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First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

by Slavoj Žižek

3.81 · rating details · 570 ratings · 86 reviews

Billions of dollars have been hastily poured into the global banking system in a frantic attempt at financial stabilization. So why has it not been possible to bring the same forces to bear in addressing world poverty and environmental crisis?

In this take-no-prisoners analysis, Slavoj Zizek frames the moral failures of the modern world in terms of the epoch-making events o

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Paperback, First Edition, 157 pages

Published October 5th 2009 by Verso

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Jun 01, 2011

Troy rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

**Spoilers**

Before commenting on this book I should first confess my somewhat perverse motivations in reading it: a sudden irrational fear at not keeping abreast of things, I nevertheless didn’t expect to enjoy it. Perhaps my recent reading of Eliot’s “After Strange Gods” put me in the mood for yet another male Anglo-Saxon cultural critic foisting his theory of societal ills and reform on the world (this lending the title of Zizek’s book a further irony to that already lurking ...more

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Feb 10, 2012

Publicserviceradio rated it

Firstly, this book has the worst opening paragraph of any book I’ve ever read. It demands that the person reading the book should stop right there and not bother, unless they already conform to a belief in communism. Not only is that self-defeating, it is arrogant and separatist.

That aside this is a very passionate cry for communism, and does for socialism what atheism does for agnosticism. It’s all or nothing with Zizek which can be viewed with passion or cynicism as is your wont. The...moreFirstly, this book has the worst opening paragraph of any book I’ve ever read. It demands that the person reading the book should stop right there and not bother, unless they already conform to a belief in communism. Not only is that self-defeating, it is arrogant and separatist.

That aside this is a very passionate cry for communism, and does for socialism what atheism does for agnosticism. It’s all or nothing with Zizek which can be viewed with passion or cynicism as is your wont. There is a lot of academic hiding of what the author really feels and the expansion of topics that could be written much more concisely, this is the curse of the philosopher I suppose.

Zizek would like to see history stop apologising for communism, or perhaps for communism to stop apologising for history and to begin again from the beginning, in the classic Leninist style. Unfortunately reality doesn’t work in this format and communism as an ideology will forever be tainted by its historical actors, sadly, and in some cases unfairly. Zizek does make a valid point regarding the time frame of when capitalists are going to start their apologies for historical tragedy and multiple catastrophes related to the economic superstructure we are all now forced to subscribe to.

The book is split in to two parts the first being the reawakening of ideology where some have claimed it is dead, and that we live in a post ideological world. To be post ideological is an ideological standpoint in itself, and is the overwhelming paradox of postmodernism. The second part deals with the communist platform and the discovery of space in which to posit the idea.

The future battle in Zizek’s world will be between communism and socialism, as even opposing figures such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx agreed on the inevitability of democracy leading to socialism. It isn’t easy to get on with the style of writing let alone the arguments themselves but it is passionate and well argued with some terrific insight from one of the greatest and most unafraid leftist thinkers in the world today who tells us that Communism itself is not the solution, it is the vehicle for the solution to become apparent in the cyclical war against capital. (less)

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Jan 16, 2012

Jacob Cook rated it

This tract by Žižek is another solid addition to his continuing work on ideology in contemporary society. 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 on modern political and capitalist rhetoric, then flows into a rather disjointed (but ty...more

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Sep 26, 2011

Unwordy rated it

Words are never "only words"; they matter because they define the contours of what we can do.

This limitation on reformist gradualism also leads us on to the limits of political cynicism. There is one thing about Henry Kissinger, the ultimate cynical Realpolitiker, which cannot but strike all observers: namely, how utterly wrong all his predictions have been. For example, when news reached the West about the anti-Gorbachev military coup of 1991, Kissinger immediately accepted the new

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Feb 27, 2010

James rated it

Shelves: philosophy

Zizek is a genuine superstar and is slowly reawakening a radical impulse out of the inertia of modern liberal democratic society.

