Our current capitalist system is untenable. We find ourselves on the brink of massive problems that call for drastic solutions. Meanwhile whatever remains of "the left" has been hedged in by western liberal democracy and seems to lack the energy to come up any solutions at all. Where do we look for truly radical ideas today?
In the provocative video below Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek responds to a bombardment of popular media images and quotes by modern-day thinkers - and discusses economic crisis, ecological collapse, war in Afghanistan and the end of democracy. It is fascinating to watch Zizek's whirlwind-like preformance as he launches forth with characteristic polemic style to ruthlessly criticize modern capitalism and to give his view on our common future.
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I think that "The Sublime Object of Ideology" is a fantastic book but it seems like he has moved backwards in some ways since. When he says, for example, that the viewer/listener will be "surprised" to hear what he thinks should be done about Afghanistan, there is little surprise. Instead, we get his usual contrarian position (to not withdraw, in this case) backed by shoddy logic. He claims that Afghanistan is more "fundamental" then it has ever been and we need to somehow fix that instead of withdrawing. If Afghanistan is indeed more fundamental than before the invasion, then wouldn't US presence be the primary cause, something that a withdrawal would help solve? Like I said, I really enjoy some of his work and find it very insightful but I think he would benefit from being much more rigorous in his thought.
It's hard to know what to say about all that PG.
I haven't gotten too much into Zizek's more theoretical work, but I do like what he has to say about coming up with some kind of neo-communism to counter-act the destruction of hyper-capitalism. Of course, things are more complex than that, but a neo-Marxism, I believe, has much to offer...
As far as Afghanistan goes, I completely agree with him on this one. We can't look at things in terms of simple binaries, 'black or white', or pull-out or stay, because the only way things will move forward for Afghans is if there is a "transition" to autonomy. We can't just drop everything and run - too much is at stake for the Afghan people.
Leaving too fast creates a vacuum, and vacuums are almost always filled by those who have the most guns. If the Taliban is allowed to take over that country again it will become a breeding ground for all sorts of pathologies.
Is that the kind of society we want Afghans to be left with?
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