Slavoj Zizek. The Future of Europe. 2009 4/12
Talk · European Graduate School Video Lectures ·
2009-03-07 · 0:08:20 · 1,176 words
ideologygeopolitics-warcapitalismhistoryphilosophy-general
Žižek argues that cultural struggle is the residual form of politics in Fukuyama’s global capitalist order, urging a return to serious theoretical thinking. He uses a Soviet-style joke about Lenin to illustrate the need for critical interpretation over mere action, then analyzes the 2008 financial crisis and 9/11 as the death of the liberal utopia. He concludes that the world is entering a multicentric era where liberal democratic capitalism no longer imposes itself as a universal formula, presenting a potential opportunity for Europe.
every located moment in this recording, click one to read it
The ideas in it 8
in the order they first come up; click a row for what he does with the idea here
as “Fukuyamaist global capitalist world”
The current political order where traditional politics is over, leaving only cultural struggles as the remaining form of conflict.
A term used by Bill Gates that Žižek critiques as a misuse of the notion of creativity.
Žižek’s self-identification as a 'Leninist' meaning one who prioritizes 'learning, learning, and learning' (critical interpretation) over direct action.
The famous dictum 'philosophers have only interpreted the world; the point is to change it,' which Žižek proposes to invert for the current era.
The current crisis (financial/political) seen as a reaction against the 'utopia' of the 1990s liberal consensus.
as “liberal utopia”
The 1990s belief in liberal capitalist democracy as a universal, cynical formula for history, which Žižek argues has now died.
as “multicentric global capitalism”
The emerging post-9/11 world order characterized by multiple centers of power (US, China, India, Europe, Russia) competing, rather than a single liberal hegemony.
A green motto that Žižek inverts to 'think locally, act globally' to critique US foreign policy.
Stories he reaches for 1
A Soviet joke where Marx prefers a wife, Engels a mistress, but Lenin wants both so he can lie to each about being with the other; when asked what he actually does, Lenin replies: 'learn, learn and learn.'
“Lenin answers: learn, learn and learn.”
People invoked 10
Samuel Huntington negative
Referenced via 'Huntington-like' to criticize the discourse of 'different civilizations'.
Mentioned in the context of Iraq being 'much more fundamentalist' now than under his rule.
Vladimir Lenin positive
Žižek considers himself a 'Leninist' in the sense of prioritizing learning/interpretation, illustrated by the joke about Lenin.
Francis Fukuyama negative
Cited as the figure representing the 'Fukuyamaist global capitalist world' and the 'Fukuyama utopia' of the 90s, which Žižek argues has failed.
George W. Bush negative
Described as having 'objectively' ruined the international status of the US and succeeded in ruining its standing, to the delight of fanatical leftists.
George H. W. Bush negative
Same as George W. Bush; Žižek says a fanatical leftist should 'burn a candle every evening' for him for ruining US international status.
Mentioned in the Lenin joke as the 'dissolute' character who prefers a mistress.
Bill Gates negative
Mentioned as someone who misuses the term 'creativity' by coining 'creative capitalism'.
Karl Marx positive
Cited as the author of the 11th Thesis on Feuerbach, which Žižek proposes to reinvent/invert.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel positive
Cited for the principle that 'all things had to die twice' (political and economic death of the utopia).
Transcript 4 turns
Slavoj Žižek
On the other hand, Clash of Civilizations, cultural struggle, is precisely the form of politics in Fukuyamaist global capitalist world. The only when politics is over, when we think we have the formula, the only struggles that remain are are cultural cultural struggles. And I think it's important that we break out of it. Again, how by... okay, let me... I know the problem with term creativity, to say creative thinking, of course we need it, is that this notion creativity is so misused by people like Bill Gates who even uses the term of creative capitalism, no? But okay, let me just finish this first part and then I will give you some concrete proposals with... provoking you. Another joke I cannot resist, to get off my chest, in what sense, along the lines I developed here, I still consider myself a Leninist. A Leninist in the sense, of course, East Europe, political jokes. I don't know if you are some of you many I was told are coming from post-communist countries, if it was also in your country, in my country, in Russia they told me, there was this classical joke about... you know how in all many at least classes there was this famous school class, school sorry room... there was this motto by Lenin, Lenin's advice to to pupils what to do: learn, learn and learn, Lenin, no? So the joke is that that they asked Marx, Engels and Lenin what do you prefer to have, a wife or mistress? Marx, more conservative, says wife. Engels, more dissolute, says oh mistress. Lenin says both. And they're shocked, Lenin was supposed to be ascetic, why? Why? Is he... Lenin then answers so that you can tell your wife that you are with your mistress and you tell your mistress that you're with your wife. Then they ask him okay, but what you really do? Lenin answers: learn, learn and learn.
