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Book 8 - Slavoj Zizek "Trouble In Paradise"
Slavoj Zizek "Trouble In Paradise" (Penguin)
Zizek is an iconoclast whose writing is often impenetrable but can also, at times be thought-provoking and entertaining. The best parts of the book are his analyses of the 2007-2008 banking crisis and the various wars in the middle east. The most difficult parts are his complex analyses of the struggles in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine, and his general thesis about the need to reformulate communism as a bulwark against the worst excesses of modern-day capitalism.
It is as if the trouble feeds on itself: the march of capitalism has become inexorable, the only game in town. Setting out to diagnose the condition of global capitalism, the ideological constraints we are faced within our daily lives, and the bleak future promised by this system, Slavoj Žižek explores the possibilities - and the traps - of new emancipatory struggles.
His writing is most entertaining when he wanders off into analogies based on works of popular culture and jokes. Thus, he explains why masturbation is more satisfying than full sex, how zombies and vampires reflect the class struggle (zombies are the down-trodden masses, vampires are the wealthy aristocracy) and how the present state of world politics is reflected in Batman movies. So, whilst I may infer it is more readable than expected, it is still a mind-warping ride.
Zizek is an iconoclast whose writing is often impenetrable but can also, at times be thought-provoking and entertaining. The best parts of the book are his analyses of the 2007-2008 banking crisis and the various wars in the middle east. The most difficult parts are his complex analyses of the struggles in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine, and his general thesis about the need to reformulate communism as a bulwark against the worst excesses of modern-day capitalism.
It is as if the trouble feeds on itself: the march of capitalism has become inexorable, the only game in town. Setting out to diagnose the condition of global capitalism, the ideological constraints we are faced within our daily lives, and the bleak future promised by this system, Slavoj Žižek explores the possibilities - and the traps - of new emancipatory struggles.
His writing is most entertaining when he wanders off into analogies based on works of popular culture and jokes. Thus, he explains why masturbation is more satisfying than full sex, how zombies and vampires reflect the class struggle (zombies are the down-trodden masses, vampires are the wealthy aristocracy) and how the present state of world politics is reflected in Batman movies. So, whilst I may infer it is more readable than expected, it is still a mind-warping ride.
