The Critical Theory Of Debord’s Spectacle Society

In the 20 th century,in order to get rid of its fatal crisis in the heavy industrial era and the colonial era,capitalism is no longer satisfied with the exploitation of the production end,that is,the exploitation of surplus value,and more secretly exploiting the consumption process of daily life.According to the French philosopher Guy Debord believes that capitalism has entered a new stage: spectacle stage.The critical theory of spectacle society is Debord attempt to awaken the public’s rejection and reverse the logic of the current alienation scene.On the one hand,the great contribution of spectacle social critical theory is reflected in that the inheritance of Marxist critical theory;on the other hand,the social critical theory,as a theoretical node from Western Marxism to post-Marxism,opens the valve for the post-Marx ideological trend.Debord’s theory of spectacle society was produced in the social background of the transition of the French post-war capital society from Ford system to post-blessing system.Debord’s early avant-garde art activities made Debord turn his critical focus to the field of daily life.This period also made Debord realize that the weakness of artistic activities itself could not change the status quo of exploitation in the capital society,so Debord began to intentionally turn to Marxism.Debord’s critical model is deeply influenced by Marx’s criticism of political economy,and Debord follows Marx’s theoretical model of alienation.Debord’s theory is developed within the framework of critical theory,with the basic spirit and unique mode of thinking of critical theory.Debord was also influenced by Henri Lefebvre,and creatively mentioned that daily life was a colonized field.Based on the criticism of daily life,Debord gradually realized the problems of mass consumption,and formed an independent critical theory of spectacle society.The logic of the social critical theory of spectacle first begins with how ‘Materia’developed into ‘Spectacle’.Secondly,the perspective of Debord criticism is developed from the aspects of time and space and ideology,and puts forward specific breakthrough methods.Finally,Debord’s critical theory of spectacle society also exposes its own shortcomings,that is,the ontology of theoretical counter-production narrative and the tendency of rejecting organization,which directly leads to Debord’s failure in revolution and theoretical stagnation.Although the spectacle social critical theory has exposed its own shortcomings,what is important is its profound theoretical and practical significance.He not only influenced the post-horse scholar Jean Baudrillard and the American scholar Kellner,but also had a profound enlightenment significance to the current life.It is Debord’s radical philosophy and vivid practice that make us try to see the the real exploitative substance behind the increasingly mysterious veil of capitalism.