseconomytocontinue.Suchaneconomy irrevocablybreaksalltieswithauthenticneedstotheprecisedegreethatitemergesfromasocial unconscious that was dependent on it without knowing it. "Whatever is conscious wears out. Whateverisunconsciousremainsunalterable.Oncefreed,however,surelythistoomustfallinto ruins?"(Freud). 52 Bythetimesocietydiscoversthatitiscontingentontheeconomy,theeconomyhasinpointoffact become contingent on society. Having grown as a subterranean force until it could emerge sovereign,theeconomyproceedstoloseitspower.Whereeconomicidwas,thereegoshallbe.The subject can only arise out of society that is, out of the struggle that society embodies. The possibilityofasubject'sexistingdependsontheoutcomeoftheclassstrugglewhichturnsouttobe theproductandtheproducerofhistory'seconomicfoundation. 53 Consciousnessofdesireandthedesireforconsciousnesstogetherandindissolublyconstitutethat projectwhichinitsnegativeformhasasitsgoaltheabolitionofclassesandthedirectpossessionby the workers of every aspect of their activity. The opposite of this project is the society of the spectacle,wherethecommoditycontemplatesitselfinaworldofitsownmaking.

UnityandDivisionWithinAppearances

Alivelynewpolemicabouttheconcepts"onedividesintotwo"and"twofuseintoone"isunfolding onthephilosophicalfrontinthiscountry.Thisdebateisastrugglebetweenthosewhoareforand thosewhoareagainstthematerialistdialectic,astrugglebetweentwoconceptionsoftheworld:the proletarianconceptionandthebourgeoisconception.Thosewhomaintainthat"onedividesinto two" is the fundamental law of things are on the side of the materialist dialectic; those who maintainthatthefundamentallawofthingsisthat"twofuseintoone"areagainstthematerialist

dialectic.Thetwosideshavedrawnaclearlineofdemarcationbetweenthem,andtheirarguments arediametricallyopposed.Thispolemicisareflection,ontheideologicallevel,oftheacuteand complexclassstruggletakingplaceinChinaandintheworld. RedFlag,(Peking),21September1964

54 Likemodernsocietyitself,thespectacleisatonceunitedanddivided.Inboth,unityisgroundedin asplit.Asitemergesinthespectacle,however,thiscontradictionisitselfcontradictedbyvirtueofa reversalofitsmeaning:divisionispresentedasunity,andunityasdivision. 55 Strugglesbetweenforces,allofwhichhavebeenestablishedforthepurposeofrunningthesame socioeconomicsystem,arethusofficiallypassedoffasrealantagonisms.Inactualitythesestruggles partakeofarealunity,andthisontheworldstageaswellaswithineachnation. 56 Thisisnottosaythatthespectacle'sshambattlesbetweencompetingversionsofalienatedpower arenotalsoreal;theydoexpressthesystem'sunevenandconflictriddendevelopment,aswellas therelativelycontradictoryinterestsofthoseclassesorfractionsofclassesthatrecognizethesystem andstriveinthiswaytocarveoutaroleforthemselvesinit.Justasthedevelopmentofthemost advanced economies involves clashes between different agendas, so totalitarian economic managementbyastatebureaucracyandtheconditionofthosecountrieslivingundercolonialismor semicolonialismarelikewisehighlydifferentiatedwithrespecttomodesofproductionandpower. Bypointingupthesegreatdifferences,whileappealingtocriteriaofquiteadifferentorder,the spectacle is able to portray them as markers of radically distinct social systems. But from the standpointoftheiractualrealityasmeresectors,itisclearthatthespecificityofeachissubsumed underauniversalsystemasfunctionsofasingletendencythathastakentheplanetforitsfieldof operations.Thattendencyiscapitalism. 57 Thesocietythatbringsthespectacleintobeingdoesnotdominateunderdevelopedregionssolely throughtheexerciseofeconomichegemony.Italsodominatestheminitscapacityasthesocietyof thespectacle.Modernsocietyhasthusalreadyinvestedthesocialsurfaceofeverycontinenteven wherethematerialbasisofeconomicexploitationisstilllackingbyspectacularmeans.Itcan frame the agenda of a ruling class and preside over that class's constitution. And, much as it proposes pseudogoods to be coveted, it may also offer false models of revolution to local revolutionaries.Asforthebureaucraticpowerthatrulesinanumberofindustrializedcountries,it certainlyhasitsownpeculiarspectacle,butthisplaysanintegralpartintheoverarchingspectacle asgeneralpseudonegationandhenceasvitalsupport.Soevenifinitslocalmanifestationsthe spectaclemayembodytotalitarianvarietiesofsocialcommunicationandcontrol,whenviewedfrom thestandpointofthesystem'sglobalfunctioningtheseareseentobemerelydifferentaspectsofa worldwidedivisionofspectaculartasks.

58 Thoughdesigned tomaintain theexistingorderasa whole,thedivision ofspectacular tasksis chieflyorientedtowardtheactivelydevelopingpoleofthatorder.Thespectaclehasitsrootsinthe fertilefieldoftheeconomy,and itistheproduce ofthatfield whichmustintheend cometo dominate the spectacular market, whatever ideological or policestate barriers of a protectionist kindmaybesetupbylocalspectacleswithdreamsofautarky. 59 Behind the glitter of the spectacle's distractions, modern society lies in thrall to the global dominationofabanalizingtrendthatalsodominatesitateachpointwherethemostadvanced forms of commodity consumption have seemingly broadened the panoply of roles and objects availabletochoosefrom.Thevestigesofreligionandofthefamily(stillthechiefmechanismforthe passingonofclasspower),andthustoothevestigesofthemoralrepressionthattheseinstitutions ensure,cannowbeseamlesslycombinedwiththerhetoricaladvocacyofpleasureinthislife.The lifeinquestionisafterallproducedsolelyasaformofpseudogratificationwhichstillembodies repression.Asmugacceptanceofwhatexistsislikewisequitecompatiblewithapurelyspectacular rebelliousness,forthesimplereasonthatdissatisfactionitselfbecomesacommodityassoonasthe economics of affluence finds a way of applying its production methods to this particular raw material. 60 Media starsarespectacularrepresentationsoflivinghumanbeings,distilling theessenceofthe spectacle'sbanalityintoimagesofpossibleroles.Stardomisadiversificationinthesemblanceoflife theobjectofanidentificationwithmereappearancewhichisintendedtocompensateforthe crumblingofdirectlyexperienceddiversificationsofproductiveactivity.Celebritiesfigurevarious stylesoflifeandvariousviewsofsocietywhichanyoneissupposedlyfreetoembraceandpursuein aglobalmanner.Themselvesincarnationsoftheinaccessibleresultsofsociallabor,theymimicby productsofthatlabor,andprojecttheseabovelaborsothattheyappearasitsgoal.Thebyproducts inquestionarepowerandleisurethepowertodecideandtheleisuretoconsumewhicharethe alphaandtheomegaofaprocessthatisneverquestioned.Intheformercase,governmentpower assumesthepersonifiedformofthepseudostar;inthesecond,starsofconsumptioncanvasfor votesaspseudopoweroverlifelived.But,justasnoneofthesecelestialactivitiesaretrulyglobal, neitherdotheyofferanyrealchoices. 61 Theindividualwhointheserviceofthespectacleisplaced instardom'sspotlightisinfactthe oppositeofanindividual,andasclearlytheenemyoftheindividualinhimselfasoftheindividual inothers.Inenteringthespectacleasamodeltobeidentifiedwith,herenouncesallautonomyin order himself to identify with the general law of obedience to the course of things. Stars of consumption, though outwardly representing different personality types, actually show each of thesetypesenjoyinganequalaccesstothewholerealmofconsumptionandderivingexactlythe samesatisfactiontherefrom.Starsofdecision,meanwhile,mustpossessthefullrangeofaccepted humanqualities;allofficialdifferencesbetweenthemarethuscanceledoutbytheofficialsimilarity whichisaninescapableimplicationoftheirsupposedexcellenceineverysphere.Khrushchevhadto becomeageneralinordertohavebeenresponsiblefortheoutcomeofthebattleofKursknoton the battlefield but twenty years later, as master of theState. And Kennedy the orator survived

himself, so to speak, and even delivered his own funeral oration, in the sense that Theodore SorensonstillwrotespeechesforKennedy'ssuccessorintheverystylethathaddonesomuchto createthedeadman'spersona.Theadmirablepeoplewhopersonifythesystemareindeedwell knownfornotbeingwhattheyseemtobe;theyhaveachievedgreatnessbyembracingalevelof realitylowerthanthatofthemostinsignificantindividuallifeandeveryoneknowsit. 62 Thefalsechoiceofferedbyspectacularabundance,basedonthejuxtaposition,ontheonehand,of competingyetmutuallyreinforcingspectaclesand,ontheotherhand,ofrolesforthemostpart signifiedbyandembodiedinobjectsthatareatonceexclusiveandinterconnected,evolvesintoa contest among phantom qualities meant to elicit devotion to quantitative triviality. Thus false conflictsofancientvintagetendtoberesuscitatedregionalismsorracismswhosejobitnowisto invest vulgar rankings inthe hierarchiesof consumptionwitha magical ontological superiority. Hencetootheneverendingsuccessionofpaltrycontestsfromcompetitivesportstoelections that are utterly incapable of arousing any truly playful feelings. Wherever the consumption of abundance has established itself, there is one spectacular antagonism which is always at the forefrontoftherangeofillusoryroles:theantagonismbetweenyouthandadulthood.Forherean adultinthesenseofsomeonewhoismasterofhisownlifeisnowheretobefound.Andyouth implying change in what exists is by no means proper to people who are young. Rather, it characterizesonlytheeconomicsystem,thedynamismofcapitalism:itisthingsthatrule,thatare youngthingsthemselvesthatviewitheachotherandusurponeanother'splaces. 63 Whatspectacularantagonismsconcealistheunityofpoverty.Differingformsofasinglealienation contendinthemasqueradeoftotalfreedomofchoicebyvirtueofthefactthattheyareallfounded onrealrepressedcontradictions.Dependingontheneedsoftheparticularstageofpovertythatitis supposedatoncetodenyandsustain,thespectaclemaybeconcentratedordiffuseinform.In eithercase,itisnomorethananimageofharmonysetamidstdesolationanddread,atthestill centerofmisfortune. 64 Theconcentratedformofthespectaclenormallycharacterizesbureaucraticcapitalism,thoughit mayonoccasionbeborrowedasatechniqueforbuttressingstatepowerovermorebackwardmixed economies,andeventhemostadvancedcapitalismmaycallonitinmomentsofcrisis.Bureaucratic propertyisitselfconcentrated,inthattheindividualbureaucrat'srelationtotheownershipofthe economyasawholeisinvariablymediatedbythecommunityofbureaucrats,byhismembershipin thatcommunity.Andcommodityproduction,lesswelldevelopedinbureaucraticsystems,isalso concentratedinform:thecommoditythebureaucracyappropriatesisthetotalityofsociallabor, andwhatitsellsbacktosocietyenblocissociety'ssurvival.Thedictatorshipofthebureaucratic economycannotleavetheexploitedmassesanysignificantmarginofchoicebecauseithashadto makeallthechoicesitself,andbecauseanychoicemadeindependentlyofit,eventhemosttrivial concerningfood,say,ormusicamountstoadeclarationofwartothedeathonthebureaucracy. Thisdictatorshipmustthereforebeattendedbypermanentviolence.Itsspectacleimposesanimage ofthegoodwhichisaresumeofeverythingthatexistsofficially,andthisisusuallyconcentratedin asingleindividual,theguarantorofthesystem'stotalitariancohesiveness.Everyonemustidentify magicallywiththisabsolutecelebrityordisappear.Forthisfigureisthemasterofnotbeing consumed,andtheheroicimageappropriatetotheabsoluteexploitationconstitutedbyprimitive

accumulationacceleratedbyterror.IfeveryChinesehastostudyMao,andineffectbeMao,thisis becausethereisnothingelsetobe.Thedominionofthespectacleinitsconcentratedformmeans thedominion,too,ofthepolice. 65 The diffuse form of the spectacle is associated with the abundance of commodities, with the undisturbeddevelopmentofmodern capitalism.Hereeachcommodityconsidered inisolationis justifiedbyanappealtothegrandeurofcommodityproductioningeneralaproductionforwhich thespectacleisanapologeticcatalog.Theclaimsjostlingforpositiononthestageoftheaffluent economy's integrated spectacle are not always compatible, however. Similarly, different star commoditiessimultaneouslypromoteconflictingapproachestotheorganizationofsociety;thusthe spectacularlogicoftheautomobilearguesforaperfecttrafficflowentailingthedestructionofthe oldcitycenters,whereasthespectacleofthecityitselfcallsforthesesameancientsectionstobe turned into museums. So the already questionable satisfaction allegedly derived from the consumptionofthewholeisadulteratedfromtheoutsetbecausetherealconsumercanonlygethis handsonasuccessionoffragmentsofthiscommodityheavenfragmentseachofwhichnaturally lacksanyofthequalityascribedtothewhole. 66 Eachindividualcommodityfightsforitself,cannotacknowledgetheothersandaspirestoimposeits presenceeverywhereasthoughitwerealone.Thespectacleistheepicpoemofthisstrifeastrife thatnofallofIliumcanbringtoanend.Ofarmsandthemanthespectacledoesnotsing,but ratherofpassionsandthecommodity.Withinthisblindstruggleeachcommodity,followingwhere passionleads,unconsciouslyactualizessomethingofahigherorderthanitself:thecommodity's becoming worldly coincides with theworld's being transformed into commodities. So itis that, thankstothecunningofthecommodity,whereasallparticularcommoditieswearthemselvesoutin thefight,thecommodityasabstractformcontinuesonitswaytoabsoluteselfrealization. 67 Thesatisfactionthatthecommodityinitsabundancecannolongersupplybyvirtueofitsusevalue isnowsoughtinanacknowledgmentofitsvaluequacommodity.Auseofthecommodityarises thatissufficientuntoitself;whatthismeansfortheconsumerisanoutpouringofreligiouszealin honorofthecommodity'ssovereignfreedom.Wavesofenthusiasmforparticularproducts,fueled andboostedbythecommunicationsmedia,arepropagatedwithlightningspeed.Afilmsparksa fashioncraze,oramagazinelaunchesachainofclubsthatinturnspinsoffalineofproducts.The sheerfaditemperfectlyexpressesthefactthat,asthemassofcommoditiesbecomemoreandmore absurd,absurditybecomesacommodityinitsownright.Keychainsthatarenotpaidforbutcome asfreegiftswiththepurchaseofsomeluxuryproduct,orarethentradedbackandforthinasphere farremovedfromthatoftheiroriginaluse,beareloquentwitnesstoamysticalselfabandonmentto thetranscendentspiritofthecommodity.Someonewhocollectskeychainsthathaverecentlybeen manufactured for the sole purpose of being collected might be said to be accumulating the commodity'sindulgencestheglorioustokensofthecommodity'simmanentpresenceamongthe faithful. In this way reified man proclaims his intimacy with the commodity. Following in the footstepsoftheoldreligiousfetishism,withitstransportedconvulsionariesandmiraculouscures, the fetishism of the commodity also achieves its moment of acute fervor. The only use still in evidencehere,meanwhile,isthebasicuseofsubmission.

68 Itisdoubtlessimpossibletocontrastthepseudoneedimposedbythereignofmodernconsumerism withanyauthenticneedordesirethatisnotitselfequallydeterminedbysocietyanditshistory.But thecommodityinthestageofitsabundanceatteststoanabsolutebreakintheorganicdevelopment ofsocialneeds.Thecommodity'smechanicalaccumulationunleashesalimitlessartificialityinface ofwhichalllivingdesireisdisarmed.Thecumulativepowerofthisautonomousrealmofartifice necessarilyeverywhereentailsafalsificationoflife. 69 Theimageoftheblissfulunificationofsocietythroughconsumptionsuspendsdisbeliefwithregard to the reality of division only until the next disillusionment occurs in the sphere of actual consumption.Eachandeverynewproductissupposedtoofferadramaticshortcuttothelong awaitedpromisedlandoftotalconsumption.Assuchitisceremoniouslypresentedastheunique and ultimate product. But, as with the fashionable adoption of seemingly rare aristocratic first nameswhichturnoutintheendtobebornebyawholegeneration,sothewouldbesingularityof anobjectcanbeofferedtotheeagerhordesonlyifithasbeenmassproduced.Thesolerealstatus attachingtoamediocreobjectofthiskindistohavebeenplaced,howeverbriefly,attheverycenter of social life and hailed as the revelation of the goal of the production process. But even this spectacularprestigeevaporatesintovulgarityassoonastheobjectistakenhomebyaconsumer andhencebyallotherconsumerstoo.Atthispointitsessentialpoverty,thenaturaloutcomeofthe povertyofitsproduction,standsrevealedtoolate.Forbythistimeanotherproductwillhave beenassignedtosupplythesystemwithitsjustification,andwillinturnbedemandingitsmoment ofacclaim. 70 Thiscontinualprocessofreplacementmeansthatfakegratificationcannothelpbutbeexposedas productschange,andaschangesoccurinthegeneralconditionsofproduction.Somethingthatcan assertitsownunchangingexcellencewithuncontestedarrogancechangesnonetheless.Thisisas trueoftheconcentratedasofthediffuseversionofthespectacle,andonlythesystemendures: Stalin,justlikeanyobsoleteproduct,canbecastasidebytheveryforcesthatpromotedhisrise. Eachnewlieoftheadvertisingindustryimplicitlyacknowledgestheonebefore.Likewiseeverytime apersonificationoftotalitarianpoweriseclipsed,theillusionofcommunitythathasguaranteed thatfigureunanimoussupportisexposedasameresumofsolitudeswithoutillusions. 71 Whateverlaysclaimtopermanenceinthespectacleisfoundedonchange,andmustchangeasthat foundation changes. The spectacle, though quintessentially dogmatic, can yet produce no solid dogma.Nothingisstableforit:thisisitsnaturalstate,albeitthestatemostatoddswithitsnatural inclination. 72 Theunrealunitythespectacleproclaimsmaskstheclassdivisiononwhichtherealunityofthe capitalistmodeofproductionisbased.Whatobligestheproducerstoparticipateintheconstruction oftheworldisalsowhatseparatesthemfromit.Whatbringstogethermenliberatedfromlocaland nationallimitationsisalsowhatkeepsthemapart.Whatpushesforgreaterrationalityisalsowhat

nourishestheirrationalityofhierarchicalexploitationandrepression.Whatcreatessociety'sabstract poweralsocreatesitsconcreteunfreedom.

