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The Revolution of Everyday Life
Revolution of Everyday Life is with Society of the Spectacle one of the two pillars of Situationism, the movement which attempted to obliterate the distinctions between art and politics, and provided enormous inspiration for the events of May 68 in France. Revolution was published by Galimard in 1967 and immediately taken up by students across France as a guidebook to reek...more
Paperback, Second, revised, 279 pages
Published
1994
by Rebel Press/Left Bank Books
(first published December 8th 1967)
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Undecipherable situationist bullshit
Sep 13, 2011
Miquixote
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
philosophy,
non-fiction,
significant,
83a,
specialist,
a,
intellectual-value-5,
enjoyment-value-4
Whether everything in the work is agreed upon or not is not the beauty of this book. The dialectic is played with constantly here to stimulate our active processors. Any who complain that you need to engage with this work are simply admiring their passivity. Indeed it is hard to read. But after re-reading it, it is fantastic. Learning actually works when you engage with the text…
This book is geared towards the underworked proletariat, the unemployed, the privileged and the artisans, of which the...more
This book is geared towards the underworked proletariat, the unemployed, the privileged and the artisans, of which the...more
Compared to The Society of the Spectacle, Revolution of Everyday Life is far more accessible, being less a theoretical critique of late capitalism and more a manifesto for revolution. That being said, Vaneigem's style, particularly in translation, is an acquired taste. If you happened to be steeped in the writing of left/radical French philosophers, sociologists, or critical theorists, then this is a "must read." Clearly tapping into the spleen & ennui of the existential mood of the late 60s...more
Raoul Vaneigem I have never ever been able to pronounce that name and I have never ever come across anyone else who’d read it. Including all my erstwhile Anarcho buddies from back in the 80’s.
Luckily for me I worked near Housman’s bookshop in Kings Cross for a few years this opened my eyes to a whole world of stuff including this book.
I read this book in 1983 in my teenage years and yes I can say it changed my life. I use to read it on the commuter train to and from work. The irony of reading su...more
Luckily for me I worked near Housman’s bookshop in Kings Cross for a few years this opened my eyes to a whole world of stuff including this book.
I read this book in 1983 in my teenage years and yes I can say it changed my life. I use to read it on the commuter train to and from work. The irony of reading su...more
I have had this on my to-read list for years. This is the first Situationist text that I have read and its influence is obvious, while reading it I recognized a lot that I had seen before in other cultural artefacts that came after it, from punk bands as Crass with which I sort of grew up to anarchist and political zines I've read over the years. As with everything, it’s good to finally read the original. It is also good read one of the main ’68 texts yourself rather than just the usual historic...more
It's hard to speak about this text. Some parts really resonated with me while others I didn't understand. I have a few notes though.
First, it's difficult to ignore the feeling that this book could have been written today. The imminence of social revolt. The dismissal of political marxism to the historical trashbin. Disgust towards "consumer society," which some commentators pinpoint as the main target of Vaneigem. A funny term because consumption is only a part of what the author's talking about...more
First, it's difficult to ignore the feeling that this book could have been written today. The imminence of social revolt. The dismissal of political marxism to the historical trashbin. Disgust towards "consumer society," which some commentators pinpoint as the main target of Vaneigem. A funny term because consumption is only a part of what the author's talking about...more
Boredom is counter revolutionary!
It seems so long since the events of May 1968 that the Situationist movement may be almost forgotten. It was a moving experience to read this remarkable book and recognise the necessity of recovering our present from our erstwhile masters. Never before have these words made more sense; hopefully they will serve as a blueprint for the next generation of revolutionists just as they did for ours - and yet, perhaps in the true spirit of playfullness a better way can...more
It seems so long since the events of May 1968 that the Situationist movement may be almost forgotten. It was a moving experience to read this remarkable book and recognise the necessity of recovering our present from our erstwhile masters. Never before have these words made more sense; hopefully they will serve as a blueprint for the next generation of revolutionists just as they did for ours - and yet, perhaps in the true spirit of playfullness a better way can...more
It is OK. Written in a more personal way than Society of the Spectacle and then more inviting -- which is kind of like a spectacle in an ironic way. Society of the Spectacle seemed more serious. It is not an easy read, but is more coherent than Chomsky.
He captures the ideas of Situationist philosophy and of the time it was written, but his suggestions for change remind me of Fromm and I am not sure it works in the Situationist weldgeist. But if you are new to Situationist ideas, it is a good bo...more
He captures the ideas of Situationist philosophy and of the time it was written, but his suggestions for change remind me of Fromm and I am not sure it works in the Situationist weldgeist. But if you are new to Situationist ideas, it is a good bo...more
Probably the very best book i've ever read, it draws a nihilist mirror of you in society while not being too gray, but rather well informed and conclusive about "Society's" burden over chouices which are apparently ours but de facto are society's.
Revolution is withdrawal in Vaneigem's view but he does not get too much into what that is in the end, although his own life could be a hint. Vaneigem does not "work", he does not not have a salary, he is a discreet preacher of his views instead.
Revolution is withdrawal in Vaneigem's view but he does not get too much into what that is in the end, although his own life could be a hint. Vaneigem does not "work", he does not not have a salary, he is a discreet preacher of his views instead.
Nov 28, 2011
Tinea
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Tinea by:
RJ & Evan
Shelves:
anarchism-and-activism
Did I read half or two thirds of this book? I don't know. It was boring and hard. I don't care! It's the favorite book of two friends whose brains I respect a lot but definitely do not share. Wow. Really wanted to love this. Oh well. Thank god for situationist zines. And adventures.