On the other hand, Clash of Civilizations, cultural struggle, is precisely the form of politics in Fukuyamaist global capitalist world. The only when politics is over, when we think we have the formula, the only struggles that remain are are cultural cultural struggles. And I think it's important that we break out of it. Again, how by... okay, let me... I know the problem with term creativity, to say creative thinking, of course we need it, is that this notion creativity is so misused by people like Bill Gates who even uses the term of creative capitalism, no? But okay, let me just finish this first part and then I will give you some concrete proposals with... provoking you. Another joke I cannot resist, to get off my chest, in what sense, along the lines I developed here, I still consider myself a Leninist. A Leninist in the sense, of course, East Europe, political jokes. I don't know if you are some of you many I was told are coming from post-communist countries, if it was also in your country, in my country, in Russia they told me, there was this classical joke about... you know how in all many at least classes there was this famous school class, school sorry room... there was this motto by Lenin, Lenin's advice to to pupils what to do: learn, learn and learn, Lenin, no? So the joke is that that they asked Marx, Engels and Lenin what do you prefer to have, a wife or mistress? Marx, more conservative, says wife. Engels, more dissolute, says oh mistress. Lenin says both. And they're shocked, Lenin was supposed to be ascetic, why? Why? Is he... Lenin then answers so that you can tell your wife that you are with your mistress and you tell your mistress that you're with your wife. Then they ask him okay, but what you really do? Lenin answers: learn, learn and learn.
unknown
I think this is what if...
I think this is what if...
Slavoj Žižek
wife stands for standard business career whatever, if mistress stands for critical activity, move things... maybe we should step back in this sense and say learn, learn and learn. We need this, so I'm even tempted to say that that the thesis eleven of Marx to be reinvented today for today, you know that famous "philosophers have only interpreted the world, the time is to change it," maybe we should turn it around with the time. Maybe we should say in the 20th century we tried to change too much the world, the time has come to interpret it a little bit more. No, we really, I emphasize this, that's why forums like this are important. It's time to think today. Things are happening. Which things? Finally, okay, enough of these introductory jokes, let's do something. Let me nonetheless start with this financial meltdown, which is the talk of the town as it were, now. You know the first thing that did strike me, I wonder if you noticed it, was how when President Bush reacted to the crisis, how many commentators noticed this, how when the crisis first broke out in the United States in the fall of how he used almost the same language as he did eight years earlier after September 11th attacks. The language of emergency. A catastrophe is happening, it's the threat to our very way of life, we should forget about all partisan distinctions, it's an emergency state, we should all be united and so on and so on. This is how I think one should one should start to analyze it. I think that what is happening today is something very precise. It's a counter-act to the fall of the Berlin Wall. When on November 9th the Berlin Wall fell, this was a kind of a sign of what... the end of a certain era. As they put it, old ideological projects, communism, welfare state and so on. This was not for me the end of utopia but the emergence of the greatest utopia, which is precisely the liberal utopia. The true utopia for me were the 90s, this Fukuyama utopia, which is: we may not yet be there but we know where we are heading. We have the formula. Liberal capitalist democracy and so on and so on. Because you know, utopians are not idiots, they are not people who think "oh people are ideal, we should trust people," utopians, great utopians are usually very cynical. They only claim "I have a formula, we just have to apply certain mechanism and it will work." We so I claim again that 90s were the real utopia and this utopia, as we know from Hegel and Marx, as all things had to die twice. First it died on September 11th, in the sense of if there is a historical meaning of September 11th, it's the end of the political aspect of this utopia. History goes on. Liberal capitalist democracy will not impose itself as universal formula. What is going on now I think is that the second economic utopia is also at least threatened. In what sense do I mean this? When we are talking about different cultures and so global capitalism, I think that... I wonder if you would agree with this, and at the end if I will have time I will return to this, here I see the chance for Europe. Here, where? I don't like to speak about different civilizations, I just... it's too Huntington-like. But I nonetheless think that where are we today in this post... how do you call it, post-September 11th era? It is clear that liberal democratic capitalism will not impose itself as a universal formula. And we are entering multicentric... a multicentric world, not only at the political level where where I think United States are objectively in decay and the... this is the if you are a fanatical leftist you should burn a candle every evening for George Bush who did all it was possible to do to ruin the international status of the United States. He succeeded. So because why, you remember this