Saturday, December 20, 2008
Zizek Responds to Kirsch
Zizek opens this recent lecture by discussing Kirsch's previously mentioned attack in the New Republic. It's a somewhat oblique response, segueing into a discussion of fascism/fundamentalism as a symptom of the liberal order's foreclosure of radical leftist politics. Nonetheless, it makes the point that Kirsch is not simply willfully misreading him, he is exemplifying a very clear ideological operation, one that seeks to confuse leftist and rightist radicalism as two species of the same 'totalitarian' tendency.
The lecture is quite good, the basic theme being a concrete engagement with Marx's critique of political economy, against the purely culture-critical use of Marx (a tendency of which Zizek admits being guilty). He seems to finally be working on some new material rather than just constantly rehashing and rearranging old themes, as he has been wont to do in lectures the past year or so at least.
As the superego says: Enjoy!
Planomenology: "He seems to finally be working on some new material rather than just constantly rehashing and rearranging old themes..."
ReplyDeleteKvond: This of course might be like de Sade working on a new way for bodies to violate each other in his text, the very newness of such already being inscribed in his mandate, Enjoy! I have come to doubt Zizek's capacity for newness or originality, his having already entered into the very pleasing orbit around his petite object...but let us wait and see, perhaps Zizek is working on curing himself of his "sickness".