His message (a sort of emergent and newly refashioned Marxism) is not particularly popular for most people but through his meticulous and exhaustive analysis of the deadlock of the present age he makes an enormously persuasive argument that the main problem we face today is the persistence of global capitalism. In order to spruce up his argument he digs in...more

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Feb 10, 2010

Bo rated it

One of Zizek's most topical, readable, coherant, and reigned-in books. Throughout, he skewers some of the irrationalities, embedded contradictions & structural global class hypocrisies embedded in international capitalism. He convincingly describes the bank bailout as an amnesiac continuation of spiral descent of global financial markets, that effectively defends the institutions from any possible repercussions, and psychoanalyzes cultural and political reactions to the bailout. He concludes...moreOne of Zizek's most topical, readable, coherant, and reigned-in books. Throughout, he skewers some of the irrationalities, embedded contradictions & structural global class hypocrisies embedded in international capitalism. He convincingly describes the bank bailout as an amnesiac continuation of spiral descent of global financial markets, that effectively defends the institutions from any possible repercussions, and psychoanalyzes cultural and political reactions to the bailout. He concludes that many of society's angry, convoluted reactions to the bailout and the financial crisis are delusions (i.e. fear of socialism, a fear of financial collapse which rationalize the continuation of propping up the banks) that are effectively managed by a pervasive capitalist ideology, which undermine any actual apprehension of ways to improve the system, or find real (read:radical) solutions (Zizek is an avowed communist). Zizek the theorist then convincingly goes on to describe how we, in the age of liberal economic markets and the supposed freedom of the individual/consumer, consider ourselves absolutely free of ideology (in the sense of fascistic or communistic ideological systems that plagued the 20th century), but that this belief itself the myth at the core of capitalist ideology. Namely, this myth is the driving force behind the large-scale delusions that have allowed the financial markets to go crazy, that drove Bernie Madoff to cheat with any thought towards the end-game, that allows for the free-from-consequences moral hazard of the financial systems. As always, Zizek is shockingly funny and entertaining- he casts Berlusconi as a destructive cultural force as dangerous as Kung Fu Panda, tells dirty jokes from the Soviet Union, and merrily skewers his opponents. He also writes extremely honestly and eloquently about Obama's election. Only towards the end, in a chapter called The Communist Hypothesis, he uses Hegelian Dialectics to discuss the possible rebirth of a Communist movement to act as a corrective to Global Capitalism gone amok- which could only be activated by a vibrant transnational protaletarian. It's here when things get dense and harder to follow, especially coming after the breezy, penetrating and polemical first 3/4 of the book. But in general, a great book, an ideal place to first experience the power and pleasure of Zizek, that deserves wider readership in universities and colleges all over the world. (less)

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Nov 15, 2009

Kyle rated it

Shelves: favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 23, 2011

Malcolm MacLean rated it

The last really compelling Žižek I read was The Ticklish Subject (published in 1999), and in the last ten years I have become increasingly irritated with his reliance on Lacan to make sense of materialist politics and our place in the material world, but even more so by his tendency to argue by analogy (and concede a bit of the pot and kettle in that criticism, according to some who have critiqued me). But this, alongside In Defence of Lost Causes (at least according to the reviews – it is in th...moreThe last really compelling Žižek I read was The Ticklish Subject (published in 1999), and in the last ten years I have become increasingly irritated with his reliance on Lacan to make sense of materialist politics and our place in the material world, but even more so by his tendency to argue by analogy (and concede a bit of the pot and kettle in that criticism, according to some who have critiqued me). But this, alongside In Defence of Lost Causes (at least according to the reviews – it is in the read in the next month or so pile), sees a return to the politics of struggle.

