Book 86 - Slavoj Zizek "First as Tragedy, Then as Farce "
Slavoj Zizek "First as Tragedy, Then as Farce" (Verso)
This tract by Žižek is another solid addition to his continuing work on ideology in contemporary society.
The book attacks contemporary capitalist society from a communist perspective, but not the communism of Marxism-Leninism but a contemporary communist thought rooted in the classics of Kant and Hegel, but strongly influenced by psychoanalysis and phenomenology.
While the book tends to flow with the efficiency of a falling brick, due to Žižek's unique style, the point of the book is clear - the ideology of 'utopia' is no longer isolated to modern conceptions of communism, but in fact, it is a vital part of liberal-democratic capitalism. It starts with a critique of modern political and capitalist rhetoric, then flows into a rather disjointed (but typically Žižek) analysis of everything from Starbucks to classical Marxism. Žižek's proposed response to this "ideology in the age of post-ideology" to continue a call to "get back to work" at establishing a new communist "Idea" for the twenty-first century, one that can escape the failings of twentieth-century experimentation, and one that works in modern-day social relations and structures of labour - a continuation of Badiou's work on a new "communist and socialist hypothesis."
I found the book to be a great read, with tons of compelling points made and would recommend it to anyone who has more than a passing interest in these ideas. At only 157 pages, it is easy enough to finish in a few days, great for a light introduction to the "new school" of modern communist philosophers.
For those who are not familiar with Žižek's work, he draws a lot from the concepts of Jacques Lacan and Alain Badiou, so it would be helpful to at least have a familiar knowledge of their core concepts before jumping into this book.
http://jazzy-dave.dreamwidth.org/
This tract by Žižek is another solid addition to his continuing work on ideology in contemporary society.
The book attacks contemporary capitalist society from a communist perspective, but not the communism of Marxism-Leninism but a contemporary communist thought rooted in the classics of Kant and Hegel, but strongly influenced by psychoanalysis and phenomenology.
While the book tends to flow with the efficiency of a falling brick, due to Žižek's unique style, the point of the book is clear - the ideology of 'utopia' is no longer isolated to modern conceptions of communism, but in fact, it is a vital part of liberal-democratic capitalism. It starts with a critique of modern political and capitalist rhetoric, then flows into a rather disjointed (but typically Žižek) analysis of everything from Starbucks to classical Marxism. Žižek's proposed response to this "ideology in the age of post-ideology" to continue a call to "get back to work" at establishing a new communist "Idea" for the twenty-first century, one that can escape the failings of twentieth-century experimentation, and one that works in modern-day social relations and structures of labour - a continuation of Badiou's work on a new "communist and socialist hypothesis."
I found the book to be a great read, with tons of compelling points made and would recommend it to anyone who has more than a passing interest in these ideas. At only 157 pages, it is easy enough to finish in a few days, great for a light introduction to the "new school" of modern communist philosophers.
For those who are not familiar with Žižek's work, he draws a lot from the concepts of Jacques Lacan and Alain Badiou, so it would be helpful to at least have a familiar knowledge of their core concepts before jumping into this book.
http://jazzy-dave.dreamwidth.org/