Guy Debord's Letters Reveal Art of Living Well Amid Collapse

A review of the fifth volume of Guy Debord's correspondence (January 1973–December 1978) highlights his concept of "living well" as the highest revenge. During Europe's political turmoil—Portugal's Carnation Revolution, Red Brigades, Baader-Meinhof, Spanish autonomous groups—Debord remained semi-clandestine, producing key works: finishing the film "Society of the Spectacle" in November 1973 and beginning "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni" in Venice in January 1977 (completed October 1978). The letters reveal his implacable war against a decadent society, using precise rhetoric against adversaries like lawyer Kiejman and publisher Sorin. Debord advocated for exact politeness, naturalness, attention to detail, relative solitude, and sexual liberation—advising friend Paola to develop exhibitionism, sapphism, and sado-masochism. His 1974 letter to Gianfranco Sanguinetti states: "The highest vengeance is to live well." The review, published in artpress, emphasizes Debord's moral lesson over political analysis, noting his refusal of nihilism despite the world's collapse.