In this case, the tragedy is the 11 September 2001 attacks on NYC & Washington DC, while the farce is the banking crisis of 2008. In between Žižek sees the exposure of the limits of capitalist triumphalism and liberalism's path to a future world. Instead, and developing work by Badiou, he argues that in the contemporary world we are faced with two options only: capitalism or communism. Socialism, even if it was ever a viable alternative before Labour parties and Stalin crippled it, is now more obviously than ever a means to save capitalism – witness the banking crisis solved by protecting the privatisation of profit and effecting the socialisation of debt.

He sees contemporary political struggles centred on three commons that are being enclosed: culture (including cognitive culture such as language and education, as well as our shared social and economic infrastructure), external nature (the world around us), and internal nature (what he calls the biogenetic inheritance of humanity). It is not these three contradictions (oddly, for a Hegelian, Žižek prefers antagonisms) that distinguish new communism, but a fundamentally transformative struggle with and on behalf of the excluded against the included.

Unlike Negri & Hardt who see the struggle as that of a (poorly defined and delineated) multitude, Žižek finds inspiration elsewhere: in Hegel. In particular he looks to the young Hegel's support for the Haitian revolution of the 1790s to remind us that a genuinely revolutionary act occurs when the excluded (in this case, Black slaves) force their way into the world of the included (in this case by claiming a struggle for freedom against colonial France – by now republican – in the very terms of that republic).

The book is frustrating, at times circuitous but more direct than recent other book length work, and inspiring. For all its faults, it is one of the most compelling attempts to make sense for the Left of current confused and contradictory world where we are voices on the margin. What is more, it helped me clarify the politics of work I have been doing for some time now dealing 'intellectual property'.(less)

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May 18, 2010

Matthew Linton rated it

Zizek's written work is like pre-packaged trail mix: there are parts of his thought that are brilliant and delicious, but in equal measure, there are other elements that I vehemently disagree with or find so unintelligible that I immediately want to give up reading his work. "First as Tragedy" is not an exception to the trail mix principle.

In chorus with Alain Badiou, Zizek hopes to usher in a new era of anti-capitalist protest leading to the overthrow or rejection of capi...moreZizek's written work is like pre-packaged trail mix: there are parts of his thought that are brilliant and delicious, but in equal measure, there are other elements that I vehemently disagree with or find so unintelligible that I immediately want to give up reading his work. "First as Tragedy" is not an exception to the trail mix principle.

In chorus with Alain Badiou, Zizek hopes to usher in a new era of anti-capitalist protest leading to the overthrow or rejection of capitalism in favor of a new breed of communism. Zizek is at his best when galvanizing the reader to accept the "communist hypothesis" in light of the recent failures of free market economics and neo-liberal democracy. Working from the two most important world historical events of the young twenty-first century, September 11th and the recent global recession, Zizek forcefully, and successfully, refutes Fukuyama's thesis that the end of the Cold War was the beginning of the unchallenged reign of free market capitalism and liberal democracy. Relying on examples ranging from the creeping Fascism in modern Italy to the successes of neo-communist policy in Morales' Bolivia, Zizek's diagnosis of the mortal sickness of capitalist, neo-liberal hegemony is well-argued and timely.

Where Zizek fails is when he tries to diagnose the social problems resultant from capitalist social fragmentation using Lacanian psychoanalytic methods. Name dropping the Real and the Big Other to explain the current social landscape, usually with little or no explanation as to what those terms mean, was disorienting and confusing. Unlike other social commentators who have deployed psychoanalytic jargon extemporaneously, Christopher Lasch's late writing jumps to mind, Zizek's reliance on Lacan as opposed to Freud presents difficulty for American readers in whose culture Lacan has gained little traction. This is not the first time my reading of Zizek has been derailed by his debt to Lacan,but I would expect in a book such as "First" which is meant to reach a wide audience Zizek would be careful to explain his terms.

Overall, I think this is a step in the right direction for Zizek's thought and his call for action is inspired and original. However, his continued reliance on Lacan is a barrier in connecting to American audiences who have little cultural connection to his work.(less)

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Oct 09, 2011

Христо Блажев rated it

Славой Жижек мечтае комунизмът да смени капитализма
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/08/blog...