TheProletariatasSubjectandRepresentation

Theequalrightofalltothegoodsandenjoymentofthisworld,thedestructionofallauthority,the negation of all moral restraints these, at bottom, are the raison d'tre of the March 18th insurrectionandthecharterofthefearsomeorganizationthatfurnisheditwithanarmy. Enquteparlementairesurl'insurrectiondu18mars

73 The real movement that abolishes reigning conditions governed society from the moment the bourgeoisietriumphedintheeconomicsphere,anditdidsovisiblyoncethatvictorywastranslated ontothepoliticalplane.Thedevelopmentoftheforcesofproductionhadshatteredtheoldrelations ofproduction;everystaticorderhadcrumbledtonothing.Andeverythingthathadformerlybeen absolutebecamehistorical. 74 Itisbecausehumanbeingshavethusbeenthrustintohistory,andintoparticipationinthelabor and the struggles which constitute history, that they find themselves obliged to view their relationships in a cleareyed manner. The history in question has no goal aside from whatever effectsitworksuponitself,eventhoughthelastunconsciousmetaphysicalvisionofthehistorical eramayviewtheproductiveprogressionthroughwhichhistoryhasunfoldedasitselftheobjectof thathistory.Asforthesubjectofhistory,itcanonlybetheselfproductionoftheliving:theliving becoming master and possessor of its world that is, of history and coming to exist as consciousnessofitsownactivity. 75 Theclassstrugglesofthelongrevolutionaryperiodusheredinbytheriseofthebourgeoisiehave evolvedintandemwiththe"thoughtofhistory,"withthedialecticwithatrulyhistoricalthinking thatisnotcontentsimplytoseekthemeaningofwhatisbutaspirestounderstandthedissolution ofeverythingthatisandintheprocesstodissolveallseparation. 76 ForHegelitwasnolongeramatterofinterpretingtheworld,butratherofinterpretingtheworld's transformation.Inasmuchashedidnomorethaninterpretthattransformation,however,Hegelwas

merelythephilosophicalculminationofphilosophy.Hesoughttounderstandaworldthatmade itself.Suchhistoricalthoughtwasstillpartofthatconsciousnesswhichcomesonthescenetoolate andsuppliesajustificationafterthefact.Itthustranscendedseparationbutitdidsointhought only. Hegel'sparadoxical posture,which subordinatesthemeaningofallrealitytoitshistorical culmination, while at the same time revealing this meaning by proclaiming itself to be that culmination,arisesfromthesimplefactthatthegreatthinkerofthebourgeoisrevolutionsofthe seventeenthandeighteenthcenturiesstroveinhisphilosophymerelyforreconciliationwiththe resultsofthoserevolutions."Evenasaphilosophyofthebourgeoisrevolution,itdoesnotreflectthe entireprocessofthatrevolution,butonlyitsconcludingphase.Itisthusaphilosophy,notofthe revolution, but of the restoration" (Karl Korsch, "Theses on Hegel and Revolution"). Hegel performedthetaskofthephilosopher"theglorificationofwhatexists"forthelasttime,but, evenforhim,whatexistedcouldonlybethetotalityofthemovementofhistory.Sincetheexternal position ofthoughtwasneverthelessmaintained,thiscould be masked onlyby identifyingthat thoughtwithapreexistingprojectoftheSpiritofthatabsoluteheroicforcewhichhasdonewhat itwilledandwilledwhatithasdone,thatforcewhoseachievementisthepresent.Sophilosophy,as itexpiresinthearmsoftrulyhistoricalthinking,cannolongerglorifyitsworldwithoutdenyingit, for even in order to express itself it must assume that the total history in which it has vested everythinghascometoanend,andthattheonlycourtcapableofrulingontruthorfalsehoodhas beenadjourned. 77 Whentheproletariatdemonstratesthroughitsownactionsthathistoricalthoughthasnotafterall forgottenandlostitself,thatthought'sconclusionsarenegated,butatthesametimethevalidityof itsmethodisconfirmed. 78 Historical thought can be saved only if it becomes practical thought; and the practice of the proletariat as a revolutionary class cannot be less than historical consciousness applied to the totalityofitsworld.Allthetheoreticalstrandsoftherevolutionaryworkers'movementstemfrom criticalconfrontationwithHegelianthought,andthisgoesforMarxasforStirnerandBakunin. 79 TheinseparabilityofMarx'stheoryfromtheHegelianmethodisitselfinseparablefromthattheory's revolutionarycharacter,thatistosay,fromitstruth.Itisunderthisaspectthattherelationship betweenMarxandHegelhasgenerallybeenignored,illunderstoodorevendenouncedastheweak pointof what has been fallaciously transformed into aMarxist dogma. Deploring the lessthan scientificpredictionsoftheManifestoof1848concerningtheimminenceofproletarianrevolution inGermany, Bernsteinperfectlydescribedthisconnectionbetweenthedialecticalmethodanda historical taking of sides: "Such historical autosuggestion, so grievously mistaken that the commonestofpoliticalvisionarieswouldbehardpressedtotopit,wouldbeincomprehensibleina Marxwhobythatperiodhadalreadybecomeaseriousstudentoftheeconomywereitnot possibletorecognizeherethetracesofalingeringloyaltytoHegel'santitheticaldialectics,from which Marx, no more than Engels, had never completely emancipated himself. In view of the generalturbulenceofthetimes,thiswasallthemorefataltohim." 80

TheinversionthatMarxeffectedinordertosalvagethethoughtofthebourgeoisrevolutionsby "transplanting"itwasnotrivialsubstitutionofthematerialdevelopmentoftheforcesofproduction for the unfolding of the Hegelian Spirit on its way to its rendezvous with itself in time, its objectificationbeingindistinguishablefromitsalienation,anditshistoricalwoundsleavingnoscars. Forhistory,onceitbecomesreal,nolongerhasanend.WhatMarxdidwastodemolishHegel's detachedstancewithrespecttowhatoccurs,alongwiththecontemplationofasupremeexternal agentofwhateverkind.Theorythenceforwardhadnothingtoknowbeyondwhatititselfdid.By contrast,thecontemplationofthemovementoftheeconomyinthedominantthoughtofpresent daysocietyisindeedanoninvertedlegacyoftheundialecticalaspectoftheHegelianattemptto createacircularsystem;thisthoughtisanapprobatoryonewhichnolongerhasthedimensionof theconcept,whichnolongerhasanyneedofHegelianismtojustifyit,becausethemovementthat itisdesignedtolaudisasectoroftheworldwherethoughtnolongerhasanyplaceasector whosemechanicaldevelopmentineffectdominatestheworld'sdevelopmentoverall.Marx'sproject is the project of a conscious history whereby the quantitative realm that arises from the blind development of purely economic productive forces would be transformed into a qualitative appropriationofhistory.Thecritiqueofpoliticaleconomyisthefirstactofthisendofprehistory: "Ofalltheinstrumentsofproduction,thegreatestproductivepoweristherevolutionaryclassitself." 81 ThecloseaffinityofMarx'sthinkingwithscientificthinkingliesinitsrationalgraspoftheforces actuallyatworkinsociety.Fundamentally,though,Marx'stheoryliesbeyondscience,whichisonly preservedwithinitinasmuchasitistranscendedbyit.ForMarxitisthestruggleandbyno meansthelawthathastobeunderstood."Weknowonlyasinglescience,"saysTheGerman Ideology,"thescienceofhistory." 82 Thebourgeoisera,thougheagertogivehistoryascientificfoundation,neglectsthefactthatthe science available toit must certainlyhave beenitselffounded along with theeconomy on history.Ontheotherhand,historyisfundamentallydependentoneconomicknowledgeonlyso longasitremainsmerelyeconomichistory.History'sinterventionintheeconomy(aglobalprocess that is after all capable of changing its own basic scientific preconditions) has in fact been overlooked by scientific observers to a degree well illustrated by the vain calculations of those socialistswhobelievedthattheycouldascertaintheexactperiodicityofcrises.Nowthatcontinual tinkeringbytheStatehassucceededincompensatingforthetendencyforcrisestooccur,thesame typeofreasoningtakesthisdelicatebalanceforapermanenteconomicharmony.Ifitistomaster thescienceofsocietyandbringitunderitsgovernance,theprojectoftranscendingtheeconomy andtakingpossessionofhistorycannotitselfbescientificincharacter.Therevolutionarypointof view,solongasitpersistsinespousingthenotionthathistoryinthepresentperiodcanbemastered bymeansofscientificknowledge,hasfailedtoriditselfofallitsbourgeoistraits. 83 Theutopianstrandsinsocialism,thoughtheydohavetheirhistoricalrootsinthecritiqueofthe existingsocialorganization,areproperlysocalledinasmuchastheydenyhistoryinasmuch,that is, as they deny the struggle that exists, along with any movement of the times beyond the immutableperfectionoftheirimageofahappysociety.Not,however,becausetheydenyscience. Onthecontrary,theutopianswerecompletelyinthralltoscientificthinking,intheforminwhich thishadimposeditselfintheprecedingcenturies.Theirgoalwastheperfectionofthisrational

system.Theycertainlydidnotlookuponthemselvesasprophetsdisarmed,fortheybelievedfirmly inthesocialpowerofscientificproofandeven,inthecaseofSaintSimonism,intheseizureof powerbyscience."Howeverdidtheyimagine,"Sombartwonders,"thatwhatneededtobeproved might be won by fighting?" All the same, the utopians' scientific orientation did not extend to knowledgeofthefactthatsocialgroupsareliabletohavevestedinterestsinastatusquo,forcesat theirdisposalequippedtomaintainitandindeedformsoffalseconsciousnessdesignedtobuttress theirpositions.Theirideaofthingsthuslaggedfarbehindthehistoricalrealityofthedevelopment ofscienceitself,whichwasbythistimelargelygovernedbythesocialdemandarisingfromfactors, such as those mentioned above, which determined not only what was considered scientifically acceptablebutalsojustwhatmightbecomeanobjectofscientificresearch.Theutopiansocialists remainedprisonerstothescientificmannerofexpoundingthetruth,andtheyviewedthistruthin accordancewithitspureabstractimagetheforminwhichithadestablisheditselfatamuch earliermomentinsocialdevelopment.AsSorelnoted,theutopianstookastronomyastheirmodel forthediscoveryanddemonstrationofthelawsofsociety:theirconceptionofharmony,sohostile tohistory,wastheproduct,logicallyenough,ofanattemptedapplicationtosocietyofthescience leastdependentonhistory.Thisconceptionwasintroducedandpromotedwithanexperimental ingenuousnessworthyofNewtonism,andthesmilingfuturecontinuallyevokedbytheutopians played"aroleintheirsocialscienceanalogoustothatplayedbyinertiainrationalmechanics"(Mat riauxpourunethorieduproltariat). 84 The scientificdeterminist side of Marx's thought was indeed what made it vulnerable to "ideologization"; the breach was opened in Marx's own lifetime, and greatly widened in his theoreticallegacytotheworkers'movement.Theadventofthesubjectofhistorywasconsequently setbackevenfurther,aseconomics,thehistoricalscienceparexcellence,wasdependedonmore andmoreasguarantorofthenecessityofitsownfuturenegation.Inthiswayrevolutionarypractice theonlytrueagentofthisnegationtendedtobethrustoutoftheory'sfieldofvisionaltogether. It became important patiently to study economic development, and once more to accept, with Hegeliantranquility,thesufferingitimposedthatsufferingwhoseoutcomewasstilla"graveyard ofgoodintentions."Allofasuddenitwasdiscoveredthat,accordingtothe"scienceofrevolutions," consciousness now always came on the scene too soon, and needed to be taught. "History has provedus,andallwhothoughtlikeus,wrong,"Engelswouldwritein1895."Ithasmadeitclear thatthestateofeconomicdevelopmentontheContinentatthattimewasnot,byalongway, ripe...."ThroughouthislifeMarxupheldhistheory'sunitarystandpoint,yetintheexpositionofthat theoryhewasdrawn ontotheground ofthedominantformsofthought,inthatheundertook critiquesofparticulardisciplines,andnotablythatofthefundamentalscienceofbourgeoissociety, politicaleconomy.Itwasinthismutilatedform,latertakenasdefinitive,thatMarx'stheorybecame "Marxism." 85 TheweaknessofMarx'stheoryisnaturallypartandparceloftheweaknessoftherevolutionary struggleoftheproletariatofhistime.Theworkingclassfailedtoinauguratepermanentrevolution in1848,andtheCommunewentdowninisolation.Revolutionarytheorywasthusstillunableto comeintofullpossessionofitsownexistence.ThatMarxshouldhavebeenreducedtodefending andhoningthattheoryinthedetachmentofscholarlyworkintheBritishMuseumcanonlyhave hadadebilitatingeffectonthetheoryitself.Whatiscertainisthatthescientificconclusionsthat Marx drewabout the future developmentof the working class along with the organizational practicefoundedonthemwouldlaterbecomeobstaclestoproletarianconsciousness.

86 All the theoretical shortcomings of a scientific defense of proletarian revolution, be they in the content or in the form of the exposition, come down in the end to the identification of the proletariatwiththebourgeoisiewithrespecttotherevolutionaryseizureofpower. 87 AsearlyastheManifesto,theurgetodemonstratethescientificlegitimacyofproletarianpowerby citingasequenceofprecedentsonlyservedtomuddyMarx'shistoricalthinking.Thisapproachled himtodefendalinearmodelofthedevelopmentofmodesofproductionaccordingtowhich,at eachstage,classstruggleswouldend"eitherinarevolutionaryreconstitutionofsocietyatlarge,or inthecommonruinofthecontendingclasses."Theplainfactsofhistory,however,arethat,justas the"Asiaticmodeofproduction"(asMarxhimselfobservedinanotherconnection)preservedits stasisinspiteofclassconflict,sotoonojacquerieofserfseveroverthrewthebaronsandnoslave revoltintheancientworldeverendedtheruleoffreemen.Thefirstthingthelinearmodelloses sightofisthefactthatthebourgeoisieistheonlyrevolutionaryclassthathaseverbeenvictorious; theonlyclass,also,forwhichthedevelopmentoftheeconomywasthecauseandconsequenceof itscaptureofsociety.ThesamesimplifiedviewledMarxtoneglecttheeconomicroleoftheStatein themanagementofaclasssociety.Iftherisingbourgeoisieappearstohaveliberatedtheeconomy fromtheState,thisistrueonlytotheextentthattheStatewasformerlytheinstrumentofclass oppressioninastaticeconomy.Thebourgeoisiedevelopeditsautonomouseconomicpowerduring themedievalperiodwhentheStatehadbeenweakened,whenfeudalismwasbreakingupastable equilibrium between powers. The modern State, on the other hand, which first supported the developingbourgeoisiethankstothemercantilesystem,andthenwenton,inthetimeof"laisser faire,laisserpasser,"tobecomethebourgeoisie'sownState,waseventuallytoemergeaswielderof apowercentraltotheplannedmanagementoftheeconomicprocess.Marxwasalreadyable,under therubricofBonapartism,accuratelytodepictaforeshadowingofmodernStatebureaucracyin thatfusionofcapitalandStatewhichestablished"capital'snationalpoweroverlaborandapublic authority designed to maintain social servitude"; the bourgeoisie thus renounced any historical existencebeyonditsownreductiontotheeconomichistoryofthings,andpermitteditselftobe "condemnedalongwiththeotherclassestoalikepoliticalnullity."Alreadydiscernibleinoutline here are the sociopolitical bases of the modern spectacle, which in a negative way defines the proletariatastheonlypretendertohistoricalexistence. 88 TheonlytwoclassesthatreallycorrespondtoMarx'stheory,thetwopureclassesthatthewhole thrustofCapital'sanalysistendstobringtothefore,arethebourgeoisieandtheproletariat.These arealsotheonlytworevolutionaryclassesinhistorybuttheyarerevolutionaryunderdifferent conditions. The bourgeois revolution is a fait accompli. The proletarian revolution is a project, formulatedonthebasisoftheearlierrevolutionbutdifferingqualitativelyfromit.Toneglectthe originalityofthebourgeoisie'shistoricalroleservesonlytoconcealtheconcreteoriginalityofthe proletarianproject,whichcangetnowhereunlessitadvancesunderitsownbannerandcomesto gripswiththe"prodigiousnessofitsownaims."Thebourgeoisiecametopowerbecauseitwasthe class of the developing economy. The proletariat will never come to embody power unless it becomes the class of consciousness. The growth of the forces of production cannot in itself guaranteethisaccessiontopowernotevenindirectly,viatheincreaseindispossessionthatthis growth entails. Nor can any Jacobinstyle seizure of the State be a means to that end. The proletariatcannot make use ofany ideology designed topasspartialgoalsoffas generalones,

becauseitcannotmaintainanypartialrealitythatistrulyitsown. 89 ItistruethatduringacertainperiodofhisparticipationinthestruggleoftheproletariatMarx overratedthevalueofscientificpredictionindeedhewentsofarinthisdirectionthatheprovided theillusions ofeconomismwith anintellectualjustification; however,he clearly neverfell prey himself to such illusions. In a wellknown letter of 7 December 1867, accompanying an article criticizingCapitalwhichhehimselfhadwritten,andwhichEngelswassupposedtopublishasifit werethatofanopponent,Marxclearlyindicatedthelimitsofhisscientificstance:"Theauthor's subjectivetendency(imposedonhim,perhaps,byhispoliticalpositionandhispast)thatistosay, thewayinwhichhehimselfpictures,andportraysforothers,theultimateoutcomeofthepresent movement,thepresentsocialprocesshasnothingwhatsoevertodowithhisrealanalysis."Bythus censuringthe"tendentiousconclusions"ofhisownobjectiveanalysis,andbyinterpolatinganironic "perhaps"aproposoftheunscientificchoicessupposedly"imposed"onhim,Marxineffectreveals themethodologicalkeytotacklingthetwoaspectsofthematter. 90 Thefusionofknowledgeandactionmustbeeffectedwithinthehistoricalstruggleitself,insucha way that each of these poles depends for its validation on the other. What constitutes the proletarianclassasasubjectisitsorganizingofrevolutionarystrugglesanditsorganizingofsociety atthemomentofrevolution:thisisthepointatwhichthepracticalconditionsofconsciousness mustbeassembledandthetheoryofpraxisverifiedbyvirtueofitstransformationintotheoryin practice. This pivotal issue of organization, however, received but the scantest attention from revolutionarytheoryduringthefoundingperiodoftheworkers'movementtheveryperiodwhen thattheorystillpossessedtheunitarycharacterwhichithadinheritedfromhistoricalthought(and which it had rightly vowed to develop into a unitary historical practice). As it turned out, organizationbecamethelocusofrevolutionarytheory'sinconsistency,allowingthetenetsofthat theorytobeimposedbystatistandhierarchicalmethodsborrowedfromthebourgeoisrevolution. Theformsoforganizationdevelopedsubsequentlybytheworkers'movementonthebasisofthis derelictionoftheoryhavetendedinturntobartheconstructionofaunitarytheory,tobreaktheory upinsteadintoavarietyofspecializedand fragmentarytypesofknowledge. Thusideologically alienated,theorycannotevenrecognizethepracticalverificationoftheunitaryhistoricalthought thatithasbetrayedwheneverthatverificationemergesinspontaneousworkers'struggles;onthe contrary,allitcandoishelptorepressitanddestroyallmemoryofit.Yetsuchhistoricalforms, thrownupbythestruggle,aretheverypracticalmediumthattheoryneedsinordertobetrue.They areinfactarequirementoftheory,butonethathasnotbeengiventheoreticalexpression.The soviets,forexample,werenotatheoreticaldiscovery;and,togobackevenfarther,thehighest theoreticaltruthattainedbytheInternationalWorkingmen'sAssociationwasitsownexistencein practice. 91 Early successes in the First International's struggle enabled it to free itself from the confused influencesthatthedominantideologycontinuedforatimetoexerciseuponitfromwithin.Butthe defeat and repression that it soon confronted brought to the surface a conflict between two conceptionsoftheproletarianrevolution,eachofwhichhadanauthoritariandimensionspellingthe abandonmentoftheconsciousselfemancipationoftheworkingclass.TheriftbetweenMarxists andBakuninists,whicheventuallybecameanirreconcilableone,hadadualaspectinthatitbore