old green motto: think globally, act locally. The problem with United States is that they're doing exactly the opposite. They think locally, act globally, no? So you are then where you are like you liberate Iraq, the result is now Iraq is much more fundamentalist than it was under Saddam. Similar problems. Okay, but let me go back. So we are entering a multicentric world not only in the political sense that now there are three four centers of power emerging. United States, Far East, China, India, this developing thing, Europe, Russia in between, Latin America and so on. I think it's more, it's we are already entering also a how should I call it, multicentric global capitalism. Different forms compete and... you don't have to be a liberal, I'm very critical of liberalism, but nonetheless you have to admit something about liberalism and see precisely that destiny, sorry, that feature which is
wife stands for standard business career whatever, if mistress stands for critical activity, move things... maybe we should step back in this sense and say learn, learn and learn. We need this, so I'm even tempted to say that that the thesis eleven of Marx to be reinvented today for today, you know that famous "philosophers have only interpreted the world, the time is to change it," maybe we should turn it around with the time. Maybe we should say in the 20th century we tried to change too much the world, the time has come to interpret it a little bit more. No, we really, I emphasize this, that's why forums like this are important. It's time to think today. Things are happening. Which things? Finally, okay, enough of these introductory jokes, let's do something. Let me nonetheless start with this financial meltdown, which is the talk of the town as it were, now. You know the first thing that did strike me, I wonder if you noticed it, was how when President Bush reacted to the crisis, how many commentators noticed this, how when the crisis first broke out in the United States in the fall of how he used almost the same language as he did eight years earlier after September 11th attacks. The language of emergency. A catastrophe is happening, it's the threat to our very way of life, we should forget about all partisan distinctions, it's an emergency state, we should all be united and so on and so on. This is how I think one should one should start to analyze it. I think that what is happening today is something very precise. It's a counter-act to the fall of the Berlin Wall. When on November 9th the Berlin Wall fell, this was a kind of a sign of what... the end of a certain era. As they put it, old ideological projects, communism, welfare state and so on. This was not for me the end of utopia but the emergence of the greatest utopia, which is precisely the liberal utopia. The true utopia for me were the 90s, this Fukuyama utopia, which is: we may not yet be there but we know where we are heading. We have the formula. Liberal capitalist democracy and so on and so on. Because you know, utopians are not idiots, they are not people who think "oh people are ideal, we should trust people," utopians, great utopians are usually very cynical. They only claim "I have a formula, we just have to apply certain mechanism and it will work." We so I claim again that 90s were the real utopia and this utopia, as we know from Hegel and Marx, as all things had to die twice. First it died on September 11th, in the sense of if there is a historical meaning of September 11th, it's the end of the political aspect of this utopia. History goes on. Liberal capitalist democracy will not impose itself as universal formula. What is going on now I think is that the second economic utopia is also at least threatened. In what sense do I mean this? When we are talking about different cultures and so global capitalism, I think that... I wonder if you would agree with this, and at the end if I will have time I will return to this, here I see the chance for Europe. Here, where? I don't like to speak about different civilizations, I just... it's too Huntington-like. But I nonetheless think that where are we today in this post... how do you call it, post-September 11th era? It is clear that liberal democratic capitalism will not impose itself as a universal formula. And we are entering multicentric... a multicentric world, not only at the political level where where I think United States are objectively in decay and the... this is the if you are a fanatical leftist you should burn a candle every evening for George Bush who did all it was possible to do to ruin the international status of the United States. He succeeded. So because why, you remember this old green motto: think globally, act locally. The problem with United States is that they're doing exactly the opposite. They think locally, act globally, no? So you are then where you are like you liberate Iraq, the result is now Iraq is much more fundamentalist than it was under Saddam. Similar problems. Okay, but let me go back. So we are entering a multicentric world not only in the political sense that now there are three four centers of power emerging. United States, Far East, China, India, this developing thing, Europe, Russia in between, Latin America and so on. I think it's more, it's we are already entering also a how should I call it, multicentric global capitalism. Different forms compete and... you don't have to be a liberal, I'm very critical of liberalism, but nonetheless you have to admit something about liberalism and see precisely that destiny, sorry, that feature which is
unknown
a positive one threatened.
a positive one threatened.