“Първо като трагедия, после като фарс”. Привлекателно заглавие, интересен автор, представен като “най-опасният философ на Запада”. Всъщност става дума за словенски философ и културен критик (каквото и да значи последното), който преподава в доста от елитните университети. Знайно е, че именно в светилищата на науката лявото мислене винаги е било силно, затова и не е изненада, че Славой Ж...more

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Feb 15, 2011

Jesse Lopes rated it

Zizek is the most popular communist intellectual in U.S. history. Why? Because he is loud, tells potty jokes and gesticulates like a madman (like, not coincidentally, all of the most popular U.S. comedians e.g. Carlin, Lewis Black, Dane Cook etc.). I don't know about you, but I am not mentally taxed whatsoever by this seemingly endless, empty rambling about various cultural phenomena without any logical connections except through Zizek's dogmatic Hegelian insight. Accordingly, Zizek is basically...more

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Jun 21, 2011

Carolyn rated it

Žižek presents an insightful check on our lukewarm existences within modern Western capitalist frameworks. A lot of people seem dissatisfied with this philosopher's anecdotal nature, but the bits of pop culture sprinkled in amongst its actual thesis help to keep the discourse grounded in pragmatism. This book is specifically a strong check for a lot of privileges and has definitely made me more aware of my own in relation to capital, class, and race. However, the author seems too overbearing in ...more

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Jan 12, 2011

Aaron rated it

Overall, an incredibly insightful book for me, one who is not well versed in Hegel, Marx, Badiou, or a myriad of other thinkers who process ideas of capital and the market...among many other things. At times I felt as though I could never possibly understand what was being said without some vast prior knowledge of history, economics, and past scholars. It goes without saying that Žižek knows his stuff, and perhaps if I had read this book after many more years of schooling more of it would be a...more

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Nov 30, 2011

Scott Lupo rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

I've seen Slovoj Zizek on YouTube many times talking about the social ills of society and the world. I liked what I heard so I thought reading one his books was the next step to understanding him more. I'm not sure this was the appropriate book to start with but what the heck. I haven't read a philosophy book in quite a while so it took some re-reading many paragraphs and pages before getting into it. Also, I was not familiar with all his references so Google searches helped. Being familiar...more

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Aug 04, 2011

Dylan Popowicz rated it

Reading any of Žižek's shorter and considerably more “mainstream” books generally leads the way to the (now common) repetition of the same material and points simply illuminated through a different series of literal, philosophical and cinematic references. And it's not that "First As Tragedy, Then As Farce" is that different, as such, but there is definitely a clarity of Idea, especially that of Revolutionary force, that comes with Slavoj's latest work, that you would be forgiven for m...more

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Mar 12, 2011

Rob rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, school-reading, politics, read-in-2011, philosophy

(7/10) Zizek is kind of an academic rockstar right now, and it's easy to see why: he combines political radicalism, Lacan, and pop culture in a way that's both exciting and mystifying, and his writing manages to be fairly accessible without seeming dumbed down. There are also a lot of genuine insights in this book concerning the current state of capitalism, and it's worth reading for them alone.

I do have to argue with a big part of Zizek's ideas here, and that's his condemnation of hu...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Rob rated it

Shelves: left, philosophy, politics

I am writing this review a week after the terrible massacre in Norway.
I may as well reveal myself to be politically a left social democrat. I dislike political violence left or right. I think it ineffective except in very limited revolutionary situations. I do think that we can reform capitalism until it is a substantially different system. On many issues I therefore disagree with Zizek. He is a Leninist. I am not.