bothuponthequestionofpowerinafuturerevolutionarysocietyanduponthecurrentorganization ofthemovement;andboththeopposingfactionsreversedtheirownpositioninmovingfromoneof theseissuestotheother.Bakunindenouncedasanillusiontheideathatclassescouldbeabolished by means of an authoritarian use of State power, warning that this course would lead to the reconstructionofabureaucraticrulingclassandtothedictatorshipofthemostknowledgeable(or ofthosereputedtobethemostknowledgeable).Marx,whoheldthatthecombinedmaturation,of economiccontradictionsontheonehand,andofthedemocraticeducationoftheworkersonthe otherhand,wouldreducetheproletarianState'sroletotheshortphaseneededtogivethestampof legalitytonewsocialrelationsbroughtintobeingbyobjectivefactors,chargedBakuninandhis supporters with the authoritarianism of a conspiratorial elite that had deliberately placed itself above the International with the harebrained intention of imposing on society an irresponsible dictatorshipofthemostrevolutionary(orofthoseselfdesignatedassuch).Bakuninunquestionably recruited followers on just such a basis: "in the midst of the popular tempest, we must be the invisible pilots guiding the Revolution, not by any kind of overt power but by the collective dictatorship of all our allies, a dictatorship without badges, without official titles, without any officialstatus,andthereforeallthemorepowerful,asitdoesnotcarrythetrappingsofpower."This wasclearlyaclashbetweentwoideologiesofworkers'revolution;eachembodiedapartiallycorrect critique, but each, having lost the unity of historical thought, aspired to set itself up as an ideologicalauthority.Powerfulorganizations,amongthemtheGermanSocialDemocracyandthe Iberian Anarchist Federation, would subsequently faithfully serve one or the other of these ideologies;ineverycasetheresultproducedwasgreatlydifferentfromtheonesought. 92 Thefactthattheanarchistsregardthegoaloftheproletarianrevolutionasimmediatelypresentisat oncethegreatstrengthandthegreatweaknessoftherealanarchiststruggle(Irefertothestruggle of collectivist anarchism; the claims of anarchism in its individualist variants are laughable). Collectivist anarchism retains only the terminal point of the historical thought of modern class struggles, and its unconditional demand that this point be attained instantly is echoed in its systematic contempt for method. Its critique of the political struggle consequently remains an abstractone,whileitscommitmenttotheeconomicstruggleisframedonlyintermsofthemirage ofadefinitivesolutiontobeachievedatonestroke,ontheeconomicbattlegrounditself,ontheday ofthegeneralstrikeorinsurrection.Theanarchistagendaisthefulfillmentofanideal.Anarchismis the still ideological negation of the State and of classes, that is to say, of the very social preconditionsofanyseparatedideology.Itisanideologyofpurefreedomwhichmakeseverything equalandeschewsanysuggestionofhistoricalevil.Thisposition,whichfusesallpartialdemands intoasingledemand,hasgivenanarchismthegreatmeritofrepresentingtherefusalofexisting conditions from the standpoint of the whole of life, not merely from the standpoint of some particularcriticalspecialization.Ontheotherhand,thefactthatthisfusionofdemandsisenvisaged intheabsolute,atthewhimoftheindividual,andinadvanceofanyactualization,hasdoomed anarchismtoanincoherencethatisonlytooeasytodiscern:thedoctrinerequiresnomorethanthe reiteration, and the reintroduction into each particular struggle, of the same simple and all encompassing idea the same endpoint that anarchism has identified from the first as the movement'ssoleandentiregoal.ThusBakunin,onquittingtheJuraFederationin1873,foundit easytowritethat"Duringthelastnineyearsmorethanenoughideasforthesalvationoftheworld havebeendevelopedintheInternational(iftheworldcanbesavedbyideas)andIdefyanyoneto comeupwithanewone.Thisisthetimenotforideasbutforaction,fordeeds."Nodoubtthis attitudepreservesthecommitmentofthetrulyhistoricalthoughtoftheproletariattothenotion thatideasmustbecomepractical,butitleavesthegroundofhistorybyassumingthattheadequate forms of this transition to practice have already been discovered and are no longer subject to

variation. 93 Theanarchists,whoseideologicalfervorclearlydistinguishedthemfromtherestoftheworkers' movement,extendedthisspecializationoftasksintotheirownranks,soofferingahospitablefield of action, within any anarchist organization, to the propagandists and defenders of anarchist ideology; and the mediocrity of these specialists was only reinforced by the fact that their intellectualactivitywasgenerallyconfinedtotherepetitionofaclutchofunchangingtruths.An ideologicalrespectforunanimityinthetakingofdecisionstendedtofavortheuncontrolledexercise ofpower,withintheorganizationitself,by"specialistsoffreedom";andrevolutionaryanarchism expectsacomparableunanimity,obtainedbycomparablemeans,fromthepeopleoncetheyare liberated. Furthermore, the refusal to distinguish between the opposed situations of a minority groupedintheongoingstruggleandanewsocietyoffreeindividualshasledtimeandagaintothe permanentisolationofanarchistswhenthetimeforcommondecisionsarrivesoneneedonly thinkofthecountlessanarchistinsurrectionsinSpainthathavebeencontainedandcrushedata locallevel. 94 The illusion more or less explicitly upheld in all genuine anarchism is that of the permanent imminenceofarevolutionwhich,becauseitwillbemadeinstantaneously,isboundtovalidateboth anarchistideologyandtheformofpracticalorganizationthatflowsfromit.In1936anarchism reallydidleadasocialrevolution,settingupthemostadvancedmodelofproletarianpowerever realized.Evenhere,though,itispertinenttorecall,foronething,thatthegeneralinsurrectionwas dictatedbyanarmypronunciamento.Furthermore,inasmuchastherevolutionwasnotcompleted in its earliest days Franco, enjoying strong foreign backing at a time when the rest of the international proletarian movementhad already beendefeated,held powerin halfthecountry, whilebourgeoisforcesandotherworkers'partiesofstatistbentstillexistedintheRepublicancamp theorganizedanarchistmovementprovedincapableofbroadeningtherevolution'ssemivictories, orevenofsafeguardingthem.Themovement'sleadersbecamegovernmentministershostagesto abourgeoisstatethatwasdismantlingtherevolutionevenasitproceededtolosethecivilwar. 95 The "orthodox Marxism" of the Second International was the scientific ideology of the socialist revolution,anideologywhichassertedthatitswholetruthresidedinobjectiveeconomicprocesses, andinthegradualrecognitionoftheirnecessitybyaworkingclasseducatedbytheorganization. Thisideologyexhumedutopiansocialism'sfaithinpedagogics,ekingthisoutwithacontemplative evocationofthecourseofhistory.SooutoftouchwasthisattitudewiththeHegeliandimensionof atotalhistory,however,thatitlosteventhestaticimageofthetotalitypresentintheutopians'(and signally in Fourier's) critique. A scientific orientation of this variety, hardly capable of doing anything more than rehash symmetrical ethical alternatives, informed Hilferding's insipid observationinDasFinanzkapitalthatrecognizingthenecessityofsocialism"givesnoclueasto whatpracticalattitudeshouldbeadopted.Foritisonethingtorecognizeanecessity,andquite anothertoplaceoneselfintheserviceofthatnecessity."Thosewhochosenottounderstandthatfor Marx,andfortherevolutionaryproletariat,aunitaryhistoricalthoughtwasitselfnothingmoreand nothinglessthanthepracticalattitudetobeadoptedcouldonlyfallvictimtothepracticewhich thatchoiceimmediatelyentailed.

96 Theideologyofthesocialdemocraticorganizationplacedthatorganizationinthehandsofteachers who were supposed to educate the working class, and the organizational form adopted corresponded perfectly tothesortofpassivelearningthatthisimplied.Theparticipationofthe socialistsoftheSecondInternationalinthepoliticalandeconomicstruggleswasconcreteenough, butitwasprofoundlyuncritical.Theirswasamanifestlyreformistpracticecarriedoninthenameof anillusoryrevolution.Itwasinevitablethatthisideologyofrevolutionshouldfounderonthevery success of those who proclaimed it. The setting apart of parliamentary representatives and journalistswithinthemovementencouragedpeoplewhohadinanycasebeenrecruitedfromthe bourgeoisintelligentsiatopursueabourgeoisstyleoflife,whilethetradeunionbureaucracyturned even those drawn in through industrial struggle, and of workingclass background, into mere brokersoflabortradersinlaborpowerasacommoditytobeboughtandsoldlikeanyother.For theactivityofallthesepeopletohaveretainedany revolutionaryaspectwhatsoever,capitalism wouldhavehadtofinditselfconvenientlyunabletoputupwithareformismontheeconomicplane thatitwasperfectlyabletotolerateonthepolitical,intheshapeofthesocialdemocrats'legalistic agitation.The"science"ofthesocialdemocratsvouchedfortheinevitabilityofsuchaparadoxical occurrence;history,however,gavethelietoitateveryturn. 97 ThiswasacontradictionthatBernstein,beingthesocialdemocratfarthestremovedfrompolitical ideology,andtheonewhomostunabashedlyembracedthemethodologyofbourgeoisscience,was honestenoughtodrawattentionto;thereformismoftheEnglishworkers'movement,whichdid withoutrevolutionaryideologyaltogether,alsoattestedtoit;butonlyhistoricaldevelopmentitself coulddemonstrateitbeyondallpossibilityofdoubt.Thoughpreytoallkindsofillusionsinother areas,Bernsteinhadrejectedthenotionthatacrisisofcapitalismmustmiraculouslyoccur,thus forcingthehandofthesocialists,whodeclinedtoassumeanyrevolutionarymantleintheabsence ofsuchalegitimatingevent.Theprofound socialupheavalsetintrainbytheFirstWorldWar, though it raised consciousness on a wide scale, proved twice over that the socialdemocratic hierarchyhadfailedtoeducatetheGermanworkersinarevolutionaryway,thatithadfailed,in short,toturnthemintotheoreticians:thefirsttimewaswhentheoverwhelmingmajorityofthe partylentitssupporttotheimperialistwar;thesecondtimewaswhen,indefeat,thepartycrushed theSpartacistrevolutionaries.ThesometimeworkerEbertstillbelievedinsindeclaringthathe hatedrevolution"likesin."Healsoprovedhimselftobeafineheraldofthatimageofsocialism which was soon to emerge as the mortal enemy of the proletariat ofRussia and elsewhere, by precisely articulating theagendaofthisnewformof alienation:"Socialism," said Ebert,"means workinghard." 98 As a Marxist thinker, Lenin was simply a faithful and consistent Kautskyist who applied the revolutionaryideologyof"orthodoxMarxism"totheconditionsexistinginRussia,conditionsthat did not permit of the sort of reformist practice pursued in parallel fashion by the Second International. The task of directing the proletariat from without, by means of a disciplined clandestinepartyunderthecontrolofintellectualswhohadbecome"professionalrevolutionaries," gaverisetoagenuineprofessionandonedisinclinedtomakecompactswithanyprofessional strata of capitalist society (even had such an overture presupposing the attainment of an advancedstageofbourgeoisdevelopmentbeenwithinthepoweroftheczaristpoliticalregimeto make). In consequence the speciality of the profession in question became that of total social

management. 99 Withtheadventofthewar,andthecollapseofinternationalsocialdemocracyinfaceofit,the authoritarianideologicalradicalismoftheBolshevikswasabletocastitsnetacrosstheglobe.The bloodyendoftheworkers'movement'sdemocraticillusionsmadeaRussiaofthewholeworld,and Bolshevism,reigningoverthefirstrevolutionaryriftopenedupbythisperiodofcrisis,proposedits hierarchicalandideologicalmodeltotheproletariatofallcountriesasthewayto"talkRussian"to the ruling class. Lenin never reproached the Second International's Marxism for being a revolutionaryideologybutonlyforhavingceasedtobesuchanideology. 100 Thissamehistoricalmoment,whenBolshevismtriumphedforitselfinRussiaandsocialdemocracy foughtvictoriouslyfortheoldworld,alsomarksthedefinitiveinaugurationofanorderofthings thatliesatthecoreofthemodernspectacle'srule:thiswasthemomentwhenanimageofthe workingclassaroseinradicaloppositiontotheworkingclassitself. 101 "Inallearlierrevolutions,"wroteRosaLuxemburginDieRoteFahnefor21December1918,"the opponentsconfrontedoneanotherfacetoface:classagainstclass,programagainstprogram.Inthe presentrevolution,thetroopsthatprotecttheoldorder,insteadofinterveninginthenameofthe rulingclasses,interveneunderthebannerofa'socialdemocraticparty.'Ifthecentralquestionof therevolutionwereposedopenlyandhonestlyintheform'Capitalismorsocialism?'thenno doubtorhesitationwouldbepossibletodayamongthebroadproletarianmasses."Thus,afewdays beforeitsdestruction,theradicalcurrentwithintheGermanproletariatuncoveredthesecretofthe newconditionsbroughtintobeingbythewholeprocesswhichhadgonebefore(andtowhichthe image of the working class had largely contributed): the spectacular organization of the ruling order'sdefense, and asocialreignofappearances under whichno"centralquestion"could any longerbe"openlyandhonestly"posed.Bythistimetherevolutionaryimageoftheproletariathad becomeboththemainelementin,andthechiefresultof,ageneralfalsificationofsociety. 102 The organization of the proletariat according to the Bolshevik model stemmed from the backwardnessofRussiaandfromtheabdicationfromtherevolutionarystruggleoftheworkers' movement in the advanced countries. Russian backwardness also embodied all the conditions neededtocarrythisformoforganizationinthedirectionofthecounterrevolutionaryreversalthatit had unconsciously contained from its beginnings; and the repeated balking of the mass of the Europeanworkers'movementattheHicRhodus,hicsaltaofthe19181920periodabalkingthat included the violent annihilation of its own radical minority further facilitated the complete unfoldingofaprocesswhoseendresultcouldfraudulentlypresentitselftotheworldastheonly possibleproletariansolution.TheBolshevikpartyjustifieditselfintermsofthenecessityofaState monopolyovertherepresentationanddefenseofthepoweroftheworkers,anditssuccessinthis questturnedthepartyintowhatittrulywas,namelythepartyoftheownersoftheproletariat, whichessentiallydislodgedallearlierformsofownership. 103

FortwentyyearsthevarioustendenciesofRussiansocialdemocracyhadengagedinanunresolved debateoverwhichconditionsweremostpropitiousfortheoverthrowofczarism:theweaknessof thebourgeoisie,theweightinthebalanceofthepeasantmajority,thedecisiveroletobeplayedby a centralized and militant proletariat and so on. When practice finally provided the solution, however,itdid sothankstoafactorthathadfiguredinnone ofthesehypotheses,namelythe revolutionarybureaucracywhichplaceditselfattheheadoftheproletariat,seizedtheStateand proceeded to impose a new form of class rule on society. A strictly bourgeois revolution was impossible;talkofa"democraticdictatorshipofworkersandpeasants"hadnorealmeaning;and,as fortheproletarianpowerofthesoviets,itcouldnotbemaintainedatonceagainsttheclassofsmall landholding peasants, against a national and international White reaction, and against its own externalizedandalienatedrepresentationintheshapeofaworkers'partyofabsolutemastersofthe State, of the economy, of the means of expression and (before long) of thought. Trotsky and Parvus'stheoryofpermanentrevolutionwhichLeninineffectespousedinApril1917wasthe onlytheorythatheldtrueforcountriesthatwerebackwardfromthepointofviewofthesocial developmentofthebourgeoisie,butevenhereitonlyappliedoncetheunknownquantityofthe bureaucracy'sclasspowerhadcomeintoplay.InthemanyclasheswithintheBolshevikleadership, Leninwasthemostconsistentdefenderoftheconcentrationofdictatorialpowersinthehandsof this supreme ideological representation. He invariably had the advantage over his opponents because he championed solutions that flowed logically from the earlier choices made by the minoritythatnowexercisedabsolutepower:ademocracyrefusedtopeasantsontheStatelevel shouldbebythesametokenrefusedtoworkers,andhencealsotoCommunistunionleaders,to partymembersingeneral,andeven,intheend,tothehighestranksoftheparty'shierarchy.Atthe Tenth Congress, as the Kronstadt soviet was being put down by force of arms and deluged in slander,Leninpassedajudgmentontheleftistbureaucratsofthe"Workers'Opposition,"thelogicof whichStalinwouldlaterextendintoaperfectdivisionoftheworld:"Herewithusoroutthere withaguninyourhandbutnotasanopposition.Wehavehadenoughofopposition." 104 Finding itself the sole owner of a state capitalism, the bureaucracy at first secured its power internallyby entering,afterKronstadt,and under the"NewEconomic Policy," intoatemporary alliance with the peasantry; externally, in parallel fashion, it defended its power by using the regimented workers of the bureaucratic parties of the Third International to back up Russian diplomacy,tosabotagerevolutionarymovementsandtosupportbourgeoisgovernmentsonwhose supportintheinternationalsphereitwascounting(theKuomintangintheChinaof19251927, PopularFrontsinSpainandFrance,etc.).Inpursuitofitsselfrealization,however,bureaucratic societythenproceeded,bymeansofterrorexercisedagainstthepeasantry,toeffecthistory'smost brutal primitive accumulation ofcapital ever. The industrialization oftheStalin era reveals the bureaucracy's true nature: the prolonging of the reign of the economy and the salvagingof all essentialaspectsofmarketsociety,notleasttheinstitutionoflaborascommodity.Theeconomyin itsindependencethusshoweditselfsothoroughlyabletodominatesocietyastorecreateforitsown purposesthatclassdominationwhichisessentialtoitsoperation.Itproved,inotherwords,thatthe bourgeoisie had created a power so autonomous that, so long as it endured, it could even do without a bourgeoisie. The totalitarian bureaucracy was not, in Bruno Rizzi's sense, "the last propertyowningclassinhistory,"foritwasmerelyasubstituterulingclassforthemarketeconomy. Atotteringcapitalistpropertysystemwasreplacedbyaninferiorversionofitselfsimplified,less diversified and concentrated as the collective property of the bureaucratic class. This underdevelopedtypeofrulingclasswaslikewiseareflectionofeconomicunderdevelopment,andit had no agenda beyond correcting this backwardness in particular parts of the world. The hierarchical,statistframeworkforthischeapremakeofthecapitalistrulingclasswassuppliedby

thepartyoftheworkers,organizedonthebourgeoismodelofseparation.AsAntonCiliganoted fromthedepthsofoneofStalin'sprisons,"Technicalquestionsoforganizationturnedouttobe socialquestions"(LeninandRevolution). 105 Asthecoherenceoftheseparate,therevolutionaryideologyofwhichLeninismwasthehighest voluntaristic expression governed the management of a reality that was resistant to it; with Stalinism,thisideologyrediscovereditsownincoherentessence.Ideologywasnolongeraweapon, but an end in itself. But a lie that can no longer be challenged becomes a form of madness. Eventuallybothrealityandthegoalsoughtdissolvedinatotalitarian ideologyproclaimingthat whateveritsaidwasalltherewas.Thiswasalocalprimitivismofthespectaclethathasnonetheless played an essential part in the spectacle's worldwide development. The ideology that took on materialforminthiscontextdidnottransformtheworldeconomically,ascapitalisminitsaffluent stagehasdone;itsucceededonlyinusingpolicemethodstotransformperception. 106 Theideologicaltotalitarianclassinpoweristhepowerofaworldturnedonitshead:thestronger theclass,themoreforcefullyitproclaimsthatitdoesnotexist,anditsstrengthservesfirstand foremost to assert its nonexistence. This is as far as its modesty goes, however, for its official nonexistenceissupposed to coincide withtheneplusultraofhistorical development,whichis indeedowedtoitsinfallibleleadership.Thougheverywhereinevidence,thebureaucracyisobliged tobeaclassimperceptibletoconsciousness,thusmakingthewholeofsociallifeunfathomableand insane.Thesocialorganizationoftheabsoluteliereposesonthisfundamentalcontradiction. 107 Stalinismwasareignofterrorwithinthebureaucraticclass.Theterroronwhichthebureaucracy's powerwasfoundedwasboundtostriketheclassitself,becausethisclasshadnolegalbasis,no juridical status as a propertyowning class that could be extended to each of its members individually.Itsrealproprietorshipwasmasked,becauseithadbecomeanowneronlybymeansof falseconsciousness.Falseconsciousnesscanmaintainabsolutepoweronlythroughabsoluteterror, where all real motives soon vanish. Members of the ruling bureaucratic class have the right of ownershipoversocietyonlycollectively,asparticipantsinabasiclie:theyhavetoplaythepartof the proletariat governing a socialist society; they are actors faithful to the text of ideological betrayal.Yettheireffectiveparticipationinthiscounterfeitbeinghastobeperceivedasreal.No bureaucratcanindividuallyasserthisrighttopower,becausetoprovehimselfasocialistproletarian he would have to present himself as the opposite of a bureaucrat, while to prove himself a bureaucratisimpossiblebecausetheofficialtruthofthebureaucracyisthatthebureaucracydoes notexist.Thus each bureaucrat is completely dependent on a central guarantee from ideology, whichacknowledgesthecollectiveparticipationin"socialistpower"ofallsuchbureaucratsasit does not liquidate. As a group the bureaucrats may be said to make all the decisions, but the cohesivenessoftheirclasscanonlybeensuredbytheconcentrationoftheirterroristicpowerinone person.Inthispersonreposestheonlypracticaltruthofthelieinpower:thepowertolaydownan unchallengeable boundary that is ever subject to revision. Stalin thus had the power to decide withoutappealexactlywhowasabureaucrat,andhenceanowner;hiswordalonedistinguished "proletarians"in powerfrom"traitorsinthepay oftheMikado and WallStreet."Theatomized bureaucratcouldfindthesharedessenceofhisjuridicalstatusonlyinthepersonofStalinthat lordandmasteroftheworldwhotakeshimselfinthiswaytobetheabsolutepersonandforwhom

