LUXURY OR MARTYRDOM (J. DE JONG, 1962)

Nature's decisions are based upon a fact resulting out of a preliminary necessity.

Man's impulse does not result out of a necessity but he can create one. As it is impulse in mankind which decides this preliminary necessity, he cannot always recognize nature's way of acting. That is why man as a creator is Luxury.

The naturist ethic is as contradictory to creative mankind as is the platonic ethic, because neither of them result from the impulse to create, but rather by ignoring this impulse, they emanate either from the necessities of nature of Socio-scientology, which a priori are anti-luxurious.

The puritanism in Judaism as well as in Christianity denied any acceptance of either impulse of luxury and therefore became iconoclastic etc. As this meant destruction of an essential aspect in mankind, the human being had created a martyr. On this base christian and democratic society developed into what it is now. The field of creation became more and more overwhelmed by the industrialisation of anti-luxurious fields and by the luxury-industry which has become the pure surrogation of impulses.

Nevertheless man creates and is pursued by the anti-luxurious as well as by the surrogate luxurety side of society.

Only by trying to separate creative man from society or by declaring him to martyrdom con puritanism deny the existence of unorganised impulses. The Catholic church has been able to absorb a part of creation by concentrating on the necessity of its existence, while never accepting the factor of impulse without having to turn it into the a priori necessities of its own focus. The same applies to Byzantinism.

The so called "luxury" of these institurions is none other than the "poverty" of Judaism and the Protestant puritanism : these are absolutely unimpulsive.

Only by escaping from these fake symbolic organizations has creation been able to develop its independence.

The suffering of the human being for his neighbour is a false luxury which has never been accepted by luxury man, as his suffering permits it only to be for himself. Luxury does not permit martyrs.

Therefore the Judaic - Christian ethic cannot accept this refusal of martyrdom as this entirely destroys their concepts. Neither can the socio-democratic societies as they are based on these concepts.

That is why only in the socalled naivity of "popular" creation has the escape been possible without being cut off completely from society.

The separation of creative worlds such as science and the arts from vulgarisation has only engraved their situation inside the socio-democratic world.

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NOTE

The Scandinavian revue Drakabygget has (2-3) published an article which they called Gog and Magog, signed with my name. This is an obvious détournement of an article called Luxor or Martyr which I wrote indeed and send to them to get published.

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Originally appeared in Drakabygget 2/3 1962 in a editted version and published with the title 'Gog and Magog'. The editting and retitling were done by Jorn, Nash etc. without the consent of Jacqueline de Jong. De Jong published her own version with the original title, Luxery and Martyrdom, in Situationist Times No.3 with a note pointing to the deed done by Drakabygget.