Coincedently I have done a lot of John Gray recently and I find ...more

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Jul 07, 2011

Andrew Hathaway rated it

Zizek tackles the financial crisis of 2008 with his usual lucid mix of just about every form of political, economic and philosophical theory he can think of. The introduction sections are mesmerizing and Zizek moves at a blinding pace with a clear eye for showing how American philosophy in just about every span of life contributed to our current situation. However the honeymoon doesn't last, and when Zizek queues up the ol' "We have to return to Communism" discussion I grew a bit wea...more

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Nov 13, 2009

Nick rated it

Wow, what a mind! This almost feels like a Communist Manifesto for the 21st century.

The premise of the book is simple: Capitalism sucks, here are a lot of reasons why, and here are some reasons why we should give Communism (not socialism!) another chance. His basic question upon which he bases the whole book is a good one: why is it that we have now accepted the capitalist system when only forty years ago we were still weighing other options? What has happened in contemporary society...moreWow, what a mind! This almost feels like a Communist Manifesto for the 21st century.

The premise of the book is simple: Capitalism sucks, here are a lot of reasons why, and here are some reasons why we should give Communism (not socialism!) another chance. His basic question upon which he bases the whole book is a good one: why is it that we have now accepted the capitalist system when only forty years ago we were still weighing other options? What has happened in contemporary society (i.e. what has Capitalism done lately) to lull people (i.e. Americans and Western Europeans) into the belief that despite the bugs in the system, we’re still living in the best of all possible ideologies? I find this completely fascinating, startling and refreshing—-after eight years of Bush and the conservatives, having the Democrats back in power in Washington did feel like a radical change. Yet here is a book that defies that idea, a book in which the word “liberal” is a bad word not because it represents the left but because it is too far to the right!

Beyond a belief in the abstract beauty and effectiveness of Communism, Zizek doesn’t really give any real recommendations about how to achieve it without also inducing that familiar 20th century problem: the rise of totalitarianism post-revolution. (Not that he ignores this either: he himself asks the question of why this phenomenon occurs repeatedly in various times and situations.) Yet his belief that there must be a way out, that the reality we’re living in, from the damaging effect Capitalism is having on psyches and lives around the world in our current recession to the imminent global catastrophes that appear to be fast approaching, must be changed, and quickly, is very inspiring. His sense of urgency lends his writing great relevancy in our era of friendly-faced-yet-still-exploitative Big Business.

Whether or not a return to Communism is the answer, Zizek certainly makes his point effectively; one of the best things about his writing is how clear his ideas are. In college, my exposure to continental philosophy tended to be limited to Derrida and his acolytes. The dense, impregnable prose of those writers was a real turn-off. To be honest, Zizek does not fully escape jargon completely—there are a number of passages where the layman might become frustrated due to annoying cultural theory-isms from Lacanian psychoanalysis—but for the most part, Zizek manages to present very exciting ideas with lucid prose.

Zizek’s pop culture approach to argumentation also involves the reader in otherwise abstruse areas. Zizek uses everything from the current economic crisis to Obama’s election to Starbucks’ Ethos water to the film, The Baader Meinhof Complex to make his points. His brain and writing jump almost chaotically from point to point but like a fractal, the pieces start to form a very clear and organized picture.

I have heard that Zizek tends to repeat ideas from book to book. Since this was my first exposure to him, I can’t really confirm that idea in First as Tragedy, Then as Farce, but looking at his bibliography, it would make sense if it were true: he has about 40-or-so odd books and this is the third book he’s come out with this year (and apparently there’s another one on the way for the winter!) Hence, I don’t know if this is the best book to start with, if he articulates his ideas best in this book, etc., etc. I do know that this was a very exciting and fun read and would recommend it to anyone whose mind is open enough to try and envision a world beyond global Capitalism. If Zizek is right, those minds might be needed very soon!(less)

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Feb 17, 2010

Joe rated it

Recommends it for: "progressives"

Recommended to Joe by: JD

Shelves: theory, 2010

It's taken me some time to finally pick up a Zizek book, though I've long been a distant admirer. Zizek is one of the clearest writers I've read recently, which is not to say that the other theorists are exceptionally difficult but that Zizek has the ability to combine precision with velocity and cover more ground in the space of two sentences than some critics cover in two pages. And that's what makes him special and relevant; it reminds me of a recent J. Spahr blog post where she says somethin...more

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Nov 09, 2011

Don rated it

Zizek is entertaining and worth reading for his wit and occasional insight, but I disagree with his approach (and certainly his conclusions) almost completely.