thereexistsnohighertypeofspirit:"Thelordoftheworldbecomesreallyconsciousofwhatheis viz.,theuniversalmightofactualitybythatpowerofdestructionwhichheexercisesagainstthe contrastedselfhoodofhissubjects."Heisatoncethepowerthatdefinesthefieldofdominationand thepowerthatdevastatesthatfield. 108 Bythetimeideology,becomeabsolutebecauseitpossessesabsolutepower,hasbeentransformed fromafragmentaryknowledgeintoatotalitarianlie,trulyhistoricalthinkinghasforitspartbeenso utterlyannihilatedthathistoryitself,evenatthelevelofthemostempiricalknowledge,canno longerexist.Totalitarianbureaucraticsocietylivesinaperpetualpresentinwhicheverythingthat has happened earlier exists for it solely as a space accessible to its police. A project already formulatedbyNapoleon,thatof"monarchicallydirectingtheenergyofmemories,"hasthusbeen madeconcreteinapermanentmanipulationofthepast,andthisnotjustinrespectofthepast's meaning,buteveninrespectofthefactsthemselves.Thepricepaidforthisemancipationfromall historical reality, though,is the lossof therational orientation indispensable to capitalism as a historicalsocialsystem.Weknowhowmuchthescientificapplicationofanideologygonemadhas cost Russia one need only think of the Lysenko fiasco. The internal contradictions besetting totalitarianbureaucracyinitsadministrationofanindustrializedsocietyitssimultaneousneedfor rationalityandrefusalofitalsoconstitutesoneofitschiefshortcomingsascomparedwithnormal capitalist development. Just as the bureaucracy cannot resolve the question of agriculture as capitalismdoes,sotooitturnsouteventuallytobeinferiortocapitalisminindustrialproduction, whichitseekstoplaninanauthoritarianmanneronthetwinbasesofacompletelackofrealism andanadherencetoanallembracinglie. 109 Betweenthetwoworldwarstherevolutionaryworkersmovementwasdestroyedbytheaction,on theonehand,oftheStalinistbureaucracyand,ontheother,offascisttotalitarianism,thelatter having borrowed its organizational form from the totalitarian party as first tried out in Russia. Fascismwasanattemptofthebourgeoiseconomytodefenditself,inextremis,fromthedualthreat ofcrisisandproletariansubversion;itwasastateofsiegeincapitalistsociety,awayforthatsociety tosurvivethroughtheadministrationofanemergencydoseofrationalizationintheformofmassive Stateinterventioninitsmanagement.Suchrationalization,however,inevitablyborethestampof theimmenselyirrationalnatureofthemeanswherebyitwasimposed.Eventhoughfascismcameto theaidofthechieficons(thefamily,privateproperty,themoralorder,thenation)ofabourgeois order that was by now conservative, and effectively mobilized both the petty bourgeoisie and unemployed workers panicstricken because of the crisis or disillusioned by the impotence of revolutionarysocialism,itwasnotitselffundamentallyideologicalincharacter.Fascismpresented itself forwhat it was a violent resurrection of myth callingforparticipation in a community definedbyarchaicpseudovalues:race,blood,leader.Fascismisacultofthearchaiccompletely fittedoutbymoderntechnology.Itsdegenerateersatzofmythhasbeenrevivedinthespectacular contextofthemostmodernmeansofconditioningandillusion.Itisthusonefactorintheformation ofthemodernspectacle,aswellasbeing,thankstoitspartinthedestructionoftheoldworkers' movement,oneofthefoundingforcesofpresentdaysociety.Butinasmuchasfascismhappensalso tobethecostliestmethodofmaintainingthecapitalistorder,itwasnormalenoughthatitshouldbe dislodgedbymorerationalandstrongerformsofthisorderthatitshouldleavethefrontofthe stagetotheleadplayers,namelythecapitalistStates. 110

When the Russian bureaucracy at last successfully disencumbered itself of relics of bourgeois property standing in the way of its hegemony over the economy, once it had developed this economyinaccordancewithitsownpurposes,andonceithadachievedrecognitionfromwithout asagreatpoweramongothers,itsoughttoenjoyitsownworldintranquility,andtoremovethe arbitrarinesstowhichitwasstillitselfsubjected;itthereforeproceededtodenouncetheStalinism of its beginnings. Such a denunciation was bound, however, to remain Stalinist, arbitrary, unexplained and subject to continual adjustment, for the simple reason that the ideological falsehood that had attended the bureaucracy's birth could never be exposed. The bureaucracy cannotliberalizeitselfeitherculturallyorpoliticallybecauseitsexistenceasaclassdependsonits monopoly of an ideology which, for all its cumbersomeness, is its sole title to ownership. Admittedlythisideologyhaslostthepassionthatinformeditsoriginalselfaffirmation,yeteventhe pithless triviality which is all that is left retains the oppressive role of prohibiting the least suggestion of competition and holding the entirety of thought captive. The bureaucracy is thus helplessly tied to an ideology no longer believed by anyone. What inspired terrornow inspires derision,buteventhisderisionwoulddisappearwereitnotforthefactthattheterroritmocksstill lurksinthewings.Soitisthatattheverymomentwhenthebureaucracyattemptstodemonstrate itssuperiorityoncapitalism'sownground,itisexposedascapitalism'spoorcousin.Justasitsactual historyisatoddswithitsjudicialstatus,anditscrudelymaintainedignoranceincontradictionwith itsscientificpretensions,soitswishtoviewiththebourgeoisieintheproductionofanabundance of commodities isstymied bythefact thatan abundance ofthiskind contains itsown implicit ideology, and is generally accompanied by the freedom to choose from an unlimited range of spectacularfalsealternativesapseudofreedom,yes,butonewhich,forallthat,isincompatible withthebureaucracy'sideology. 111 Atthepresentstageinthebureaucracy'sdevelopment,itsideologicaltitletoownershipisalready collapsinginternationally:apowersetuponthenationallevelasabasicallyinternationalistmodel mustnowrenounceanyclaimtomaintainingitsfalsecohesionirrespectiveofnationalfrontiers. The unequal economic development experienced by those competing bureaucracies that have succeeded inowning"socialism"inmorethan onecountry hasled onlytoapublicand allout confrontation between the Russian lie and the Chinese lie. Henceforward each bureaucracy in power,and likewiseeach ofthose totalitarian parties aspiringtoa powerthathasoutlived the Stalinist period within one national working class or another, will have to find its own way. Consideredinconjunctionwiththeexpressionsofinternalnegationwhichfirstbecamevisibletothe outsideworldwhentheworkersofEastBerlinrevoltedagainstthebureaucratsanddemandeda "governmentofmetalworkers,"andwhichhavesinceevenextendedtothesettingupofworkers' councilsinHungary,thiscrumblingoftheworldwidealliancefoundedonbureaucraticmystification isinthelastanalysisthemostunfavorableportentforthefuturedevelopmentofcapitalistsociety. Forthebourgeoisieisnowindangeroflosinganadversarythathasobjectivelysupporteditby investingalloppositiontoitsorderwithapurelyillusoryunity.Ariftinthepseudorevolutionary componentoftheestablisheddivisionofspectacularlaborcanonlyheraldtheendofthatsystem itself.Thisspectacularaspectofthedissolutionoftheworkers'movementisthusitselfheadedfor dissolution. 112 ThemirageofLeninismtodayhasnobasistodayoutsidethevariousTrotskyisttendencies,where theconflationoftheproletarianprojectwithahierarchicalorganizationgroundedinideologyhas stolidlysurvivedalltheevidenceofthatconflation'srealconsequences.ThegapbetweenTrotskyism

and a revolutionary critique of presentday society is in effect coextensive with the respectful distance that the Trotskyists maintain toward positions that were already mistaken when they playedthemselvesoutinarealstruggle.Until1927Trotskyremainedfundamentallyloyaltothe highbureaucracy,thoughhesoughttogaincontrolofthisbureaucracyandcauseittoresumea properlyBolshevikforeignpolicy.(Itiswellknownthatatthistimehewentsofar,inordertohelp concealLenin'sfamous"Testament,"astodisavowslanderouslyhissupporterMaxEastman,who hadmadeitpublic.)Trotskywasdoomedbyhisbasicperspective;thefactwasthatassoonasthe bureaucraticclassknewitself,onthebasisoftheresultsofitsaction,tobeacounterrevolutionary classonthedomesticfront,itwasboundtooptforacounterrevolutionaryroleontheworldstage, albeitoneassumed inthenameofrevolutioninshort,toactabroad justasitdidathome. Trotsky'ssubsequentstruggletosetupaFourthInternationalenshrinedthesameinconsistency. Having once, during the second Russian revolution, become an unconditional partisan of the Bolshevik form of organization, Trotsky simply refused, for the rest of his life, to see that the bureaucracy'spowerwasthepowerofaseparateclass.WhenLukacs,in1923,pointedtothissame organizational formas the longsought mediation between theory and practice thanks to which proletarians, instead of being mere "spectators" of events that occur in their own organization, consciouslychooseandexperiencethoseevents,whathewasdescribingasactualvirtuesofthe BolshevikpartywereinfacteverythingthatthePartywasnot.Thedepthofhistheoreticalwork notwithstanding, Lukacs was an ideologist speaking for a power that was in the crudest way externaltotheproletarianmovement,believingandgivinghisaudiencetobelievethathehimself, hisentirepersonalbeing,partookofthispowerasthoughitweretrulyhisown.Whilesubsequent events were to demonstrate exactly how the power in question repudiated and eliminated its servants,Lukacs,withhisendlessselfrepudiations,revealedwithcaricaturalclaritypreciselywhat hehadidentifiedwith,namely,theoppositeofhimself,andtheoppositeofeverythingforwhichhe hadarguedinHistoryandClassConsciousness.NoonebetterthanLukacsillustratesthevalidityof afundamentalruleforassessingalltheintellectualsofthiscentury:whattheyrespectisaprecise gaugeoftheirowncontemptiblereality.ItcertainlycannotbesaidthatLeninencouragedillusions ofthiskindconcerninghisactivities,foritwasLeninwhoacknowledgedthat"apoliticalparty cannotexamineitsmemberstoseewhethercontradictionsexistbetweentheirphilosophyandthe partyprogram."TherealsubjectofLukacs'spurelyimaginaryandinopportuneportraitwasa partythatwasindeedcoherentwithrespecttoonepreciseandpartialtaskonlytowit,theseizure ofStatepower. 113 TheneoLeninistmirageentertainedbypresentdayTrotskyismiscontradictedateverymomentby therealityofmoderncapitalistsociety, whetherofthebourgeoisorthebureaucratictype.Itis thereforenotsurprisingthatitgetsitsbestreceptionintheformallyindependent"underdeveloped" countries,whereavarietyoffraudulentversionsofstateandbureaucraticsocialismareconsciously passed off by local ruling classes as, quite simply, the ideology of economic development. The hybridnatureofsuchclassesismoreorlessdirectlyassociatedwiththeirpositiononthebourgeois bureaucratic spectrum. Their international maneuvering between these two poles of existing capitalistpower,alongwithideologicalcompromises(notablywithIslam)correspondingtotheir heterogeneoussocialbases,togetherservetostriptheselastretreadsofideologicalsocialismofall credibilityexceptforthatoftheirpolice.Onetypeofbureaucracyhasestablisheditselfbyproviding a common framework for nationalist struggle and peasant agrarian revolt; in such cases, as in China,theStalinistmodelofindustrializationtendstobeappliedinsocietiesevenlessadvanced thantheRussiaof1917.Abureaucracycapableofindustrializinganationmayalsoariseoutofthe pettybourgeoisie,withpowerbeingseizedbyarmyofficers,ashappenedforinstanceinEgypt.In other places, among them Algeria following its war of independence, a bureaucracy that has

established itself as a paraState authority in the course of a struggle seeks stability through compromise,andfuseswithaweaknationalbourgeoisie.Lastly,inthoseformercoloniesofblack AfricathathavemaintainedoverttiestoWesternbourgeoisies,whetherEuropeanorAmerican,a local bourgeoisie is constituted generally reposing on the power of traditional tribal chiefs throughpossessionoftheState:insuchcountries,whereforeignimperialismisstillthetruemaster oftheeconomy,astageisreachedatwhichthecompradors'compensationforthesaleoflocal products is ownership of a local State that is independent of the masses though not of the imperialistpower.Theresultisanartificialbourgeoisiethatisincapableofaccumulatingcapital andmerelysquandersitsrevenueasmuchtheportionofsurplusvalueitextractsfromlocallabor astheforeignsubsidiesitreceivesfromprotectorStatesormonopolies.Themanifestincapacityof suchabourgeoisietofulfillnormalbourgeoiseconomicfunctionsleadstoitssoonbeingconfronted byasubversiveopposition,structuredonthebureaucraticmodelandmoreorlesswelladaptedto local conditions, that is eager to usurp what the bourgeoisie has inherited. But the successful realization by any bureaucracy of its fundamental project of industrialization itself necessarily embodiestheprospectofitshistoricalfailure,forasitaccumulatescapitalitalsoaccumulatesthe proletariat,socreatingitsownnegationincountrieswherethatnegationdidnotyetexist. 114 Inthecourseofthecomplexandterribleevolutionthathasbroughttheeraofclassstruggleundera newsetofconditions,theproletariatoftheindustrializedcountrieshaslosttheabilitytoassertits ownindependence.Ithasalso,inthelastreckoning,lostitsillusions.Butithasnotlostitsbeing. The proletariat has not been eliminated, and indeed it remains irreducibly present, under the intensifiedalienationofmoderncapitalism,intheshapeofthevastmassofworkerswhohavelost allpowerovertheuseoftheirownlivesandwho,oncetheyrealizethis,mustnecessarilyredefine themselvesastheproletariatasnegationatworkinthebosomoftoday'ssociety.Thisclassis objectivelyreinforcedbythepeasantry'sgradualdisappearance,asalsobytheextensionofthelogic ofthefactorysystemtoabroadsectoroflaborinthe"services"andtheintellectualprofessions. Subjectively, though, this is a proletariat still very far removed from any practical class consciousness,andthisgoesnotonlyforwhitecollarworkersbutalsoforwageworkerswhoasyet knownothingbuttheimpotenceandmystificationsoftheoldpolitics.Butwhentheproletariat discovers that its own externalized power conspires in the continual reinforcement of capitalist society,nolongermerelythankstothealienationofitslabor,butalsothankstotheformtakenon byunions,partiesandinstitutionsofStatepowerthatithadestablishedinpursuitofitsownself emancipation,thenitmustalsodiscoverthroughconcretehistoricalexperiencethatitisindeedthat classwhichistotallyopposedtoallreifiedexternalizationsandallspecializationsofpower.The proletariatisthebearerofarevolutionthatcanleavenoothersphereofsocietyuntransformed,that enforcesthepermanentdominationofthepastbythepresentanddemandsauniversalcritiqueof separation; the action of the proletariat must assume a form adequate to these tasks. No quantitativereliefofitspoverty,noillusoryhierarchicalincorporation,cansupplyalastingcurefor itsdissatisfaction,fortheproletariatcannottrulyrecognizeitselfinanyparticularwrongithas suffered;nor,therefore,intherightingofanyparticularwrongnorevenintherightingofmany suchwrongs;butonlyintherightingoftheunqualifiedwrongthathasbeenperpetrateduponit theuniversalwrongofitsexclusionfromlife. 115 Signs of a new and growing tendency toward negation proliferate in the more economically advancedcountries.Thespectacularsystemreactstothesesignswithincomprehensionorattempts tomisrepresentthem,buttheyaresufficientproofthatanewperiodhasbegun.Afterthefailureof

the working class's first subversive assault on capitalism, we are now witness to the failure of capitalistabundance.Ontheonehand,weseeantiunionstrugglesofWesternworkersthathaveto be repressed (and repressed primarily by the unions themselves); at the same time rebellious tendenciesamongtheyounggenerateaprotestthatisstilltentativeandamorphous,yetalready clearly embodies a rejection of the specialized sphere of the old politics, as well as of art and everydaylife.Thesearetwosidesofthesamecoin, bothsignalinganewspontaneousstruggle emergingunderthesignofcriminality,bothportentsofasecondproletarianonslaughtonclass society.Whenthelostchildrenofthisasyetimmobilehordeenteronceagainuponthebattlefield, whichhaschangedyetstayedthesame,anewGeneralLuddwillbeattheirheadleadingthem thistimeinanonslaughtonthemachineryofpermittedconsumption. 116 That longsought political form whereby the economic emancipation of labor might finally be achieved" has taken on a clear outline in this century, in the shape of revolutionary workers' councilsvestingalldecisionmakingandexecutivepowersinthemselvesandfederatingwithone anotherthroughtheexchangeofdelegatesanswerabletothebaseandrecallableatanytime.Asyet suchcouncilshaveenjoyedonlyabriefandexperimentalexistence;theirappearancehasinvariably occasioned attack and defeat by one or another of class society's means of defence often including,itmustbesaid,thepresenceoffalseconsciousnesswithinthecouncilsthemselves.As Pannekoek rightly stressed, the decision to set up workers' councils does not in itself provide solutionssomuchasit"proposesproblems."Yetthepowerofworkers'councilsistheonecontextin which the problems of the revolution of the proletariat can be truly solved. It is here that the objective preconditions of historical consciousness are assembled, opening the door to the realization of that active direct communication which marks the end of all specialization, all hierarchy,andallseparation,and thankstowhichexistingconditionsaretransformed"intothe conditionsofunity."Anditisheretoothattheproletariansubjectcanemergefromthestruggle againstapurelycontemplativerole,forconsciousnessisnowequaltothepracticalorganizationthat ithaschosenforitself,andithasbecomeinseparablefromacoherentinterventioninhistory. 117 Onceembodiedinthepowerofworkerscouncilsapowerdestinedtosupplantallotherpowers worldwide the proletarian movement becomes its own product; this product is the producer himself,andinhisowneyestheproducerhashimselfashisgoal.Onlyinthiscontextcanthe spectacle'snegationoflifebenegatedinitsturn. 118 Theappearanceofworkerscouncilsduringthefirstquarterofthiscenturywasthehighpointofthe proletarianmovement, butthisrealityhasgone unnoticed, orelse beenpresented in travestied form, because it inevitably vanished along with the remainder of a movement that the whole historicalexperienceofthetimetendedtodenyanddestroy.Fromthestandpointoftherenewalof theproletariat'scriticalenterprise,however,thecouncilsmaybeseenintheirtruelightastheonly undefeatedaspectofadefeated movement:historicalconsciousness, awarethatthisistheonly environmentinwhichitcanthrive,nowperceivesthecouncilsassituatedhistoricallynotatthe peripheryofanebbingtidebutratheratthecenterofarisingone. 119

Arevolutionaryorganizationthatexistsbeforetheestablishmentofthepowerofworkers'councils which must discover its own appropriate form through struggle will know that, for all these historical reasons, itcannot represent the revolutionary class. Itmust simply recognize itself as radicallyseparatedfromtheworldofseparation. 120 Therevolutionaryorganizationisthecoherentexpressionofthetheoryofpraxisenteringintotwo waycommunicationwithpracticalstruggles;itisthuspartoftheprocessofthecomingintobeing ofpracticaltheory. 121 The revolutionary organization must necessarily constitute an integral critique of society a critique,thatistosay,whichrefusestocompromisewithanyformofseparatedpowerandwhichis directedgloballyagainsteveryaspectofalienated sociallife.Intherevolutionary organization's struggle with class society, the weapons are nothing less than the essence of the antagonists themselves:therevolutionaryorganizationcannotallowtheconditionsofdivisionandhierarchy thatobtaininthedominantsocietytobereproducedwithinitself.Itmustalsofightconstantly againstitsowndistortionbyandwithinthereigningspectacle.Theonlyrestrictiononindividual participationintherevolutionaryorganization'stotaldemocracyisthatimposedbytheeffective recognitionandappropriationbyeachmemberofthecoherenceoftheorganization'scritique,a coherencethatmustbeborneoutbothincriticaltheoryproperandintherelationshipbetweenthat theoryandpracticalactivity. 122 Ascapitalism'severintensifyingimpositionofalienationatalllevelsmakesitincreasinglyhardfor workerstorecognizeandnametheirownimpoverishment,andeventuallyputsthemintheposition ofhavingeithertorejectitinitstotalityordonothingatall,therevolutionaryorganizationmust learnthatitcannolongercombatalienationbymeansofalienatedformsofstruggle. 123 Theproletarianrevolutionispredicatedentirelyontherequirementthat,forthefirsttime,theoryas theunderstandingofhumanpracticeberecognizedanddirectlylivedbythemasses.Thisrevolution demandsthatworkersbecomedialecticians,andinscribetheirthoughtuponpractice;itthusasks muchmoreofitsmenwithoutqualitiesthanthebourgeoisrevolutionaskedofthosemenwith qualificationsthatitenlistedtorunthings(thepartialideologicalconsciousnessconstructedbya segmentofthebourgeoisclasshadasitsbasisonlyakeyportionofsociallife,namelytheeconomy, where this class was already in power). It is thus the very evolution of class society into the spectacularorganizationofnonlifethatobligestherevolutionaryprojecttobecomevisiblywhatit alwayswasinessence. 124 Revolutionarytheoryisnowtheswornenemyofallrevolutionaryideologyanditknowsit.

