Zizek: First as Tragedy, Then as Farce Part II: It's Ideology Stupid!

So here's the part where I hash out Zizek's notion of the tragedy that we find ourselves in.  There are a ton of ideas in this chapter that all warrant some thought, but I tried to stick to his thoughts on the economic crisis and modern capitalism.

Zizek argues that the events of 9/11 symbolized the end of the Clintonite period and marked the beginning of a new era of walls, both outside and within the nation-state.  This highly symbolic and violent act, literally ripping down the two most emblematic buildings in the heart of Manhattan, and taking the lives of American civilians on American soil, ripped a hole in the notion of peaceful capitalist globalization cultivated by Clinton.  A politics of vengeance and division followed, both at the populist, blue-collar, “These Colors Don’t Run” bumper-sticker sporting level, but also among the elites at the highest echelons of society, in America and abroad.  9/11 affected almost everyone in the world, regardless of class or nationality.  The common feature that Zizek points out is fear.

ZIZEK: First as Tragedy, Then as Farce (Part I)

The photos I had seen of him were confirmed as he took the stage and began speaking and waving his hands frantically: Slavoj Zikek is a sweaty, schlubby, whirling-dervish of a man. Zizek is a professor at the European Graduate School, International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck College, University of London, and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He’s considered a sort of maverick philosopher/public intellectual and is sometimes described as the “Elvis of Cultural Theory” or “the most dangerous philosopher in the West.” I would add that he’s definitely a genius and funny as hell.