There have been several previous
English translations of The Society of the Spectacle. I have
gone through them all and have retained whatever seemed already to be
adequate. In particular, I have adopted quite a few
of Donald Nicholson-Smith’s renderings, though I have diverged
from him in many other cases. His translation (Zone
Books, 1994) and the earlier one by Fredy Perlman and John Supak (Black
and Red, 1977) are both in print, and both can also be found at the
Situationist International
Online website.
I believe
that my translation conveys Debord’s actual meaning more
accurately, as well as more clearly and idiomatically, than any
of the other versions. I am nevertheless aware that it is far
from perfect, and welcome any criticisms or
suggestions.
If you
find the opening chapters too abstract, you might try starting with
Chapter 4 or Chapter 5. As you see how Debord
deals with concrete historical events, you may get a better idea of
the practical implications of ideas that are presented more abstractly
in the other chapters.
The book is not, however,
as difficult or abstract as it is reputed to be. It is not an ivory-tower
academic or philosophical discourse.
It is an effort to clarify the nature of the society in which
we find ourselves and the advantages and drawbacks of various methods
for changing it. Every single thesis has a direct or indirect bearing
on issues that are matters of life and death. Chapter 4, which with
remarkable conciseness sums up the lessons of two centuries of revolutionary
experience, is simply the most obvious example.
—Ken Knabb
February 2002
P.S.
In answer to a number of queries I have already received: At the moment
I have no plans to publish this translation in book form. For one thing,
I’m not yet completely satisfied with it,
and will be fine-tuning it over the next few months. Then I may start
considering different publication possibilities, depending on what sort
of interest has been expressed.