TimeandHistory

O,gentlemen,thetimeoflifeisshort!...Anifwelive,welivetotreadonkings. Shakespeare,HenryIV,PartI

125 Manthat"negativebeingwhoissolelytotheextentthatheabolishesbeing"isonewithtime. Man'sappropriationofhisownnatureisatthesametimetheapprehensionoftheunfoldingofthe universe."Historyitself,"saysMarx,"isarealpartofnaturalhistory,andofnature'sbecomingman." Conversely,the"naturalhistory"inquestionexistseffectivelyonlythroughtheprocessofahuman history,throughthedevelopmentoftheonlyagencycapableofdiscoveringthishistoricalwhole; oneisremindedofamoderntelescope,whoserangeenablesittotracktheretreatofnebulaein timetowardtheedgeoftheuniverse.Historyhasalwaysexisted,butnotalwaysinitshistorical form.Thetemporalizationofman,aseffectedthroughthemediationofasociety,isequivalenttoa humanizationoftime.Theunconsciousmovementoftimebecomesmanifestandtrueinhistorical consciousness. 126 The movement of history properly so called (though still hidden) begins with the slow and imperceptibleemergenceof"thetruenatureofman,"ofthat"naturewhichwasbornofhuman historyoftheprocreativeactthatgaverisetohumansociety";butsociety,evenwhenithad masteredatechnologyandalanguage,andeventhoughbythenitwasalreadytheproductofits ownhistory,remainedconsciousonlyofaperpetualpresent.Allknowledge,whichwasinanycase limitedbythememoryofsociety'soldestmembers,wasalwaysbornebytheliving.Neitherdeath norreproductionwereunderstoodasgovernedbytime.Timewasmotionlessasortofenclosed space.Whenamorecomplexsocietydidfinallyattainaconsciousnessoftime,itsreactionwasto deny rather than embrace it, for it viewed time not as something passing, but as something returning.Thiswasastatictypeofsocietythatorganizedtime,truetoitsimmediateexperienceof nature,onacyclicalmodel. 127 Cyclicaltimewasalreadydominantintheexperienceofnomadicpeoples,whoconfrontedthesame conditionsateachmomentoftheirroaming;asHegelnotes,"thewanderingofnomadsisamerely formalone,becauseitislimitedtouniformspaces."Onceasocietybecamefixedinalocality,giving space content through the individualized development of specific areas, it found itself enclosed therebywithinthelocationinquestion.Atimeboundreturntosimilarplacesthusgavewaytothe purereturnoftimeinasingleplace,therepetitionofasetofgestures.Theshiftfrompastoralismto settledagriculturemarkedtheendofanidleandcontentlessfreedom,andthebeginningoflabor. Theagrarianmodeofproductioningeneral,governedbytherhythmoftheseasons,wasthebasis

of cyclical time in its fullest development. Eternity, asthereturn of thesame here below, was internaltothistime.Mythwastheunifiedmentalconstructwhosejobitwastomakesurethatthe wholecosmicorderconfirmedtheorderthatthissocietyhadinfactalreadysetupwithinitsown frontiers. 128 The social appropriation of time and the production of man by means of human labor were developmentsthatawaitedtheadventofasocietydividedintoclasses.Thepowerthatbuiltitself uponthebasisofthepenuryofthesocietyofcyclicaltimethepower,inotherwords,oftheclass whichorganizedsociallaborthereinandappropriatedthelimitedsurplusvaluetobeextracted,also appropriatedthetemporalsurplusvaluethatresultedfromitsorganizationofsocialtime;thisclass thushadsolepossessionoftheirreversibletimeoftheliving.Theonlywealththatcouldexistin concentratedforminthesphereofpower,theretobeexpendedonextravaganceandfestivity,was alsoexpendedintheformofthesquanderingofahistoricaltimeatsociety'ssurface.Theownersof this historical surplus value were the masters of the knowledge and enjoyment of directly experiencedevents.Separatedofffromthecollectiveorganizationoftimethatpredominatedasa functionoftherepetitiveformofproductionwhichwasthebasisofsociallife,historicaltimeflowed independentlyaboveitsown,static,community.Thiswasthetimeofadventure,ofwar,thetimein whichthelordsofcyclicalsocietypursuedtheirpersonalhistories;thetimetoothatemergedin clashesbetweencommunitiesforeigntooneanotherperturbationsinsociety'sunchangingorder. Forordinary men,therefore,historysprangforthasanalienfactor,assomethingtheyhadnot soughtandagainstwhoseoccurrencetheyhadthoughtthemselvessecure.Yetthisturningpoint alsomadepossiblethereturnofthatnegativehumanrestlessness,whichhadbeenattheoriginof thewhole(temporarilyarrested)development. 129 Initsessence,cyclicaltimewasatimewithoutconflict.Yeteveninthisinfancyoftime,conflictwas present:atfirst,historystruggledtobecomehistorythroughthepracticalactivityofthemasters.At asuperficiallevelthishistorycreatedirreversibility;itsmovementconstitutedtheverytimethatit usedupwithintheinexhaustibletimeofcyclicalsociety. 130 Socalledcoldsocietiesaresocietiesthatsuccessfullyslowedtheirparticipationinhistorydownto theminimum,andmaintainedtheirconflictswiththenaturalandhumanenvironments,aswellas theirinternalconflicts,inconstantequilibrium.Althoughthevastdiversityofinstitutionssetupfor this purpose bears eloquent testimony to the plasticity of human nature's selfcreation, this testimonyisofcourseonlyaccessibletoanoutsideobserver,toananthropologistlookingbackfrom within historical time. In each of these societies a definitive organizational structure ruled out change.Theabsoluteconformityoftheirsocialpractices,withwhichallhumanpossibilitieswere exclusivelyandpermanentlyidentified,hadnoexternallimitsexceptforthefearoffallingintoa formlessanimalcondition.So,here,inordertoremainhuman,menhadtoremainthesame. 131 Theemergenceofpoliticalpower,seeminglyassociatedwiththelastgreattechnicalrevolutions, suchasironsmelting,whichoccurredatthethresholdofaperiodthatwastoexperiencenofurther major upheavals until the rise of modern industry, also coincided with the first signs of the

dissolutionofthebondsofkinship.Fromthismomenton,thesuccessionofthegenerationsleftthe naturalrealmofthepurelycyclicalandbecameapurposefulsuccessionofevents,amechanismfor thetransmissionofpower.Irreversibletimewastheprerogativeofwhoeverruled,andtheprime yardstickofrulershiplayindynasticsuccession.Theruler'schiefweaponwasthewrittenword, which now attained its full autonomous reality as mediation between consciousnesses. This independence,however,wasindistinguishablefromthegeneralindependenceofaseparatepower asthemediationwherebysocietywasconstituted.Withwritingcameaconsciousnessnolonger conveyedandtransmittedsolelywithintheimmediaterelationshipsofthelivinganimpersonal memorythatwasthememoryoftheadministrationofsociety."Writingsarethethoughtsofthe State,"saidNovalis,"andarchivesareitsmemory." 132 As the expression of power's irreversible time, chronicles were a means of maintaining the voluntaristicforwardprogressionofthistimeonthebasisoftherecordingofitspast;"voluntaristic," because such an orientation is bound to collapse, along with the particular power to which it corresponds,andsinkoncemoreintotheindifferentoblivionofasolelycyclicaltime,atimeknown tothepeasantmasseswhonomatterthatempiresmaycrumblealongwiththeirchronologies neverchange.Thosewhopossessedhistorygaveitanorientationadirection,andalsoameaning. Buttheirhistoryunfoldedandperishedapart,asasphereleavingtheunderlyingsocietyunaffected preciselybecauseitwasasphereseparatefromcommonreality.Thisiswhy,fromourpointofview, thehistoryofOrientalsocietiesmaybereducedtoahistoryofreligions:allwecanreconstructfrom theirruinsis theseemingly independenthistory oftheillusionsthatonceenvelopedthem.The masterswho,protectedbymyth,enjoyedtheprivateownershipofhistory,themselvesdidsoatfirst in the realm of illusion. In China and Egypt, for example, they long held a monopoly on the immortalityofthesoul;likewise,theirearliestofficiallyrecognizeddynastieswereanimaginary reconstructionofthepast.Suchillusoryownershipbythemasters,however,wasatthesametime the only ownership then possible both of the common history and of their own history. The expansionoftheireffectivehistoricalpowerwenthandinhandwithavulgarizationofthisillusory mythicalownership.Alloftheseconsequencesflowedfromthesimplefactthatitwasonlytothe degreethatthemastersmadeittheirtasktofurnishcyclicaltimewithmythicunderpinnings,asin the seasonal rites of the Chinese emperors, that they themselves were relatively emancipated therefrom. 133 Thedry,unexplainedchronologywhichadeifiedauthorityofferedtoitssubjects,andwhichwas intended to be understood solely as the earthly execution of the commandments of myth, was destinedtobetranscendedandtobecomeconscioushistory.But,forthistohappen,sizeablegroups ofpeoplehadfirsttoexperiencerealparticipationinhistory.Fromsuchpracticalcommunication between those who had recognized one another as possessors of a unique present, who had experiencedthequalitativerichnessofeventsastheirownactivity,theirowndwellingplacein short, their own epoch from such communication arose the general language of historical communication.Thoseforwhomirreversibletimetrulyexistsdiscoverinitboththememorableand thedangerofforgetting:"HerodotusofHalicarnassusherepresentstheresultsofhisresearches, thatthegreatdeedsofmenmaynotbeforgotten." 134 Toreflectuponhistoryisalso,inextricably,toreflectuponpower.Greecewasthatmomentwhen

powerandchangesinpowerwerefirstdebatedandunderstood.Thisoccurredunderademocracy of society's masters, a system diametrically opposed to thatofthe despoticState,where power settledaccountsonlywithitself,intheimpenetrableobscurityofitsdensestpoint,bymeansof palacerevolutionswhoseoutcome,whethersuccessorfailure,invariably placedtheeventitself beyond discussion. The shared power of Greek communities inhered solely, however, in the expendingofasociallifewhoseproductionremainedtheseparateandstaticdomainoftheslave class. The only people who lived were those who did not work. The divisions between Greek communities, and the struggle to exploit foreign cities, were the externalized expression of the principleofseparationonwhicheachofthemwasbasedinternally.Greece,whichdreamedofa universalhistory,wasthusunabletouniteinthefaceofinvasionfromwithout;itcouldnoteven managetostandardizethecalendarsofitsconstituentcities.Historicaltimebecameconsciousin Greecebutitwasnotyetconsciousofitself. 135 The regression of Western thought that occurred once the local conditions favoring the Greek communities had disappeared was not accompanied by any reconstruction of the old mythic structures.ClashesbetweenMediterraneanpeoplesandtheconstitutionandcollapseoftheRoman Stategaveriseinsteadtosemihistoricalreligionsthatweretobecomebasiccomponentsofthenew consciousnessoftime,andthenewarmatureofseparatedpower. 136 Monotheisticreligionswereacompromisebetweenmythand history,betweenthecyclical time whichstilldominatedthesphereofproductionandtheirreversibletimewhichwasthetheaterof conflictsandrealignmentsbetweenpeoples.ThereligionsthatevolvedoutofJudaismwerethe abstract universal recognition of an irreversible time now democratized, open to all, yet still confinedtotherealmofillusion.Timeremainedentirelyorientedtowardasinglefinalevent:"The KingdomofGodisathand."Thesereligionshadgerminatedandtakenrootinthesoilofhistory; even here, however, they maintained a radical opposition to history. Semihistorical religion establishedqualitativestartingpointsintimethebirthofChrist,theflightofMuhammadyetits irreversibletime,introducinganeffectiveaccumulationwhichwouldtaketheformofconquestin IslamandthatofanincreaseincapitalintheChristianityoftheReformation,wasinfactinvertedin religiousthought,soastobecomeasortofcountdown: thewait,astimeranout,fortheLast Judgment,forthemomentofaccession totheother,trueworld.Eternityemergedfromcyclical time;itwasthattime'sbeyond.Eternitywasalsowhathumbledtimeinitsmereirreversibleflow suppressinghistoryashistorycontinuedbypositioningitselfbeyondirreversibletime,asapure pointwhichcyclicaltimewouldenteronlytobeabolished.AsBossuetcouldstillsay:"So,bywayof thepassingoftime,weentereternity,whichdoesnotpass." 137 TheMiddleAges,anunfinishedmythicalworldwhoseperfectionlayoutsideitself,wastheperiod whencyclicaltime,whichstillgovernedthemajorpartofproduction,sufferedhistory'sfirstreal gnawinginroads.Ameasureofirreversibletimenowbecameavailabletoeveryoneindividually,in theformofthesuccessivestagesoflife,intheformoflifeapprehendedasavoyage,aoneway passage through a world whose meaning was elsewhere. Thus the pilgrim was the man who emergedfromcyclicaltimetobecomeinactualitythetravelerthateachindividualwasquasign. Personal historical life invariably found its fulfillment within power's orbit either in struggles wagedbypowerorinstrugglesinwhichpowerwasdisputed;yetpower'sirreversibletimewasnow

sharedtoanunlimiteddegreewithinthecontextofthegeneralunitythattheorientedtimeofthe Christianeraensured.Thiswasaworldofarmedfaithinwhichtheactivityofthemastersrevolved aroundfealtyandaroundchallengestofealtyowed.Underthefeudalregimebornofthecoming togetherof"themartialorganizationofthearmyduringtheactualconquest"and"theactionofthe productive forces found in the conquered countries" (The German Ideology) and among the factorsresponsiblefororganizingthoseproductiveforcesmustbeincludedtheirreligiouslanguage underthisregimesocialdominationwasdividedupbetweentheChurchontheonehandand Statepowerontheother,thelatterbeingfurtherbrokendowninaccordancewiththecomplex relationsofsuzeraintyandvassalagecharacteristic,respectively,ofrurallandedpropertyandurban communes.Thisdiversificationofpossiblehistoricallifereflectedthegradualemergence,following the collapse of the great official enterprise of this world, namely the Crusades, of the period's unseencontribution:asocietycarriedalonginitsunconsciousdepthsbyirreversibletime,thetime directly experienced by the bourgeoisie in the production of commodities, the founding and expansion of the towns, the commercial discovery of the planet in a word, the practical experimentationthatobliteratedanymythicalorganizationofthecosmosonceandforall. 138 AstheMiddleAgescametoanend,theirreversibletimethathadinvadedsocietywasexperienced by a consciousness still attached to the old order as an obsession with death. This was the melancholyofaworldpassingawaythelastworldwherethesecurityofmythcouldstillbalance history; and for this melancholy all earthly things were inevitably embarked on the path of corruption.ThegreatEuropeanpeasantrevoltswerelikewisearesponsetohistoryahistorythat waswrestingthepeasantryfromthepatriarchalslumberthithertoguaranteedbythefeudalorder. Thiswasthemomentwhenamillenarianutopianismaspiringtobuildheavenonearthbrought backtotheforefrontanideathathadbeenattheoriginofsemihistoricalreligion,whentheearly Christian communities, like the Judaic messianism from which they sprang, responded to the troublesandmisfortunesoftheirtimebyannouncingtheimminentrealizationofGod'sKingdom, andsoaddedanelementofdisquietandsubversiontoancientsociety.TheChristianitythatlater sharedinimperialpowerdenouncedwhateverremainedofthishopeasmeresuperstition:thisis themeaningoftheAugustinianpronouncementthearchetypeofallthesatisfecitsofmodern ideologyaccordingtowhichtheestablishedChurchwasitself,andhadlongbeen,thatselfsame hopedforkingdom.Thesocialrevoltofthemillenarian peasantrynaturallydefined itselfas an attempttooverthrowtheChurch.Millenarianismunfolded,however,inahistoricalworldnotin therealmofmyth.So,contrarytowhatNormanCohnbelieveshehasdemonstratedinThePursuit oftheMillennium,modernrevolutionaryhopesarenotanirrationalsequeltothereligiouspassion ofmillenarianism.Theexactoppositeistrue:millenarianism,theexpressionofarevolutionaryclass strugglespeakingthelanguageofreligionforthelasttime,wasalreadyamodernrevolutionary tendency,lackingonlytheconsciousnessofbeinghistoricalandnothingmore.Themillenarians weredoomedtodefeatbecausetheycouldnotrecognizerevolutionastheirownhandiwork.The factthattheymadetheiractionconditionaluponanexternalsignofGod'swillwasatranslation onto the level of thought of the tendency of insurgent peasants to follow outside leaders. The peasantclasscouldachieveaclearconsciousnessneitheroftheworkingsofsocietynoroftheway toconductitsownstruggle,anditwasbecauseitlackedtheseprerequisitesofunityinitsaction andconsciousnessthatthepeasantryformulateditsprojectandwageditswarsaccordingtothe imageryofanearthlyparadise. 139 TheRenaissanceembodiedthenewformofpossessionofhistoricallife.Seekingitsheritageandits