To pick one thing, I think he is absolutely wrong to understand the great horrors of the 20th century, Nazism and Stalinism, to be best characterized by Auschwitz and the gulags, respectively. This is the popular narrative, but it perversely gives the Russian and German regimes 'too much credit'. Auschwitz and the gulags were...moreZizek is entertaining and worth reading for his wit and occasional insight, but I disagree with his approach (and certainly his conclusions) almost completely.

To pick one thing, I think he is absolutely wrong to understand the great horrors of the 20th century, Nazism and Stalinism, to be best characterized by Auschwitz and the gulags, respectively. This is the popular narrative, but it perversely gives the Russian and German regimes 'too much credit'. Auschwitz and the gulags were real and horrible, but Nazism and Stalinism ought to be understood via Treblinka and the intentional starvation of peasants in Ukraine.

His reduction of the Soviet horror to the gulags and purges, rather than the intentional starvation of millions in the 1930s, is one of the convenient lies he uses to build his defense of 'Jacobin-Bolshevism' and voluntarism generally.

From the book: "Our most elementary experience of subjectivity is that of the "richness of my inner life": this is what I "really am", in contrast to the symbolic determinations and responsibilities I assume in in public life (a father, professor, etc). The first lesson of psychoanalysis here is that this "richness of inner life" is fundamentally fake: it is a screen, a false distance, whose function is ,as it were, to save my appearance, to render palpable (accessible to my imaginary narcissism) my true social-symbolic identity. One of the ways to practice the critique of ideology is therefore to invent strategies for unmasking this hypocrisy of the "inner life" and its "sincere" emotions. The experience we have of our lives from within, the story we tell ourselves about ourselves in order to account for what we are doing, is thus a lie - the truth lies rather outsie, in what we do."

At some point, we should read Zizek through Zizek and realizes his provocations are the substance of his ideas. He hedges his bets (see his discussion of the Cultural Revolution re: Naomi Klein's 'Shock Doctrine'), but his gross Leninism isn't hidden at all. Going from the quotation above, should we not look at Zizek's actual political career in Slovenia as who he 'really' is?(less)

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Dec 21, 2009

Naeem rated it

Recommends it for: Evgenia, Manu, Julie, sarah B., Sara-Maria, Steph, Julie, Betsy, Daksha, Kiel, Will, Shaun, Jo-el,

Recommended to Naeem by: Zillah

I find it hard to review this book. It is similar to Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine in that it synthesizes contemporary history from about the fall of the actually socialist countries to the present. And, it is a highly coherent synthesis in which Klein's book plays a small role. But, unlike Shock Doctrine, the history-theory ratio favors theory.

Theoretically it is the usual mix of astounding Zizekian pyrotechnics -- Freud, Lacan, the usual mix of French theorists, Kant, Hegel, and ...more

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Dec 25, 2009

Jeremy added it

Shelves: philosophy, sociological

When he waxes heavy on psychoanalysis and Badiou, I was kind of lost, but the book is peppered with these smart little observations about the world circa 2009, and his references are so well used and so amusingly varied, that I can't help but like the whole thing. What I really appreciate is his attempt to not merely diagnose the stasis currently effecting the new left, but to also try and provide a solid foundation for reinvigorating it in light of the events of the past decade. I also really e...more