Some discussion at the Anarchist & Radical Book Club
Some discussion at the Anarchist & Radical Book Club
many people will tell you that "the society of the spectacle" is the be all and end all of situationist literature, but vaneigem's novel is more readable, more easily understood, and much more inspiring and thought provoking. highly recommended.
Vaneigem writes like a poet ; a very angry, and insightful poet. Covers the same ground as "Society of the Spectacle" but much more easier (and fun) to read. This book will get you thinking, and may even turn you dangerously radical.
Debord is more coherent. This book seemed more full of trite slogans, chants for revolution. Its not more accessible, its dense. PLUS, he wrote it saying that after he wrote it more changes would come and that more would need to be written! Now, 40 years later we are still reading it like it still means what it meant then in 1967! It's become a historical artifact! And honestly, his historical biases and assumptions are to Eurocentric for me to buy anymore.
This book was a product of its times. P...more
This book was a product of its times. P...more
one of my favorite books growing up and still has validity today! fuck debord! read this pinnacle work from vaneigem.
Essential reading for all free radicals... still relevant today, maybe more so. Sous le pave la plage!
Sep 15, 2007
Brendan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anarchists, situationism, political theory
a bit dense, but well worth reading if you are interested in situationism, anarchism, or political theory. once you get into the book it is very readable but it may take time, especially if you aren't used to academic writing. really the best situationist book, stronger and more detailed than society of the spectacle, but reading it is an undertaking. it took me several months of focused reading and it's not really enjoyable in the sense that there isn't a lot of humor involved. i remember it be...more
Jul 08, 2011
Philip Bellew
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
spirituality-counterculture
I'm on my third copy of this book. Need I say more?
Essential reading....lust for life
Recommended
Here's the text:
http://library.nothingness.org/articl...
http://library.nothingness.org/articl...
The Situationist International and our friend here Raoul Vaneigem really nailed down what life is in our 'modern' culture. It's a book, like 'Society of the Spectacle" that I pick up from time-to-time. I often feel that I am part of a theater piece, but I don't know who the playwright or the director is. Hell, I don't even know if I am in a theater!
Anarchy literature at its best.
Anarchy literature at its best.
Originally read this serialized in the pages of the mag "Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed."
One of the most important works I've ever read.
It changed my life for ever.
While I can't point to concrete particulars, everything was different afterwards.
This is the definitive document, along with Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", of everything wrong with modern life.
One of the most important works I've ever read.
It changed my life for ever.
While I can't point to concrete particulars, everything was different afterwards.
This is the definitive document, along with Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", of everything wrong with modern life.
Demonstrates its period at the same time it demonstrates a timeless relevance. The struggle for life has not changed since 1968, but the opposition's methods of entrenching themselves have certainly been upgraded.
Bar none, the best critique of modern capitalist society ever written. If you've ever felt hoodwinked, read it. Dumbasses around the world with fancy degrees and high-paying think tank jobs are only now coming to the conclusions reached here forty years ago. And, appallingly, claiming they've come up with it on their own. Bastards.
Jun 06, 2009
Jonny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone in the world
Shelves:
the-best-books-i-have-ever-read
Superbly intelligent and superb. Makes you feel superb. Makes you want to become more superb. Kills boredom forever. Exposes just about everything as a shame. Nihilism at its most hilarious. Not actually nihilistic at all. Relgious. Powerful. Power-mad, in a mad-good way. Mad. Bad. Good.
I've always thought of this as a type of psycho-subversive instruction booklet written in Debord's language. Sort of a self-help guide for anarchists in need of a quick nudge in the ribs.
If you want meat - go to Debord. But if you need some inspiration, this works.
If you want meat - go to Debord. But if you need some inspiration, this works.
Sep 11, 2008
Morgan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who has a big bucket of milk handy when they do their bedside reading
Recommended to Morgan by:
Guy Debord
I remade this into a theatre piece called The Frankenstein of Everyday Life.. I hadn't actually read Vaneigem's denser-than-thou Situationist diatribe at the time, but the title provided more inspiration per letter than the text between its covers.
Jan 19, 2008
danny
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
crusty punks/art school snobs/culture vultures/anarchists/post-dadaists/dreamers
Classic Situationism.
Invigorating for those that desire art and culture to have significance which inspires rebellion.
There are more astute political and cultural thinkers, but not so many as inspiring as the Situationist International.
Worth reading.
Invigorating for those that desire art and culture to have significance which inspires rebellion.
There are more astute political and cultural thinkers, but not so many as inspiring as the Situationist International.
Worth reading.
The situationist perspective is a bit grim sometimes, but Vaneigem does a good job with it. There's a strange sort of liberation in his long tracts about the precession of the spectacle, and after reading it, I did just what Vaneigem might suggest: play.
People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraints, such people have corpses in their mouths.
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Raoul Vaneigem (born 1934) is a Belgian writer and philosopher. He was born in Lessines (Hainaut, Belgium). After studying romance philology at the Free University of Brussels (now split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel) from 1952 to 1956, he participated in the Situationist International from 1961 to 1970. He currently resides in Belgium and is the father...more
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“The millions of human beings who were shot, tortured, starved, treated like animals and made the object of a conspiracy of ridicule, can sleep in peace in their communal graves, for at least the struggle in which they died has enabled their descendants, isolated in their air-conditioned apartments, to believe, on the strength of their daily dose of television, that they are happy and free. The Communards went down, fighting to the last, so that you too could qualify for a Caribbean cruise.”
—
11 people liked it
“Down with a world in which the guarantee that we will not die of starvation has been purchased with the guarantee that we will die of boredom.”
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9 people liked it
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Dec 09, 2010 04:44pm