juridicalbasisinAntiquity,itwasthebearerofajoyousbreakwitheternity.Theirreversibletimeof the Renaissance was that of an infinite accumulation of knowledge, while the historical consciousnessgeneratedbytheexperienceofdemocraticcommunities,asoftheeffectsofthose forcesthathadbroughtontheirruin,wasnow,withMachiavelli,abletoresumeitsreflectionupon secularpower,andsaytheunsayableabouttheState.IntheexuberantlifeoftheItaliancities,in theartsoffestival,lifecametorecognizeitselfastheenjoymentofthepassingoftime.Butthis enjoymentoftransiencewouldturnouttobetransientitself.ThesongofLorenzode'Medici,which Burckhardtconsidered"theveryspiritoftheRenaissance,"istheeulogydelivereduponitselfbythis fragilehistoricalfeast:"Quant'bellagiovinezza/Chesifuggetuttavia." 140 ThetirelesspursuitofamonopolyofhistoricallifebytheabsolutemonarchistState,atransitional formalongthewaytocompletedominationbythebourgeoisclass,clearlyilluminatesthehighest expression of the bourgeoisie's new irreversible time. The time with which the bourgeoisie was inextricablyboundupwaslabortime,nowatlastemancipatedfromthecyclicalrealm.Withthe rise of the bourgeoisie, work became that work which transforms historical conditions. The bourgeoisiewasthefirstrulingclassforwhichlaborwasavalue.Byabolishingallsocialprivilege, and by recognizing no value unrelated to the exploitation of labor, the bourgeoisie effectively conflated its own value qua ruling class with labor, and made the progress of labor the only measure of its own progress. The class that accumulated commodities and capital continually modifiednaturebymodifyinglaboritselfbyunleashinglabor'sproductivity.Allsociallifewasby thistimeconcentratedintheornamentedpovertyoftheCourtinthechintzytrappingsofableak Stateadministrationwhoseapexwasthe"professionofking";andallindividualhistoricalfreedom hadhadtoconsenttothissacrifice.Thefreeplayofthefeudallords'irreversibletimehadexhausted itselfintheirlast,lostbattles:intheFronde,orintheScots'uprisinginsupportofCharlesEdward. Theworldhadanewfoundation. 141 The victory of the bourgeoisie was the victory of a profoundly historical time the time correspondingtotheeconomicformofproduction,whichtransformedsocietypermanently,and fromtoptobottom.Solongasagriculturewasthechieftypeoflabor,cyclicaltimeretainedits deepdown hold over society and tended to nourish those combined forces of tradition which slowed down the movement of history. But the irreversible time of the bourgeois economic revolutioneliminatedallsuchvestigesthroughouttheworld.History,whichhadhithertoappeared toexpressnothingmorethantheactivityofindividualmembersoftherulingclass,andhadthus beenconceivedofasachronologyofevents,wasnowperceivedinitsgeneralmovementan inexorable movement that crushed individuals before it. By discovering its basis in political economy, history became aware of the existence of what had been its unconscious. This unconscious,however,continuedtoexistassuchandhistorystillcouldnotdrawitoutintothe fulllightofday.Thisblindprehistory,anewfatalitythatnoonecontrols,istheonlythingthatthe commodityeconomyhasdemocratized. 142 Thougheverpresentinsociety'sdepths,historytendedtobeinvisibleatitssurface.Thetriumphof irreversibletimewasalsoitsmetamorphosisintothetimeofthings,becausetheweaponthathad ensureditsvictorywas,precisely,themassproductionofobjectsinaccordancewiththelawsofthe commodity.Themainproductthateconomicdevelopmenttransformedfromaluxuriousraritytoa

commonly consumed item was thus history itself but only in the form of the history of that abstractmovementwhichdominatedanyqualitativeuseoflife.Whereasthecyclicaltimeofan earliererahadsupportedaneverincreasingmeasureofhistoricaltimelivedbyindividuals and groups,irreversibletime'sreignoverproductionwouldtendsociallytoeliminateallsuchlivedtime. 143 Sothebourgeoisieunveiledirreversiblehistoricaltimeandimposeditonsocietyonlytodeprive societyofitsuse.Oncetherewashistory,but"thereisnolongeranyhistory"becausetheclassof ownersoftheeconomy,whocannotbreakwitheconomichistory,mustrepressanyotheruseof irreversible time as representing an immediate threat to itself. The ruling class, made up of specialistsintheownershipofthingswhoforthatveryreasonarethemselvesownedbythings,is obligedtotieitsfatetothemaintenanceofareifiedhistoryandtothepermanentpreservationofa newhistoricalimmobility.Meanwhiletheworker,atthebaseofsociety,isforthefirsttimenot materiallyestrangedfromhistory,fornowtheirreversibleisgeneratedfrombelow.Bydemanding tolivethehistoricaltimethatitcreates,theproletariatdiscoversthesimple,unforgettablecoreof itsrevolutionaryproject;andeveryattempttocarrythisprojectthroughthoughalluptonow havegonedowntodefeatsignalsapossiblepointofdepartureforanewhistoricallife. 144 Theirreversibletimeofabourgeoisiethathadjustseizedpowerwascalledbyitsownname,and assignedanabsoluteorigin:YearOneoftheRepublic.Buttherevolutionaryideologyofgeneralized freedomthathadservedtooverthrowthelastrelicsofamythbasedorderingofvalues,alongwith alltraditionalformsofsocialorganization,wasalreadyunablecompletelytoconcealtherealgoal thatithadthusdrapedinRomancostumenamely,generalizedfreedomoftrade.Thesocietyof thecommodity,soondiscoveringthatitmustreinstatethepassivitywhichithadtoshaketoits foundationsinordertoinaugurateitsownunchallengedrule,nowfoundthat,foritspurposes, "Christianitywithitsreligiouscultofmanintheabstractwasthemostfittingformofreligion" (Capital).Sothebourgeoisieconcludedapactwiththisreligion,anarrangementreflectedinits presentationoftime:theRevolutionarycalendarwasabandonedandirreversibletimewasreturned tothestraitjacketofadulyextendedChristianEra. 145 Thedevelopmentofcapitalismmeanttheunificationofirreversibletimeonaworldscale.Universal history became a reality because the entire globe was brought under the sway of this time's progression.Butahistorythatisthusthesameeverywhereatoncehasasyetamountedtonothing morethananintrahistoricalrefusalofhistory.Whatappearstheworldoverasthesamedayis merely the time of economic production time cut up into equal abstract fragments. Unified irreversibletimestillbelongstotheworldmarketand,byextension,totheworldspectacle. 146 Theirreversible timeofproductionisfirstand foremostthemeasureofcommodities.Thetime officiallypromotedallaroundtheworldasthegeneraltimeofsociety,sinceitsignifiesnothing beyond those special interests which constitute it, is therefore not general in character, but particular.

SpectacularTime

Wehavenothingthatisoursexcepttime,whicheventhosewithoutaroofcanenjoy. BaltasarGracin,OrculomanualyArtedeprudencia

147 Thetimeofproduction,timeascommodity,isaninfiniteaccumulationofequivalentintervals.Itis irreversibletimemadeabstract:eachsegmentmustdemonstratebytheclockitspurelyquantitative equalitywithallothersegments.Thistimemanifestsnothinginitseffectiverealityasidefromits exchangeability.Itisundertheruleoftimeascommoditythat"timeiseverything,manisnothing; heisatthemosttime'scarcass"(ThePovertyofPhilosophy).Thisistimedevaluedthecomplete inversionoftimeas"thesphereofhumandevelopment." 148 The general time of human nondevelopment also has a complementary aspect, that of a consumabletimewhich,onthebasisofadeterminateformofproduction,presentsitselfinthe everydaylifeofsocietyasapseudocyclicaltime. 149 Pseudocyclical time is in fact merely the consumable disguise of the timeascommodity of the productionsystem,anditexhibitstheessentialtraitsofthattime:homogeneousandexchangeable units,andthesuppressionofanyqualitativedimension.Butasabyproductoftimeascommodity intendedtopromoteandmaintainthebackwardnessofeverydaylifeitnecessarilyfindsitselfladen withfalseattributionsofvalue,anditmustmanifestitselfasasuccessionofartificially distinct moments. 150 Pseudocyclicaltimetypifiestheconsumptionofmoderneconomicsurvivalofthataugmented survivalinwhichdailylivedexperienceembodiesnofreechoicesandissubject,nolongertothe naturalorder,buttoapseudonatureconstructedbymeansofalienatedlabor.Itisthereforequite "natural"thatpseudocyclicaltimeshouldechotheoldcyclicalrhythmsthatgovernedsurvivalin preindustrialsocieties.Itbuilds,infact,onthenaturalvestigesofcyclicaltime,whilealsousing theseasmodelsonwhichtobasenewbuthomologousvariants:dayandnight,weeklyworkand weeklyrest,thecycleofvacationsandsoon. 151

Pseudocyclicaltimeisatimetransformedbyindustry.Thetimefoundedoncommodityproduction is itself a consumable commodity, recombining everything which, during the period of the old unitarysociety'sdisintegration,hadbecomedistinct:privatelife,economiclife,politicallife.The entiretyoftheconsumabletimeofmodernsocietyendsupbeingtreatedasrawmaterialforthe productionofadiversityofnewproductstobeputonthemarketassociallycontrolledusesoftime. "Aproduct,thoughreadyforimmediateconsumption,mayneverthelessserveasrawmaterialfora furtherproduct"(Capital). 152 Initsmostadvancedsectors,ahighlyconcentratedcapitalismhasbegunselling"fullyequipped" blocksoftime,eachofwhichisacompletecommoditycombiningavarietyofothercommodities. Thisisthelogicbehindtheappearance,withinanexpanding economy of"services"and leisure activities,ofthe"allinclusive"purchaseofspectacularformsofhousing,ofcollectivepseudotravel, of participation in cultural consumption and even of sociability itself, in the form of "exciting conversations,""meetingswithcelebrities"andsuchlike.Spectacularcommoditiesofthistypecould obviouslynotexistwereitnotfortheincreasingimpoverishmentoftherealitiestheyparody.And, notsurprisingly,theyarealsoparadigmaticofmodernsalestechniquesinthattheymaybebought oncredit. 153 Consumable pseudocyclical time is the time of thespectacle: in the narrow sense, as the time appropriate to the consumption of images, and, in the broadest sense, as the image of the consumption of time. The time appropriate to the consumption of images, the medium of all commodities,isatoncethechosenfieldofoperationsofthemechanismsofthespectacleandthe goal that these mechanisms hold up overall as the locus and central representation of every individualactofconsumption;asweknow,modernsociety'sobsessionwithsavingtime,whether bymeansoffastertransportorbymeansofpowderedsoup,hasthepositiveresultthattheaverage Americanspendsthreetosixhoursdailywatchingtelevision.Thesocialimageoftheconsumption oftimeisforitspartexclusivelydominatedbyleisuretimeandvacationsmomentsportrayed,like allspectacularcommodities,atadistance,andasdesirablebydefinition.Thisparticularcommodity isexplicitlypresentedasamomentofauthenticlifewhosecyclicalreturnwearesupposedtolook forward to.Yeteveninsuchspecial moments,ostensiblymomentsoflife,theonlythingbeing generated,theonlythingtobeseenandreproduced,isthespectaclealbeitatahigherthanusual levelofintensity.Andwhathasbeenpassedoffasauthenticlifeturnsouttobemerelyalifemore authenticallyspectacular. 154 Ourepoch,whichpresentsitstimetoitselfasessentiallymadeupofmanyfrequentlyrecurring festivities,isactuallyanepochwithoutfestival.Thosemomentswhen,underthereignofcyclical time,thecommunitywouldparticipateinaluxuriousexpenditureoflife,arestrictlyunavailableto asocietywhereneithercommunitynorluxuryexists.Masspseudofestivals,withtheirtravestyof dialogueandtheirparodyofthegift,mayincitepeopletoexcessivespending,buttheyproduce onlyadisillusionwhichisinvariablyinturnoffsetbyfurtherfalsepromises.Theselfapprobation ofthetimeofmodernsurvivalcanonlybereinforced,inthespectacle,byreductioninitsusevalue. Therealityoftimehasbeenreplacedbyitspublicity. 155

Inancientsocietiestheconsumptionofcyclicaltimewasconsistentwiththeactuallaborofthose societies.Bycontrast,theconsumptionofpseudocyclicaltimeindevelopedeconomiesisatodds withtheabstractirreversibletimeimplicitintheirsystemofproduction.Cyclicaltimewasthetime of a motionless illusion authentically experienced; spectacular time is the time of a real transformationexperiencedasillusion. 156 Innovation is ever present in the process of the production of things. This is not true of consumption, which is never anything but more of the same. Because dead labor continues to dominatelivinglabor,inspectaculartimethepastcontinuestodominatethepresent. 157 Anotheraspectofthelackofhistoricallifeingeneralisthattheindividuallifeisstillnothistorical. Thepseudoeventsthatvieforattentioninthespectacle'sdramatizationshavenotbeenlivedby thosewhoarethusinformedaboutthem.Inanycasetheyarequicklyforgotten,thankstothe precipitationwithwhichthespectacle'spulsingmachineryreplacesonebythenext.Atthesame time,everythingreallylivedhasnorelationtosociety'sofficialversionofirreversibletime,andis directly opposed to the pseudocyclical rhythm of that time's consumable byproducts. Such individuallivedexperienceofacutoffeverydayliferemainsbereftoflanguageorconcept,andit lacks any critical access to its own antecedents, which are nowhere recorded. It cannot be communicated.Anditismisunderstoodandforgottentothebenefitofthespectacle'sfalsememory oftheunmemorable. 158 Thespectacle,beingthereigningsocialorganizationofaparalyzedhistory,ofaparalyzedmemory, ofanabandonmentofanyhistoryfoundedinhistoricaltime,isineffectafalseconsciousnessof time. 159 A prerequisite to the enrollment of the workers as "free" producers and consumers of timeas commoditywastheviolentexpropriationoftheirtime.Thespectacularrestorationoftimewasonly possibleonthebasisofthisinitialdispossessionoftheproducers. 160 Theirreduciblybiologicalelementthatlaborretainsevidentasmuchinourdependenceonthe naturalcycleofsleepingandwakingasinthemarksofalifetime'swearandtear,whichattestto theirreversibletimeoftheindividualistreatedbythemodernproductionsystemasastrictly secondary consideration. Such factors are consequently ignored in the official discourse of this systemasitadvances,andasitgeneratestheconsumabletrophiesthattranslateitstriumphant forwardmarchintoaccessibleterms.Immobilizedatthedistortedcenterofthemovementofits world,theconsciousnessofthespectatorcanhavenosenseofanindividuallifemovingtowardself realization,ortowarddeath.Someonewhohasgivenuptheideaoflivinglifewillsurelyneverbe abletoembracedeath.Promotersoflifeinsurancemerelyintimatethatitisreprehensibletodie withoutfirstarrangingforthesystem'sadjustmenttotheeconomiclossone'sdeathwillincur;and thepromotersofthe"Americanwayofdeath"dwellsolelyonhowmuchoftheappearanceoflife

can be maintained in the individual's encounter with death. Elsewhere under advertising's bombardmentsitissimplyforbiddentogetold.Anybodyandeverybodyisurgedtoeconomizeon analleged"capitalofyouth"which,thoughitisunlikelytohavesufferedmuchinthewayof dilapidation,hasscantprospectofeverattainingthedurableandcumulativepropertiesofcapital toutcourt.Thissocialabsenceofdeathisonewiththesocialabsenceoflife. 161 AsHegelshowed,timeisanecessaryalienation,beingthemediuminwhichthesubjectrealizes himselfwhilelosinghimself,becomesotherinordertobecometrulyhimself.Theoppositeobtains inthecaseofthealienationthatnowholdsswaythealienationsufferedbytheproducersofan estrangedpresent.Thisisaspatialalienation,wherebyasocietywhichradicallyseversthesubject fromtheactivitythatitstealsfromhimseparateshiminthefirstplacefromhisowntime.Social alienation,thoughinprinciplesurmountable,isneverthelessthealienationthathasforbiddenand petrifiedthepossibilitiesandrisksofalivingalienationwithintime. 162 Incontrasttothepassingfashionsthatclashandfuseonthefrivoloussurfaceofacontemplated pseudocyclicaltime,thegrandstyleofoureracaneverberecognizedinwhateverisgovernedby theobviousyetcarefullyconcealednecessityforrevolution. 163 Time'snaturalbasis,thesensorydataofitspassage,becomeshumanand socialinasmuchasit existsforhumanbeings.Thelimitationsofhumanpractice,andthevariousstagesoflaborthese are what until now have humanized (and also dehumanized) time, both cyclical time and the separatedirreversibletimeoftheeconomicsystemofproduction.Therevolutionaryprojectofa classlesssociety,ofageneralizedhistoricallife,isalsotheprojectofawitheringawayofthesocial measurementoftimeinfavorofanindividualandcollectiveirreversibletimewhichisplayfulin characterandwhichencompasses,simultaneouslypresentwithinit,avarietyofautonomousyet effectivelyfederatedtimesthecompleterealization,inshort,withinthemediumoftime,ofthat communismwhich"abolisheseverythingthatexistsindependentlyofindividuals." 164 The world already has the dream of a such a time; it has yet to come into possession of the consciousnessthatwillallowittoexperienceitsreality.

EnvironmentalPlanning

Andhewhobecomesmasterofacityusedtobeingfreeanddoesnotdestroyhercanexpecttobe destroyedbyher,becausealwaysshehasaspretextinrebellionthenameoflibertyandherold

customs, which never through either length of time or benefits are forgotten, and in spite of anythingthatcanbedoneorforeseen,unlesscitizensaredisunitedordispersed,theydonotforget thatnameandthoseinstitutions.... Machiavelli,ThePrince

165 Thecapitalistproductionsystemhasunified space, breakingdowntheboundariesbetweenone society and the next. This unification is also a process, at once extensive and intensive, of trivialization.Justastheaccumulationofcommoditiesmassproducedfortheabstractspaceofthe market inevitably shattered all regional and legal barriers, as well as all those corporative restrictionsthatservedintheMiddleAgestopreservethequalityofcraftproduction,sotooitwas boundtodissipatetheindependenceandqualityofplaces.Thepowertohomogenizeistheheavy artillerythathasbattereddownallChinesewalls. 166 If henceforward the free space of commodities is subject at every moment to modification and reconstruction,thisissothatitmaybecomeevermoreidenticaltoitself,andachieveasnearlyas possibleaperfectlystaticmonotony. 167 This society eliminates geographical distance only to reap distance internally in the form of spectacularseparation. 168 Humancirculationconsidered assomethingtobeconsumedtourismisabyproductofthe circulationofcommodities;basically,tourismisthechancetogoandseewhathasbeenmadetrite. Theeconomic management oftravel todifferentplaces suffices in itself toensurethose places' interchangeability. The same modernization that has deprived travel of its temporal aspect has likewisedepriveditoftherealityofspace. 169 Asocietythatmoldsitsentiresurroundingshasnecessarilyevolveditsowntechniquesforworking on the material basis of this set of tasks. That material basis is the society's actual territory. Urbanismisthemodeofappropriationofthenaturalandhumanenvironmentbycapitalism,which, true to its logical developmenttoward absolute domination, can (and now must)refashionthe totalityofspaceintoitsownpeculiardecor. 170 Therequirementofcapitalismthatismetbyurbanismintheformofafreezingoflifemightbe described,inHegelianterms,asanabsolutepredominanceof"tranquilsidebysideness"inspace over"restlessbecomingintheprogressionoftime."