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Jan 14, 2012

Christine rated it

I encountered Zizek once, on a downtown Q train, gesturing wildly and arguing with some NYU students he seemed to be engaging with about the absurdity of our doomed system. I found the same unbridled demonstrative Zizek while reading this book.
In it, he breaks down his thesis into two parts, diagnosis and prescription. The first part I found really interesting and convincing and especially interesting in that it predates the Occupy Wall St protests. He uses the bank crisis and subsequent ...more

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Feb 01, 2011

Bill added it

This book mostly acts as an economic and political muckracker that is infused with a good sense of humor and a clever pop cultural sensibility. Towards the end it starts to become a more overt call for marxism, which isn't wrong per se, but it tended to be executed in a half-hearted style that seems much more ready to decry problems without really answering with anything creative, concrete or strategic. It essentially gives the impression of "we'll have to figure that out later" and th...more

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May 17, 2011

Mike rated it

Imperfect and wildly ranging over a ton of related topics - I think this is more like sitting down with Zizek and having him talk at you rather than a conventional book. I got a lot more out of his recorded lectures that are all over the place on Youtube.

I still loved it, in a way, but there's just so much going on here and it would be nice if it was teased apart, just a little, by an editor. I could still watch him talk on Youtube for hours, crazy slavic madman accent and all.
...more

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Apr 20, 2011

Sarah rated it

Shelves: philosophy, central-europe-russia

This book is an undending rant. It claims it is about 9/11 and the financial collapse but as I remember it, 9/11 is mentioned once in passing and the financial collapse is mentioned about twice, one time as a reference to Naomi Klein (holla). That said, its a brutal and delightful critique of capitalism, a heartfelt plea for a reconfiguration and constitution of communism, and a slaughtering of the liberal left and the conservative right. Zizek is a quote machine and there are no shortage of g...more

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Dec 20, 2009

Esther rated it

I do not give a 5 star rating to any old book, so this rating should tell you that this is one of those books those highly instructive and rare gems. It is communist political philosophy which speaks of the current economic meltdown and the possible outcomes we can look forward to for our future: capitalism with asian values, fascism, communism? It makes a case agaist socialism inside the capitalist framework and calls for a transformation of the state and of course proletariat dictatorship. The...more

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Feb 10, 2011

Andrew rated it

Shelves: philosophy

One of my favorite Żiżek books so far.

Read a lot of his books, and I think his biggest flaw as a writer is that he simply cannot stick to a topic, and in almost all his works ends up repeating himself in someway. Here he manages to stick pretty well to his thesis, minus a lengthy diversion in the middle.

I do believe he's a very good philosopher and cultural critic, and this book sees him speaking a bit more plainly, which hopefully could tame his reputation if carried on. He ...more

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Jan 23, 2010

Don rated it

Shelves: politics

Two extended essays which, firstly, argue against the idea that capitalism is a 'natural' system and is just as ideological as anthing that human beings do; and, secondly, that communism is an eternal idea whch presents itself to every generation. The issue is then, not 'wwaht is the relevance of communism to the situation today', but how can the communist idea be used to criticise capitalisam and hold out the prospect the possibility of an alternative.
Large parts of the text are mired in...more

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About Slavoj Žižek

Slavoj Žižek is a Slovene sociologist, philosopher, and cultural critic.

He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia). He received a Doctor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Ljubljana and studied psychoanalysis at the University of Paris VIII with Jacques-Alain Miller and François Regnault. In 1990 he was a candidate with the party Liberal Democracy of Sl...more

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Books by Slavoj Žižek

Welcome to the Desert of the Real: Five Essays on September 11 and Related Dates

Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan Through Popular Culture

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Quotes from First as Tragedy, Then...

“On the information sheet in a New York hotel, I recently read: 'Dear guest! To guarantee that you will fully enjoy your stay with us, this hotel is totally smoke-free. For any infringement of this regulation, you will be charged $200.' The beauty of this formulation, taken literally, is that you are to be punished for refusing to fully enjoy your stay.” — 5 people liked it

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First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

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