The Role of Culture in Knowledge Society
Talk ·
undated · 0:09:51 · 1,328 words
ideologycapitalismdemocracycinema-art-cultureliberalism-political-correctnesseveryday-lifephilosophy-general
In this short Q&A exchange at a European foresight forum, Žižek responds to a question about culture and science as drivers of future European policymaking. He argues that politics must be rehabilitated against the technocratic fantasy of a post-political knowledge society, while also diagnosing a shift in capitalism toward 'cultural capitalism' in which commodities are sold through subjective experience and ethical self-image rather than use or status value. He closes with the observation that Europe itself does not know what it wants, making the current moment one of dangerous but genuine openness.
every located moment in this recording, click one to read it
The ideas in it 10
in the order they first come up; click a row for what he does with the idea here
The technocratic ideological fantasy that we are entering a new post-political era governed by expert knowledge rather than political contestation, which Žižek treats as a mystification to be rejected.
Žižek distances himself from the term as manipulated, but seeks something like it: a form of political organization outside the party-state apparatus from which genuine political initiative can come.
Marx's term for culture as a secondary domain built on the economic base; Žižek notes that culture can no longer be relegated to this position because it increasingly functions as the primary economic domain itself.
The material utility of a commodity, which Žižek identifies as one of the older modes of advertising appeal now superseded by experiential and ethical appeal.
as “symbolic value”
The status-competitive dimension of a commodity ('keeping up with the Joneses'), which Žižek identifies as an intermediate stage of publicity logic now being superseded.
as “subjective experience as commodity”
The contemporary advertising logic in which a product is sold not on the basis of its properties or social signal but on how purchasing it will render the buyer's life meaningful or authentic.
as “ethical self-image”
The ideological function of ethical consumerism (organic food, fair-trade coffee, charity-bundled water) whereby buying makes the consumer feel they are a responsible, non-stupid subject rather than a mere consumerist.
A stage of capitalism in which commodities are marketed and consumed not for their use-value or status-symbolic value but for the subjective experience and sense of ethical meaning they provide the consumer.
Žižek's Freudian-inflected formulation of Europe's identity crisis, modeled on Freud's 'Was will das Weib?': Europe, like woman in Freud's question, does not know what it wants, and neither does anyone else.
Lacanian figure of symbolic authority who is supposed to know and guarantee order; Žižek invokes it to warn that no such authority exists for Europe in its current crisis.
Stories he reaches for 3
Žižek singles out Bolivia under Evo Morales as a more interesting model of political change than Venezuela under Chávez, because Morales works through the interaction of multiple political bodies rather than personalist leadership.
“I think that much more than Chávez. Then Venezuela, Bolivia is interesting. It's all about Morales interacting with these different bodies.”
Žižek uses Starbucks' claim that each coffee purchase funds a Guatemalan child's literacy, and the 'Ethos' brand of water (five cents per bottle to third-world drinking water), as emblematic of 'cultural capitalism': companies profit more while consumers buy a good conscience alongside the product.
“with each cup of coffee that you buy, you help a Guatemala child becoming literate… each bottle of water five cents go to for third world countries to have more drinking — of course they profit even more.”
Žižek traces three historical stages of advertising logic using Land Rover as the example: first, appeal to real properties (fuel efficiency, terrain); second, status symbol ('keeping up with the Joneses'); third, subjective experience ('drive to the countryside and feel free from your alienated office life').
“Today's publicity for Land Rover would have been something like, do you feel constrained by your alienated office life? Drive to the countryside with Land Rover, you will feel free.”
Works invoked 1
Was will Europa? book
Žižek's own book published in French; he cites it to introduce the Freudian framing of Europe's identity crisis as the unanswerable 'what does Europe want?'
People invoked 4
Evo Morales positive
Cited as a more instructive political model than Chávez because his governance involves genuine interaction with multiple political bodies; used as an illustration of the kind of bottom-up political organization Žižek advocates.
Hugo Chávez negative
Mentioned only to be implicitly superseded by Bolivia/Morales as the more interesting Latin American political example; not elaborated upon.
Karl Marx positive
Žižek invokes Marx's base/superstructure distinction to argue that culture can no longer be assigned to the superstructure; uses Marx's framework as a point of departure to diagnose its own supersession.
Sigmund Freud positive
Žižek appropriates Freud's legendary unanswerable question 'Was will das Weib?' to frame Europe's identity crisis as 'Was will Europa?', using Freud's formulation as a productive conceptual template.
What it argues
rehabilitation of politics against post-political technocracycultural capitalism and the commodification of subjective experienceethical consumerism as ideological mystificationbottom-up political organization beyond party-stateEurope's identity crisis and lack of self-knowledgeculture as economic base, not superstructurefear vs. meaning as motors of policymaking
Dialectical moves 5
“We say politics is a horror — don't trust them — but the answer is not to abandon politics; we need more politics, not less.”
The cynical rejection of politics is itself an ideological move; the antidote to corrupt politicians is the rehabilitation of politics, not its abolition.
“Culture is no longer the ideological superstructure — it has become the base of economic activity itself.”