171 It is true that all the capitalist economy's technical forces should be understood as effecting separations,butinthecaseofurbanismwearedealingwiththefittingoutofthegeneralbasisof thoseforces,withthereadyingofthegroundinpreparationfortheirdeploymentinaword,with thetechnologyofseparationitself. 172 Urbanismisthemodernwayoftacklingtheongoingneedtosafeguardclasspowerbyensuringthe atomizationofworkersdangerouslymassedtogetherbytheconditionsofurbanproduction.The unremittingstrugglethathashadtobewagedagainstthepossibilityofworkerscomingtogetherin whatever manner has found a perfect field of action in urbanism. The effort of all established powers,sincetheexperienceoftheFrenchRevolution,toaugmenttheirmeansofkeepingorderin thestreethaseventuallyculminatedinthesuppressionofthestreetitself.Evokinga"civilization... movingalongaonewayroad,"LewisMumford,inTheCityinHistory,pointsoutthatwiththe adventoflongdistancemasscommunications,theisolationofthepopulationhasbecomeamuch more effective means of control. But the general trend toward isolation, which is the essential reality of urbanism, must also embody a controlled reintegration of the workers based on the plannedneedsofproductionandconsumption.Suchanintegrationintothesystemmustrecapture isolatedindividualsasindividualsisolatedtogether.Factoriesandculturalcenters,holidaycamps andhousingdevelopmentsallareexpresslyorientedtothegoalsofapseudocommunityofthis kind. These imperatives pursue the isolated individual right into the family cell, where the generalizeduseofreceiversofthespectacle'smessageensuresthathisisolationisfilledwiththe dominantimagesimagesthatindeedattaintheirfullforceonlybyvirtueofthisisolation. 173 Inallpreviousperiods,architecturalinnovationservedtherulingclassexclusively;nowforthefirst timethereissuchathingasanewarchitecturespecificallyforthepoor.Bothformalpovertyand the immense extension of this new experience in housing are the result of its mass character, dictatedatoncebyitsultimateendsandbythemodernconditionsofconstruction.Atthecoreof theseconditionswenaturallyfindanauthoritariandecisionmakingprocessthatabstractlydevelops anyenvironmentintoanenvironmentofabstraction.Thesamearchitectureappearseverywhere justassoonasindustrializationbegins,eveninthecountriesthatarethefurthestbehindinthis regard,foreventheseareconsideredafertileterrainfortheimplantationofthenewtypeofsocial existence.Thethresholdcrossedinthegrowthofsociety'smaterialpower,andthecorresponding lagintheconsciousappropriationofthispower,arejustasclearlymanifestedinurbanismasthey are,say,inthespheresofnuclearweaponsorofthemanagementofbirths(wherethepossibilityof manipulatedheredityisalreadyonthehorizon). 174 Wealreadyliveintheeraoftheselfdestructionoftheurbanenvironment.Theexplosionofcities intothecountryside, covering it withwhatMumford calls"formless masses" ofurban debris, is presidedoverinunmediatedfashionbytherequirementsofconsumption.Thedictatorshipofthe automobile,thepilotproductofthefirststageofcommodityabundance,hasleftitsmarkonthe landscapeinthedominanceoffreewaysthatbypasstheoldurbancentersandpromoteanever greater dispersal. Meanwhile, instants of incomplete reorganization of the urban fabric briefly crystallize around the "distribution factories" giant shopping centers created ex nihilo and

surroundedbyacresofparkingspace;buteventhesetemplesoffreneticconsumptionaresubjectto the irresistible centrifugal trend, and when, as partial reconstructions of the city, they in turn becomeovertaxedsecondarycenters,theyarelikewisecastaside.Thetechnicalorganization of consumptionisthusmerelytheheraldofthatgeneralprocessofdissolutionwhichbringsthecityto thepointwhereitconsumesitself. 175 Thehistory oftheeconomy,whosedevelopmenthasturnedentirelyontheoppositionbetween townandcountry,hasprogressedsofarthatithasnowsucceededinabolishingbothofthesepoles. The present paralysis of overall historical development, due to the exclusive pursuit of the economy'sindependentgoals,meansthatthemomentwhentownandcountrybegintodisappear, sofarfrommarkingthetranscendenceofthesplitbetweenthem,marksinsteadtheirsimultaneous collapse.Thereciprocal erosionoftownandcountrythathasresultedfromthefalteringofthe historicalmovementbywhosemeansexistingurbanrealityshouldhavebeensupersededisclearly reflectedinthebitsandpiecesofboththatarestrewnacrossthemostadvancedportionsofthe industrializedworld. 176 Universalhistorywasbornincities,andattaineditsmajoritywiththetown'sdecisivevictoryover thecountry.Marxconsideredthatoneofthebourgeoisie'sgreatmeritsasarevolutionaryclasswas thefactthatit"subjectedthecountrytotheruleofthetowns"whoseveryairmadeonefree.But whilethehistoryofcitiesiscertainlyahistoryoffreedom,itisalsoahistoryoftyranny,ofState administrationcontrollingnotonlythecountrybutalsothecityitself.Thetownsmayhavesupplied the historical battleground for the struggle for freedom, but up to now they have not taken possession of that freedom. The city is the locus of history because it embodies at once a concentration of social power, which is what makes the historical enterprise possible, and a consciousnessofthepast.Thepresenturgetodestroycitiesisthusmerelyanotherindexofthe belatednessoftheeconomy'ssubordinationtohistoricalconsciousness,thetardinessofaunification thatwillenablesocietytorecaptureitsalienatedpowers. 177 Thecountrydemonstratesjusttheoppositefactisolationandseparation"(TheGermanIdeology). Asitdestroysthecities,urbanisminstitutesapseudocountrysidedevoidnotonlyofthenatural relationships of the country of former times but also of the direct (and directly contested) relationshipsofthehistoricalcities.Theformsofhabitationandthespectacularcontroloftoday's "planned environment" have created a new, artificial peasantry. The geographic dispersal and narrowmindednessthatalwayspreventedthepeasantryfromundertakingindependentactionand becomingacreativehistoricalforceareequallycharacteristicofthesemodernproducers,forwhom the movementof a world of their own making is every bit as inaccessible as were the natural rhythmsofworkforanearlieragrariansociety.Thetraditionalpeasantrywastheunshakeablebasis of"Orientaldespotism,"anditsveryscatterednesscalledforthbureaucraticcentralization;thenew peasantrythathasemergedastheproductofthegrowthofmodernstatebureaucracydiffersfrom theoldinthatitsapathyhashadtobehistoricallymanufacturedandmaintained:naturalignorance hasgivenwaytotheorganizedspectacleoferror.The"newtowns"ofthetechnologicalpseudo peasantryaretheclearestofindications,inscribedontheland,ofthebreakwithhistoricaltimeon whichtheyarefounded;theirmottomightwellbe:"Onthisspotnothingwilleverhappenand nothingeverhas."Quiteobviously,itispreciselybecausetheliberationofhistory,whichmusttake

place in the cities, has not yet occurred, that the forces of historical absence have set about designingtheirownexclusivelandscapethere. 178 The same history that threatens this twilight world is capable of subjecting space to a directly experienced time. The proletarian revolution is that critique of human geography whereby individuals and communities must construct places and events commensurate with the appropriation,nolongerjustoftheirlabor, butoftheirtotalhistory.Byvirtueoftheresulting mobile space of play, and by virtue of freely chosen variations in the rules of the game, the independenceofplaceswillberediscoveredwithoutanynewexclusivetietothesoil,andthustoo the authentic journey will be restored to us, along with authentic life understood as a journey containingitswholemeaningwithinitself. 179 The most revolutionary idea concerning city planning derives neither from urbanism, nor from technology,norfromaesthetics.Irefertothedecisiontoreconstructtheentireenvironmentin accordance with the needs of the power of established workers' councils the needs, in other words,oftheantiStatedictatorshipoftheproletariat,theneedsofdialogueinvestedwithexecutive power.Thepowerofworkers'councilscanbeeffectiveonlyifittransformsthetotalityofexisting conditions, and it cannot assign itself any lesser a task if it aspires to be recognized and to recognizeitselfinaworldofitsowndesign.

NegationandConsumptionintheCulturalSphere

Do you seriously think we shall live long enough to see a political revolution? we, the contemporariesoftheseGermans?Myfriend,youbelievewhatyouwanttobelieve....Letusjudge Germanyonthebasisofitspresenthistoryandsurelyyouarenotgoingtoobjectthatallits historyisfalsified,orthatallitspresentpubliclifedoesnotreflecttheactualstateofthepeople? Readwhateverpapersyouplease,andyoucannotfailtobeconvincedthatweneverstop(andyou must concede that the censorship prevents no one from stopping) celebrating the freedom and nationalhappinessthatweenjoy.... RugetoMarx,March1843

180 Cultureisthegeneralsphereofknowledge,andofrepresentationsoflivedexperience,withina historical society divided into classes; what this amounts to is that culture is the power to generalize,existingapart,asanintellectualdivisionoflaborandastheintellectuallaborofdivision.

Culturedetacheditselffromtheunityofmythbasedsociety,accordingtoHegel,"whenthepower tounifydisappearedfromthelifeofman,andoppositeslosttheirconnectionandlivinginteraction, and became autonomous" ("The Difference between the Philosophical Systems of Fichte and Schelling").Inthusgainingitsindependence,culturewasembarkedonanimperialisticcareerof selfenrichmentthatwasatthesametimethebeginningofthedeclineofitsindependence.The history that brought culture's relative autonomy into being, along with ideological illusions concerningthatautonomy,isalsoexpressedasthehistoryofculture.Andthewholetriumphant historyofculturecanbeunderstoodasthehistoryoftherevelationofculture'sinsufficiency,asa marchtowardculture'sselfabolition.Cultureisthelocusofthesearchforlostunity.Inthecourse ofthissearch,cultureasaseparatesphereisobligedtonegateitself. 181 The struggle between tradition and innovation, which is the basic principle of the internal developmentofthecultureofhistoricalsocieties,ispredicatedentirelyonthepermanentvictoryof innovation. Cultural innovation is impelled solely, however, by that total historical movement which,bybecomingconsciousofitstotality,tendstowardthetranscendenceofitsowncultural presuppositionsandhencetowardthesuppressionofallseparations. 182 The sudden expansion of society s knowledge, including as the heart of culture an understandingofhistory,broughtabouttheirreversibleselfknowledgethatfoundexpressioninthe abolitionofGod.This"prerequisiteofeverycritique,"however,wasalsothefirsttaskofacritique withoutend.Inasituationwheretherearenolongeranytenablerulesofaction,culture'severy resultpropelsittowarditsowndissolution.Justlikephilosophythemomentitachieveditsfull independence,everydiscipline,onceitbecomesautonomous,isboundtocollapseinthefirst placeasanattempttoofferacoherentaccountofthesocialtotality,andeventuallyevenasapartial methodologyviablewithinitsowndomain.Thelackofrationalityinaseparatedcultureiswhat doomsittodisappear,forthatcultureitselfembodiesacallforthevictoryoftherational. 183 Cultureissuedfromahistorythathaddissolvedthewayoflifeoftheoldworld,yetcultureasa separatesphereisasyetnomorethananintelligenceandasensorycommunicationwhich,ina partially historical society, must themselves remain partial. Culture is the meaning of an insufficientlymeaningfulworld. 184 Theend ofthehistoryofculture manifestsitselfundertwoantagonisticaspects:theprojectof culture's selftranscendence as part of total history, and its management as a dead thing to be contemplatedinthespectacle.Thefirsttendencyhascastitslotwiththecritiqueofsociety,the secondwiththedefenseofclasspower. 185 Eachofthetwoaspectsoftheendofculturehasaunitaryexistence,asmuchinallspheresof knowledgeasinallspheresofsensoryrepresentationthatis,inallspheresofwhatwasformerly understoodasartinthemostgeneralsense.Thefirstaspectenshrinesanoppositionbetween,on

theonehand,theaccumulationofafragmentaryknowledgewhichbecomesuselessinthatany endorsementofexistingconditionsmusteventuallyentailarejectionofthatknowledgeitself,and, ontheotherhand,thetheoryofpractice,whichalonehasaccess,notonlytothetruthofallthe knowledgeinquestion,butalsotothesecretofitsuse.Thesecondaspectenshrinesanopposition between the critical selfdestruction of society's old common language and its artificial reconstruction,withinthecommodityspectacle,astheillusoryrepresentationofnonlife. 186 Oncesocietyhaslostthecommunitythatmythwasformerlyabletoensure,itmustinevitablylose allthereferencepointsofatrulycommonlanguageuntilsuchtimeasthedividedcharacterofan inactivecommunityissupersededbytheinaugurationofarealhistoricalcommunity.Assoonas art which constituted that former common language of social inaction establishes itself as independent in the modern sense, emerging from its first, religious universe to become the individualproductionofseparateworks,itbecomessubject,asoneinstanceamongothers,tothe movementgoverningthehistoryofthewholeofcultureasaseparatedrealm.Art'sdeclarationof independenceisthusthebeginningoftheendofart. 187 Thefactthatthelanguageofrealcommunicationhasbeenlostiswhatthemodernmovementof art's decay, and ultimately of its formal annihilation, expresses positively. What it expresses negativelyisthatanewcommonlanguagehasyettobefoundnot,thistime,intheformof unilaterally arrivedat conclusions like those which, from theviewpointof historical art,always cameonthescenetoolate,speaking toothersofwhathadbeenexperiencedwithoutanyreal dialogue,andacceptingthisshortfalloflifeasinevitablebutratherinapraxisembodyingbothan unmediatedactivityandalanguagecommensuratewithit.Thepointistotakeeffectivepossession ofthecommunityofdialogue,andtheplayfulrelationshiptotime,whichtheworksofthepoets andartistshaveheretoforemerelyrepresented. 188 Whenanewlyindependentartpaintsitsworldinbrilliantcolors,thenamomentoflifehasgrown old.Byart'sbrilliantcolorsitcannotberejuvenatedbutonlyrecalledtomind.Thegreatnessofart makesitsappearanceonlyasduskbeginstofalloverlife. 189 Thehistoricaltimethatinvadedartinfactfounditsfirstexpressionintheartisticsphere,beginning withthebaroque.Baroquewastheartofaworldthathadlostitscenterwiththedemiseofthelast mythicorderrecognizedbytheMiddleAges,anorderfounded,bothcosmicallyandfromthepoint ofviewofearthlygovernment,ontheunitybetweenChristianityandtheghostofanEmpire.Anart ofchangewasobligedtoembodytheprincipleoftheephemeralthatitrecognizedintheworld.In thewordsofEugeniod'Ors,itchose"lifeasopposedtoeternity."Theaterandfestival,ortheatrical festivaltheseweretheessentialmomentsofthebaroque,momentswhereinallspecificartistic expression derived its meaning from its reference to the decor of a constructed space, to a constructionthathadtoconstituteitsownunifyingcenter;andthatcenterwaspassage,inscribed asavulnerableequilibriumonanoveralldynamicdisorder.Thesometimesexcessiveimportance taken on in modern discussions of aesthetics by the concept of the baroque reflects a growing awareness of the impossibility of classicism in art: for three centuries all efforts to create a

normativeclassicismorneoclassicismhaveneverbeen morethanbrief, artificial projectsgiving voicetotheofficialdiscourseoftheStatewhethertheStateoftheabsolutemonarchyorthatof therevolutionarybourgeoisiedrapedinRomantogas.Whateventuallyfollowedthebaroque,once ithadrunitscourse,wasanevermoreindividualisticartofnegationwhich,fromromanticismto cubism,reneweditsassaulttimeaftertimeuntilthefragmentationanddestructionoftheartistic sphere were complete. The disappearance of a historical art, which was tied to the internal communications of an elite whose semiindependent social basis lay in the relatively playful conditionsstilldirectlyexperiencedbythelastaristocracies,alsotestifiedtothefactthatcapitalism hadthrownupthefirstclasspowerselfadmittedlybereftofanyontologicalquality;apowerwhose foundationinthemererunningoftheeconomybespokethelossofallhumanmastery.Thebaroque ensemble,aunityitselflonglosttotheworldofartisticcreation,recursinacertainsenseintoday's consumptionoftheentiretyoftheartofthepast.Thehistoricalknowledgeandrecognitionofall pastart,alongwithitsretrospectivepromotiontotherankofworldart,servetorelativizeitwithin thecontextofaglobaldisorderwhichinturnconstitutesabaroqueedificeatahigherlevel,an edificeintowhicheventheproductionofabaroqueart,andallitspossiblerevivals,isboundtobe melded.Theveryfactthatsuch"recollections"ofthehistoryofartshouldhavebecomepossible amounts to the end of the world of art. Only in this era of museums, when no artistic communication remains possible, can each and every earlier momentof art beaccepted and accepted as equal in value for none, in view of the disappearance of the prerequisites of communicationingeneral,suffersanylongerfromthedisappearanceofitsownparticularabilityto communicate. 190 Artintheperiodofitsdissolution,asamovementofnegationinpursuitofitsowntranscendencein ahistoricalsocietywherehistoryisnotyetdirectlylived,isatonceanartofchangeandapure expressionoftheimpossibilityofchange.Themoregrandioseitsdemands,thefurtherfromits graspistrueselfrealization.Thisisanartthatisnecessarilyavantgarde;anditisanartthatisnot. Itsvanguardisitsowndisappearance. 191 Thetwocurrentsthatmarkedtheendofmodernartweredadaismandsurrealism.Thoughthey wereonlypartiallyconsciousofit,theyparalleledtheproletarian revolutionarymovement'slast greatoffensive;andthehaltingofthatmovement,whichleftthemtrappedwithintheveryartistic sphere that they had declared dead and buried, was the fundamental cause of their own immobilization.Historically,dadaismandsurrealismareatonceboundupwithoneanotherandat odds with one another. This antagonism, involvement in which constituted for each of these movementsthemostconsistentandradicalaspectofitscontribution,alsoattestedtotheinternal deficiencyineach'scritiquenamely,inbothcases,afatalonesidedness.Fordadaismsoughtto abolish art without realizing it, and surrealism sought to realize art without abolishing it. The critical position since worked out by the situationists demonstrates that the abolition and the realizationofartareinseparableaspectsofasingletranscendenceofart. 192 Spectacularconsumptionpreservestheoldcultureincongealedform,goingsofarastorecuperate andrediffuseevenitsnegativemanifestations;inthisway,thespectacle'sculturalsectorgivesovert expression to what the spectacle is implicitly in its totality the communication of the incommunicable.Thoroughgoingattacksonlanguageareliabletoemergeinthiscontextcoolly

investedwithpositivevaluebytheofficialworld,fortheaimistopromotereconciliationwitha dominantstateofthingsfromwhichallcommunicationhasbeentriumphantlydeclared absent. Naturally,thecriticaltruthofsuchattacks,asutterancesofthereallifeofmodernpoetryandart,is concealed.Thespectacle,whosefunctionitistoburyhistoryinculture,pressesthepseudonovelty ofitsmodernistmeansintotheserviceofastrategythatdefinesitintheprofoundestsense.Thusa schoolofneoliteraturebaldlyadmittingthatitmerelycontemplatesthewrittenwordforitsown sakecanpassitselfoffassomethingtrulynew.Meanwhile,beyondtheunadornedclaimthatthe dissolution of the communicable has a beauty all its own, one encounters the most modern tendencyofspectacularcultureandtheonemostcloselyboundupwiththerepressivepracticeof thegeneralsocialorganizationseekingbymeansofa"globalapproach"toreconstructacomplex neoartisticenvironmentoutofflotsamandjetsam;agoodexampleofthisisurbanism'sstrivingto incorporateoldscrapsofartorhybridaestheticotechnologicalforms.Allofwhichshowshowa generalprojectofadvancedcapitalismistranslatedontotheplaneofspectacularpseudoculture thatprojectbeingtheremoldingofthefragmentedworkerinto"apersonalitywellintegratedinto the group" (cf. recent American sociology Riesman, Whyte, et al.). Wherever one looks, one encountersthissameintent:torestructuresocietywithoutcommunity. 193 Aculturenowwhollycommoditywasboundtobecomethestarcommodityofthesocietyofthe spectacle.ClarkKerr,anideologueatthecuttingedgeofthistrend,reckonsthatthewholecomplex system of production, distribution and consumption of knowledge is already equivalent to 29 percentoftheannualgrossnationalproductoftheUnitedStates,andhepredictsthatinthesecond halfofthiscenturyculturewillbecomethedrivingforceoftheAmericaneconomy,soassumingthe role of the automobile industry in the first half, or that of the railroads in the late nineteenth century. 194 Thetaskofthecomplexofclaimsstillevolvingasspectacularthoughtistojustifyasocietywithno justification, and ultimately to establish itself as a general science of false consciousness. This thoughtisentirelydeterminedbythefactthatitcannotanddoesnotwishtoapprehenditsown materialfoundationinthespectacularsystem. 195 Theofficialthoughtofthesocialorganizationofappearancesisitselfobscuredbythegeneralized subcommunicationthatithastodefend.Itdoesnotseethatconflictisattherootofeveryfeatureof itsuniverse.Spectacularpower,whichisabsolutewithintheunchallengeableinternallogicofthe spectacle'slanguage,corruptsitsspecialistsabsolutely.Theyarecorruptedbytheirexperienceof contempt,andbythesuccessofthatcontempt,forthecontempttheyfeelisconfirmedbytheir acquaintanceshipwiththatgenuinelycontemptibleindividualthespectator. 196 Anewdivisionoftasksoccurswithinthespecializedthoughtofthespectacularsysteminresponse tothenewproblemspresentedbytheperfectingofthissystemitself:inthefirstplacemodern sociologyundertakesaspectacularcritiqueofthespectacle,studyingseparationwiththesoleaidof separation'sownconceptualandmaterialtools;meanwhile,fromwithinthevariousdisciplinesin whichstructuralismhastakenroot,anapologeticsofthespectacleisdisseminatedasthethoughtof

