Dalla Tragedia Alla Farsa. Ideologia Della Crisi E Superamento Del Capitalismo (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Slavoj Zizek talks reasonable leftists off the ledge, driven up in the face of postmodern capitalism and a general state of disarray within 'the cause'. Zizek should be the revolutionary leader of our era, but this spot has been filled by slingers of 'identity politics', e.g. bourgeois youth preaching false rebellion 'against' a system they don't know they've already beaten. Feminism, gay rights, minority rights, ect. have all won, but the problems are still here: oppression, inequality, and aristocracy still exist, we've just cured some of their side effects. A Pakistani brick maker won't feel any better about his situation knowing that the factory owner is a gay black womyn who disregards his rights as equally as she would a white wage slave. While liberal democracy preaches freedom and equality, this is meant to be freedom* (freedom of sexuality, freedom to take drugs, freedom to own land, ect.) and equality** (equally likely to be the ones cheating workers, equally likely to be cheated, ect.) - in short, seeking to end minor qualms while ignoring the larger issues. Were I to write a book on capitalism in the 21st century from my Stirnerite perspective, it would be one sentence - "Why should I care, that would require spooks!" But although I don't mind the existence of poverty as a traditional leftist would, I find myself quite embittered at capitalism's cultural effects, especially today - obsessive returns to youth through vapid 'young adult' novels, Oblomovshchina (but without the kindness of the good master Ilya Ilich himself) and escapism through social media, a mass desire to 'feel good about ourselves' through aforementioned identity politics, pseudo-spirituality the likes of Deepak Copra (Pussy had me floatin'), ect. are all things I would like to see ended and thrown into the garbage bin of social movements, along with all the hippies, punks, and Moral Majoritists. If the current state of affairs doesn't set itself straight, anything good to come out of modern culture will drown in a sea of idea fetishism. Some good ideas about the state of today's political order (especially in the U.S.) loosely strong together with news reports as well as theorist and pop culture references. The book focuses in particular on America's neoliberal capitalism, in large part within the context of the late 2000s financial crisis (especially the massive corporate bank bailouts), with focus on major developments in the late 20th century as well. He is critical of a 'utopian' vision for global capitalism. Even moving beyond Zizek's ideological pretensions, he offers some very interesting analysis; and even if you doubt his analytical bent, the topics explored are extremely informative and are important for any global citizen to know about, such as Africa's agricultural crisis, the collapse of the welfare system, the absurd situation of IMF development loans hindering developing nations, the included / excluded (hyper-rich vs. normal folks), 'progressive' branding like Starbucks and Whole Foods, and Obama being Bush with a PC face. Zizek proposes that intellectual property led to the burst of the dot-com bubble, which led to the need for a new bubble, the real estate bubble, which popped in the late 2000s and was a catalyst for the financial problems (an argument that I've never heard). A lot of references to Kant, and some to Hegel, Lacan, and Freud. He is critical of the Fukuyama view that globalized liberal capitalism represents 'the end of history' -- the postmodern telos. What does Zizek propose as a replacement, though, since he is also critical of liberal alternatives to the current capitalistic order? He sees a "Hegelian" future, where communism is not a utopian vision but:"Communism is thus not the light at the end of the tunnel, that is, the happy final outcome of a long and arduous struggle-if anything, the light at the end of the tunnel is rather that of another train approaching us at full speed" (149). He ends the book welcoming the left to return to communism just as Christians grow closer to their faith before death, writing that despite their anti-communism, they're welcomed back and it's "time to get serious again" (157). Overall some cool ideas explore and I agree with a lot of analysis but what the hell kind of ending is that? Zizek explored how the new left has failed in its pragmatic humanist aims in the face of a daunting capitalist machine (which is albeit better than the "Communism" and fascism of the past), and his solution is to welcome them "back" to some sort of vaguely defined communism, supposedly set in reaction against neoliberal capitalism? A strange though informative read. N.B. I totally wish I had Zizek's job so I could write stuff sorta like this (although more fully formed). Alas there's a dearth of employment opportunities for crazy philosopher dudes.Also, this book is easily available on PDF online if you're too broke to buy or too lazy to hit the library.
What do You think about Dalla Tragedia Alla Farsa. Ideologia Della Crisi E Superamento Del Capitalismo (2009)?
Without question one of his best and essential to understanding his larger intentions.
—Mikaela
"This is why Berlusconi is our own big Kung Fu Panda."Also, he cited Wikipedia!
—Donna
A deep criticism of contemporary Western culture and late capitalism.
—mmendes
Somewhat interesting but often rather difficult to follow.
—beccyboo
