In response to adventure ...

Speaking roughly, we might say that the ingredients of adventure are challenge, mystery and transformation.

Currently, omnipresent cellphones and networks are corroding all of the concrete, specific mysteries of this society. Despite this, they leave almost everything more mysteries and opaque than before. But for simple questions you might ask someone, for facts about geography, weather, common knowledge and such, the mystery is just gone. The plot of most novels from before the 21st century would fall apart given just omnipresent mobile phones. Google maps, wikipedia and such would eliminate the rest.

Transformation is in just as bad shape, though not as obviously. However much a character might change, said challenge would face the same roiling, insane total world of capital. And so authentic transformation look done-for “in the small”. Challenge similarly.

So where does that put adventure? The classic plots which followed exemplary characters through illustrative adventures can no longer resonate with our condition.

I would posit that “adventures”, in the plural, are done. We have only the single adventure that we are all facing simultaneously – the total transformation of humanity. For capital, we are raw materials. Once this “raw-material-hood” was concentrated in mundane physical effort. Now, the “sharing” of our mutual social relations is important part of it. And so the singular plots of our individual “characters” are marginalized relative to what twists and turns the total plot of the total machine will take…

Of course this is all an extension and intensification of everything the Situationists discussed. But it’s still important to keep track of the various levels to which capital’s flood reaches.