nonthought,asanauthorizedamnesiawithrespecttohistoricalpractice. Asformsofenslaved thought,however,thereisnothingtochoosebetweenthefakedespairofanondialecticalcritique ontheonehandandthefakeoptimismofaplainandsimpleboostingofthesystemontheother. 197 Thereisaschoolofsociology,originatingintheUnitedStates,whichhasbeguntoraisequestions abouttheconditionsofexistencecreatedbymodernsocialdevelopment.Butwhilethisapproach hasbeenabletogathermuchempiricaldata,itisquiteunabletograspthetruenatureofitschosen object,becauseitcannotrecognizethecritiqueimmanenttothatobject.Thesincerelyreformist orientation of thissociology hasno criteria asidefrommorality, common sense and othersuch yardsticksallutterlyinadequatefordealingwiththematterathand.Becauseitisunawareofthe negativityattheheartofitsworld,thismodeofcriticismisobligedtoconcentrateondescribinga sortofsurplusnegativitythatitviewsasaregrettableirritation,oranirrationalparasiticinfestation, affectingthesurfaceofthatworld.Anoutragedgoodwillofthiskind,whichevenonitsownterms candonothingexceptputalltheblameonthesystem'sexternalconsequences,canseeitselfas criticalonlybyignoringtheessentiallyapologeticcharacterofitsassumptionsandmethod. 198 Peoplewhodenounceincitementstowastefulnessasabsurdordangerousinasocietyofeconomic abundancedonotunderstandthepurposeofwaste.Itisdistinctlyungratefulofthemtocondemn, inthenameofeconomicrationality,thosefaithful(albeitirrational)guardianswithoutwhomthe powerofthatsameeconomicrationalitywouldcollapse.DanielBoorstin,forexample,whosebook TheImagedescribesthespectacularconsumptionofcommoditiesinAmerica,neverarrivesata conceptofthespectaclebecausehemistakenlyfeelsabletotreatprivatelife,likesomethinghecalls an "honest product," as quite independent of what he sees as a disastrous distortion or "exaggeration." What he fails to grasp is thatthe commodity formitself lays down laws whose "honest"applicationgivesrisenotonlytoprivatelifeasadistinctrealitybutalsotothatreality's subsequentconquestbythesocialconsumptionofimages. 199 Boorstintreatstheexcessesofaworldthathasbecomealientousasexcessesalientoourworld. The"normal"basisofsociallifetowhichherefersimplicitlywhenhedescribesthesuperficialreign of images, in terms of psychological and moral judgments, as the product of "our ever more extravagant expectations," has no reality at all, however, either in his book or in the historical periodinwhichhelives.BecausetherealhumanlifethatBoorstinevokesislocatedforhiminthe pasteveninapastofreligiouspassivityhehasnowayofcomprehendingthetruedepthof society'sdependenceonimages.Thetruthofthatsocietyisnothinglessthanitsnegation. 200 Asociologythatbelievesitpossibletoisolateanindustrialrationality,functioningonitsown,from sociallifeasawhole,isliablelikewisetoviewthetechnologyofreproductionandcommunication as independent of overall industrial development. Thus Boorstin accounts for the situation he portrays in terms of an unfortunate and quasiserendipitous coming together of too vast a technology of imagediffusion on the one hand, and, on the other, too great an appetite for sensationalismonthepartoftoday'spublic.Thespectacle,inthisview,wouldhavetobeattributed to man's "spectatorial" inclinations. Boorstin cannot see that the proliferation of prefabricated

"pseudoevents" which he deplores flows from the simple fact that, in face of the massive realities of presentday social existence, individuals do not actually experience events. Because historyitselfisthespecterhauntingmodernsociety,pseudohistoryhastobefabricatedatevery leveloftheconsumptionoflife;otherwise,theequilibriumofthefrozentimethatpresentlyholds swaycouldnotbepreserved. 201 The claim that a brief freeze in historical time is in fact a definitive stability such is, both consciously and unconsciously expressed, the undoubted basis of the current tendency toward "structuralist" system building. The perspective adopted by the antihistorical thought of structuralismisthatoftheeternalpresenceofasystemthatwasnevercreatedandthatwillnever disappear.Thisfantasyofapreexistingunconsciousstructure'shegemonyoverallsocialpracticeis illegitimatelyderivedfromlinguisticandanthropologicalstructuralmodelsevenfrommodelsof thefunctioningofcapitalismthataremisappliedevenintheiroriginalcontexts;andtheonly reason why this has occurred is that an academic approach fit for complacent middlerange managers, a mode of thought completely anchored in an awestruck celebration of the existing system,crudelyreducesallrealitytotheexistenceofthatsystem. 202 Inseekingtounderstandstructuralistcategories,itshouldalwaysbeborneinmind,asinthecase ofanyhistoricalsocialscience,thatcategoriesexpressnotonlytheformsbutalsotheconditionsof existence.Justasonedoesnotjudgeaman'svalueaccordingtotheconceptionhehasofhimself, onecannotjudgeoradmirethisspecificsocietybytakingthediscourseitaddressestoitselfas necessarilytrue."Onecannotjudgesuchaperiodoftransformationbyitsconsciousness,but,onthe contrary,thisconsciousnessmustbeexplainedfromthecontradictionsofmateriallife."Structures aretheprogenyofthepowerthatisinplace.StructuralismisathoughtunderwrittenbytheState,a thoughtthatconceivesofthepresentconditionsofspectacular"communication"asanabsolute.Its fashionofstudyingthecodeofmessagesinitselfismerelytheproduct,andtheacknowledgment,of asocietywherecommunicationhastheformofacascadeofhierarchicalsignals.Thusitisnot structuralismthatservestoprovethetranshistoricalvalidityofthesocietyofthespectacle;but,on thecontrary,itisthesocietyofthespectacle,imposingitselfinitsmassivereality,thatvalidatesthe chilldreamofstructuralism. 203 Withoutadoubt,thecriticalconceptofthespectacleissusceptibleofbeingturnedintojustanother emptyformulaofsociologicopoliticalrhetoricdesignedtoexplainanddenounceeverythinginthe abstractsoservingtobuttressthespectacularsystemitself.Forobviouslynoideacouldtranscend the spectacle that exists it could only transcend ideas that existabout the spectacle. For the societyofthespectacletobeeffectivelydestroyed,whatisneededarepeoplesettingapractical forceinmotion.Acriticaltheoryofthespectacle cannotbetrueunlessitjoins forceswiththe practicalmovementofnegationwithinsociety;andthisnegation,whichconstitutestheresumption ofrevolutionaryclassstruggle,cannotforitspartachieveselfconsciousnessunlessitdevelopsthe critiqueofthespectacle,acritiquethatembodiesthetheoryofnegation'srealconditionsthe practical conditions of presentday oppression and that also, inversely, reveals the secret of negation's potential. Such a theory expects no miracles from the working class. It views the reformulation and satisfaction of proletarian demands as a longterm undertaking. To make an artificialdistinctionbetweentheoreticalandpracticalstrugglefor,onthebasisheredefined,the

veryconstitutionandcommunicationofatheoryofthiskindcannotbeconceivedindependentlyof arigorouspracticewemaysaywithcertaintythattheobscureanddifficultpathofcriticaltheory mustalsobethepathofthepracticalmovementthatoccursatthelevelofsocietyasawhole. 204 Critical theory has to be communicated in its own language the language of contradiction, dialecticalinformaswellasincontent:thelanguageofthecritiqueofthetotality,ofthecritiqueof history.Notsome"writingdegreezero"justtheopposite.Notanegationofstyle,butthestyleof negation. 205 Eventhestyleofexpositionofdialecticaltheoryisascandalandanabominationtothecanonsof the prevailing language, and to sensibilities molded by those canons, because it includes in its positiveuseofexistingconceptsasimultaneousrecognitionoftheirrediscoveredfluidity,oftheir inevitabledestruction. 206 Thisstyle,whichembodiesitsowncritique,mustexpressthemasteryofthecritiqueinhandoverall itspredecessors.Themodeofexpositionofdialecticaltheorywillthusitselfexemplifythenegative spirititcontains.Thetruth,saysHegel,isnot"detached...likeafinishedarticlefromtheinstrument thatshapesit."Suchatheoreticalconsciousnessofdialecticalmovement,whichmustitselfbearthe stampofthatmovement,ismanifestedbythereversalofestablishedrelationshipsbetweenconcepts andbythediversion(ordtournement)ofalltheattainmentsofearliercriticalefforts.Thusthe reversedgenitive,asanexpressionofhistoricalrevolutionsdistilledintoaformofthought,cameto beconsideredthehallmarkofHegel'sepigrammaticstyle.Asaproponentofthereplacementof subjectbypredicate,followingFeuerbach'ssystematicpracticeofit,theyoungMarxachievedthe mostcogentuseofthisinsurrectionalstyle:thusthephilosophyofpovertybecamethepovertyof philosophy. The device of dtournement restores all their subversive qualities to past critical judgments that have congealed into respectable truths or, in other words, that have been transformed into lies. Kierkegaard too made use of dtournement, and offered his own pronouncementonthesubject:"Buthowyoutwistandturn,sothat,justasSaftalwaysendedupin thepantry,youinevitablyalwaysmanagetointroducesomelittlewordorphrasethatisnotyour own, and which awakens disturbing recollections" (Philosophical Fragments). The defining characteristic of thisuse of dtournement is thenecessity for distance to bemaintained toward whateverhasbeenturnedintoanofficialverity.AsKierkegaardacknowledgesinthesamework, "One further remark I wish to make, however, with respect to your many animadversions, all pointingtomyhavingintroducedborrowedexpressionsinthecourseofmyexposition.Thatsuchis thecaseIdonotdeny,norwillInowconcealfromyouthatitwasdonepurposely,andthatinthe nextsectionofthispiece,ifIeverwritesuchasection,itismyintentiontocallthewholebyits rightname,andtoclothetheprobleminitshistoricalcostume." 207 Ideas improve. The meaning of words has a part in the improvement. Plagiarism is necessary. Progress demands it. Staying close to an author's phrasing, plagiarism exploits his expressions, erasesfalseideas,replacesthemwithcorrectideas.

208 Dtournement is the antithesis of quotation, of a theoretical authority invariably tainted if only becauseithasbecomequotable,becauseitisnowafragmenttornawayfromitscontext,fromits own movement, and ultimately from the overall frame of reference of its period and from the precise optionthatitconstituted withinthatframework.Dtournement,bycontrast,isthefluid language of antiideology. It occurs within a type of communication aware of its inability to enshrineanyinherentanddefinitivecertainty.Thislanguageisinaccessibleinthehighestdegreeto confirmationbyanyearlierorsupracriticalreferencepoint.Onthecontrary,itsinternalcoherence anditsadequacyinrespectofthepracticallypossiblearewhatvalidatetheancientkerneloftruth thatitrestores.Dtournementfoundsitscauseonnothingbutitsowntruthascritiqueatworkin thepresent. 209 Whatever is explicitly presented as dtournement within formulated theory serves to deny any durableautonomousexistencetothesphereoftheorymerelyformulated.Thefactthattheviolence ofdtournementitselfmobilizesanactioncapableofdisturbingoroverthrowinganyexistingorder isareminderthattheexistenceofthetheoreticaldomainisnothinginitself,thatitcanonlycome toselfknowledgeinconjunctionwithhistorical action,andthatitcan onlybetrulyfaithfulby virtueofhistory'scorrectivejudgmentuponit. 210 Onlytherealnegationofculturecaninheritculture'smeaning.Suchnegationcannolongerremain cultural.Itiswhatremains,insomemanner,atthelevelofculturebutithasaquitedifferent sense. 211 Inthelanguageofcontradiction,thecritiqueofculturemanifestsitselfasunified:unifiedinthatit dominatesthewholeofculturecultureasknowledgeaswellascultureaspoetry;unified,too,in thatitisnolongerseparablefromthecritiqueofthesocialtotality.Itisthisunifiedtheoretical critiquethatgoesalonetoitsrendezvouswithaunifiedsocialpractice.

IdeologyinMaterialForm

Selfconsciousnessexistsinitselfandforitself,inthat,andbythefactthatitexistsforanotherself consciousness;thatistosay,itisonlybybeingacknowledgedor"recognized." Hegel,ThePhenomenologyofMind

212 Ideologyisthefoundationofthethoughtofaclasssocietywithintheconflictualcourseofhistory. Ideologicalentitieshaveneverbeenmerefictionsrather,theyareadistortedconsciousnessof reality,and,assuch,realfactorsretroactivelyproducingrealdistortingeffects;whichisallthemore reasonwhythatmaterializationofideology,intheformofthespectacle,whichisprecipitatedby the concrete success of an autonomous economic system of production, results in the virtual identificationwithsocialrealityitselfofanideologythatmanagestoremoldthewholeoftherealto itsownspecifications. 213 Once ideology, which is the abstract will to universality and the illusion thereof, finds itself legitimatedinmodernsocietybyuniversalabstractionandbytheeffectivedictatorshipofillusion, thenitisnolongerthevoluntaristicstruggleofthefragmentary,butratheritstriumph.Theclaims ofideologynowtakeonasortofflat,positivisticexactness:ideologyisnolongerahistoricalchoice, butsimplyanassertionoftheobvious.Namesofparticularideologieshavevanished.Theportionof properlyideologicallaborservingthesystemmaynolongerbeconceivedofotherthanintermsof an"epistemologicalbase"supposedlytranscendingallspecificideologicalphenomena.Ideologyin materialformisitselfwithoutaname,justasitiswithoutaformulablehistoricalagenda.Whichis anotherwayofsayingthatthehistoryofideologies,plural,isover. 214 Ideology, whose whole internal logic led toward what Mannheim calls "total ideology" the despotismofafragmentimposingitselfasthepseudoknowledgeofafrozenwhole,asatotalitarian worldviewhasnowfulfilleditselfintheimmobilizedspectacleofnonhistory.Itsfulfillmentis alsoitsdissolutioninto societyasawhole.Comethepractical dissolutionofthatsocietyitself, ideologythelastunreasonstandinginthewayofhistoricallifemustlikewisedisappear. 215 Thespectacleistheacmeofideology,forinitsfullfloweritexposesandmanifeststheessenceofall ideological systems: the impoverishment, enslavement and negation of real life. Materially, the spectacle is "the expression of estrangement, of alienation between man and man." The "new potentialityoffraud"concentratedwithinithasitsbasisinthatformofproductionwhereby"with themassofobjectsgrowsthemassofalienpowerstowhichmanissubjected."Thisisthesupreme stageofanexpansionthathasturnedneedagainstlife."Theneedformoneyisforthatreasonthe realneedcreatedbythemoderneconomicsystem,andtheonlyneeditcreates"(Economicand PhilosophicalManuscripts).TheprinciplewhichHegelenunciatedintheJenenserRealphilosophie asthatofmoney"thelife,movingofitself,ofthatwhichisdead"hasnowbeenextendedbythe spectacletotheentiretyofsociallife. 216 IncontrasttotheprojectoutlinedintheThesesonFeuerbachtherealizationofphilosophyina praxistranscendingtheoppositionbetweenidealismandmaterialismthespectaclepreservesthe ideologicalfeaturesofbothmaterialismandidealism,imposingtheminthepseudoconcretenessof its universe. The contemplative aspect of the old materialism, which conceives of the world as

representation, not as activity and which in the last reckoning idealizes matter has found fulfillment in the spectacle, where concrete things are automatically masters of social life. Correlatively,idealism'simaginaryactivitylikewisefindsitsfulfillmentinthespectacle,thisthrough thetechnicalmediationofsignsandsignalswhichinthelastreckoningendowanabstractideal withmaterialform. 217 TheparallelbetweenideologyandschizophreniadrawnbyJosephGabelinhisFalseConsciousness shouldbeseeninthecontextofthiseconomicprocessofmaterializationofideology.Whatideology alreadywas,societyhasnowbecome.Ablockedpracticeanditscorollary,anantidialecticalfalse consciousness,areimposedateverymomentonaneverydaylifeinthralltothespectaclean everydaylifethatshouldbeunderstoodasthesystematicorganizationofabreakdowninthefaculty ofencounter,andthereplacementofthatfacultybyasocialhallucination:afalseconsciousnessof encounter,oran"illusionofencounter."Inasocietywherenooneisanylongerrecognizableby anyoneelse,eachindividualisnecessarilyunabletorecognizehisownreality.Hereideologyisat home;hereseparationhasbuiltitsworld. 218 In clinical pictures of schizophrenia, according to Gabel, "a degradation of the dialectic of the totality(ofwhichdissociationistheextremeform)andadegradationinthedialecticofbecoming (ofwhichcatatoniaistheextremeform)seemtobeintimatelyinterwoven."Imprisonedinaflat universeboundedonallsidesbythespectacle'sscreen,theconsciousnessofthespectactorhasonly figmentary interlocutors which subject it to a oneway discourse on their commodities and the politicsofthosecommodities.Thesolemirrorofthisconsciousnessisthespectacleinallitsbreadth, wherewhatisstagedisafalsewayoutofageneralizedautism. 219 Thespectacleerasesthedividinglinebetweenselfandworld,inthattheself,undersiegebythe presence/absence of the world, is eventually overwhelmed; it likewise erases the dividing line betweentrueandfalse,repressingalldirectlylivedtruthbeneaththerealpresenceofthefalsehood maintainedbytheorganizationofappearances.Theindividual,thoughcondemnedtothepassive acceptanceofanalieneverydayreality,isthusdrivenintoaformofmadnessinwhich,byresorting tomagicaldevices,heentertainstheillusionthatheisreactingtothisfate.Therecognitionand consumptionofcommoditiesareatthecoreofthispseudoresponsetoacommunicationtowhich noresponseispossible.Theneedtoimitatethattheconsumerexperiencesisindeedatrulyinfantile need,onedeterminedbyeveryaspectofhisfundamentaldispossession.IntermsusedbyGabelto describequiteanotherlevelofpathology,"theabnormalneedforrepresentationherecompensates foratorturingfeelingofbeingatthemarginofexistence." 220 Whereasthelogicoffalseconsciousnesscannotaccedetoanygenuineselfknowledge,thequestfor thecriticaltruthofthespectaclemustalsobeatruecritique.Thisquestcallsforcommitmenttoa practicalstrugglealongsidethespectacle'sirreconcilableenemies,aswellasareadinesstowithhold commitment where those enemies are not active. By eagerly embracing the machinations of reformismormakingcommoncausewithpseudorevolutionarydregs,thosedrivenbytheabstract wishforimmediateefficacityobeyonlythelawsofthedominantformsofthought,andadoptthe

exclusiveviewpointofactuality.Inthiswaydelusionisabletoreemergewithinthecampofits erstwhileopponents.Thefactisthatacritiquecapableofsurpassingthespectaclemustknowhow tobideitstime. 221 Selfemancipationinourtimeisemancipationfromthematerialbasesofaninvertedtruth.This "historicmissiontoestablishtruthintheworld"canbecarriedoutneitherbytheisolatedindividual norbyatomizedandmanipulatedmasses,butonlyandalwaysbythatclasswhichisableto effectthe dissolution of all classes, subjecting all powerto thedisalienating form of a realized democracytocouncilsinwhichpracticaltheoryexercisescontroloveritselfandsurveysitsown action.Itcannotbecarriedout,inotherwords,untilindividualsare"directlyboundtouniversal history";untildialoguehastakenuparmstoimposeitsownconditionsupontheworld.

End