Principled Opportunism & Leftist Strategy

In his words 21

“I am ein moderat konservativer Kommunist.”
~44:02 The revolution and the real · Žižek's self-definition: moderately conservative communist

“what i without shame, call moderate conservative... a moderately conservative communist.”
10:51 Our World Is Coming To An End | Aaron Bastani Meets Slavoj Žižek | Downstream · moderately conservative communist

“It's easy to be principled. But I'm tired of this principled left which likes to organize some big event and then they are ecstatic and live from nostalgic memories for decades.”
16:49 Twitch Q&A · critique of principled opportunism on the left

The stories that teach it

the jokes and anecdotes he reaches for when he works in this idea, ranked by how many of its talks they turn up in; each card is one story, with every retelling on its page

anecdote · in 10 of its talks

Native Americans prefer 'Indians'

A Native American man in Missoula, Montana told Žižek he prefers 'Indian' over 'Native American' because 'at least that is a monument to white man's stupidity', and proceeded to demolish the left-liberal image of indigenous people as ecologically holistic, saying they burned m…

example · in 9 of its talks

V for Vendetta morning after

In the final scene of V for Vendetta thousands of unarmed Londoners march on parliament and the people take over; Žižek says he would sell his mother into slavery to see Part 2, what happens the day after the victory.

joke · in 10 of its talks

coffee without cream / coffee without milk

A customer orders coffee without cream; the waiter says they have no cream but can offer coffee without milk. Even though the result is identical, the absent supplement matters, Hegelian negativity in a joke.

anecdote · in 10 of its talks

Niels Bohr's horseshoe

Niels Bohr had a horseshoe on his country-house door; when a scientist friend asked why a scientist would keep a superstitious charm, Bohr answered 'I was told it works even if you don't believe in it', Žižek's model for ideology today.

anecdote · in 7 of its talks

Himmler and the Bhagavad Gita

Himmler kept the Bhagavad Gita on him as the answer to how to murder Jews without becoming beasts, 'acting through a distance', doing one's duty detached from the deed.

example · in 6 of its talks

Assange defines Google as private NSA

Assange's book argues Google is a corporate-run National Security Agency: the dangerous Western form of surveillance is invisible because it is experienced as free surfing, the paradigm case of unfreedom experienced as freedom.

Bolivia and Álvaro García Linera6 Kurosawa's Hamlet6 Uganda anti-gay law and the unholy alliance6 Bernie Sanders at Biden's inauguration6 Heydrich 1936 letter on Jewish emigration to Palestine6 Fukushima and Tokyo evacuation6 The ANC veteran's nostalgia for apartheid5 Haiti Revolution5 Goldwyn's New Clichés memo5 Salman Rushdie, Dickens and Austen as great Indian writers4

Where it comes up 128

172 moments located in the transcripts, click a timestamp to play from there

Piers Morgan vs Slavoj Zizek On Israel-Hamas, Putin And Morepub. 2024-03-15 · 39:39

1:56 moderately conservative communist

I am not surprised by it because to provoke you and our public now, you know how I define myself quite seriously? A moderately conservative communist.

39:11 moral majority

… Let's not be afraid of this term moral majority.

~37:46 common decency

actually you're a voice of common sense in a sea of tribalistic madness. But you know what I will tell you, very important what you said now. Because you know that now I come to another point which will bring us to this. That's why …

The REAL Point of Trump’s Tariffs | Aaron Bastani Meets Slavoj Žižek2025-04-13 · 2:07:22

1:28:43 principled opportunism

… And I I I don't have a I I don't have a my idea is here what I called in one of my texts principled opportunism or pragmatism.

1:31:11 moral majority

… incerely admire, I'm not without criticism of Bernie Sanders, but I really admire in him is that as a person isn't he some kind of a decent moral majority, decent or I like this out of any cheap radical statements you know this common sense decency and I met friends once I almost met him because I have friends in Burlington Vermont.

1:31:18 common decency

… is that as a person isn't he some kind of a decent moral majority, decent or I like this out of any cheap radical statements you know this common sense decency and I met friends once I almost met him because I have friends in Burlington Vermont.

+2 more in this talk

Communist Philosopher Trashes Capitalism2020-05-16 · 1:19:50

0:09 moderately conservative communist

… , although I am some very strange type of communist, but as my more moderate right-wing friend Tyler Cowen wonderfully describes me, I am a moderately conservative communist.

1:01:33 principled pragmatism

it's important to have what I call, and I hope you will agree with this, principled pragmatics.

59:05 Howard Roark communism

… I would like to live in Howard Roark communism.

Slavoj Zizek:Lenin,Stalin, China,India, Africa,Yugoslavia,Latin America, fascism, democracy, & West2024-02-03 · 1:25:29

1:22:20 principled opportunism

… ave such good relations with him Alain Badiou that was my conflict with him because he is for me too much what I call not in Leninist sense principled opportunism whenever there was an actual movement his idea was no this is not the real thing they will fail we have to wait for real revolutions that's …

12:55 principled pragmatism

… nin was never orthodox in the sense of following an abstract Marxist dogma he was I like this term and I mean it in a positive way he was a principled pragmatist a principled even opportunist he followed unconditionally his principles but he was at the same time extremely plastic pragmatic about what …

46:28 Leninist

… reigners arriving to our country this is a big decision so the majority has nothing to say about it or whatever you know what I mean here a Leninist spirit is required this rethinking without any prejudices the new constellation even in India my sympathies there were where where of course as ex …

+2 more in this talk

Slavoj Žižek Interview and 2024 US Election Latest | W News, Riz Khan & Global News Today 30/10/242024-10-30 · 2:58:15

1:24:52 moderately conservative communist

be—that's here comes the moderate conservative aspect—we should be very careful.

50:08 authentic leader

… No, an authentic strong leader shakes you, moves you.