The classical Marxist hierarchy of base and superstructure is inverted: culture is no longer secondary ornamentation but the primary productive domain.
“You don't buy organic food because you believe it's healthier or as a status symbol — you buy it to feel that you are not a stupid consumerist; the object is a pretext for a subjective self-image.”
Ethical consumption is not about the product at all but about the consumer's construction of themselves as an ethical subject, the commodity is the alibi.
“The point is not to reject cultural capitalism but to beat the opponent at his own game — give a different twist to the same cultural logic.”
Rather than a romantic return to direct political economy, the correct move is immanent subversion of cultural capitalism from within.
“Mistrust politicians — and rehabilitate politics.”
Distrust of individual politicians and the rehabilitation of the political as a category are not contradictory but complementary demands.
Claims 10
asserts
Politics must be rehabilitated rather than abandoned to technocratic expert management; the fantasy of a post-political knowledge society is an ideological mystification.post-political technocracy / knowledge society
asserts
Genuine political initiative must come from forms of organization outside the party-state — not idealized NGOs, but genuinely bottom-up political bodies.civil society and political organization
asserts
Culture is no longer a mere ideological superstructure but has become the primary domain of economic activity in developed countries.culture and the economy
asserts
Contemporary publicity has moved beyond use-value and status/symbolic-value appeals to selling products on the basis of the subjective experience and sense of meaning they provide.advertising logic and cultural capitalism
asserts
Ethical consumerism (organic food, Starbucks charity coffee, Ethos water) does not reduce to use-value belief or symbolic status; it functions to make the consumer feel good about themselves as a responsible, non-consumerist subject.ethical consumerism
asserts
The correct response to cultural capitalism is not rejection but subversion — beating the opponent at his own game by giving a different twist to the same cultural logic.strategy toward cultural capitalism
asserts
Europe does not know what it wants — its current confusion is simultaneously dangerous and a genuine opening for political transformation.European identity and political futures
asserts
There is no big Other — no authority that knows what is going on and will take care of us — and Europe's crisis makes this absence especially visible.the big Other / political authority
asserts
The example of Bolivia under Morales is more instructive than Venezuela under Chávez as a model of interacting political bodies producing genuine change.Latin American left politics
asserts
Politicians should be mistrusted even while politics as such must be rehabilitated — the two moves are not contradictory.politics vs. politicians
Quotes 9
“We need more politics. It's not only expert knowledge. Politics is not only a question of means to ends. So we need fully to rehabilitate politics.”Slavoj Žižek · rehabilitation of politics against technocracy
“Culture is no longer just one sphere somewhere up there, to put it in Marx's terms, ideological superstructure.”Slavoj Žižek · culture as base, not superstructure
“Today's publicity for Land Rover would have been something like, do you feel constrained by your alienated office life? Drive to the countryside with Land Rover, you will feel free.”Slavoj Žižek · experiential advertising / cultural capitalism
“It makes you feel good. You see, I contribute to environment. I'm not just a stupid consumerist. I do something meaningful.”Slavoj Žižek · ethical consumerism as self-image construction
“Nobody knows. What does the woman want? And I claim it's the same today. Nobody wants Europe, especially itself doesn't know what it wants.”Slavoj Žižek · Europe's identity crisis / Was will Europa
“There is no big other in the sense of some authority which knows what's going on and will take care of us, but it's also a challenge for all of us.”Slavoj Žižek · absence of the big Other / political openness
“Times of crisis are times where there are great new changes open. But you must grab the trends. Everything depends on us.”Slavoj Žižek · crisis as political opening
“The point is not to reject this. Beat the opponent at his own time here. We can give a different twist to it.”Slavoj Žižek · immanent subversion of cultural capitalism
“I know I didn't answer your question, but we philosophers never, never answer.”Slavoj Žižek · self-deprecating philosophical wit
Transcript 15 turns
Moderator
Okay, so we move to the democracy part, as it was mentioned.
Okay, so we move to the democracy part, as it was mentioned.
Slavoj Žižek
Limited.
Limited.
Moderator
As David said, tomorrow.
As David said, tomorrow.
Slavoj Žižek
Yes I'm not going to know him yet
Yes I'm not going to know him yet
Moderator
Okay, so we would have two questions. One from audience, one we think in advance. You are an outgoing, you prepare.
Okay, so we would have two questions. One from audience, one we think in advance. You are an outgoing, you prepare.
Slavoj Žižek
organize Yeah.
organize Yeah.
Moderator
これもうどうやらですか？ Okay. So here we discuss and try to give a long-term perspective on future development of Europe with the use of foresight. It means a bottom-up approach and identification of issues.
これもうどうやらですか？ Okay. So here we discuss and try to give a long-term perspective on future development of Europe with the use of foresight. It means a bottom-up approach and identification of issues.
Audience Member
Yeah.
Yeah.
Moderator
that goes towards the existing centers of power. So with that, the team selected for this year was culture and science as the area of potential area of development, future development of Europe. So how you would see this as a motivational factor for policymaking in the future, because you mentioned before fear is a constant motivational factor for policymaking, like climate change, economic crisis.
that goes towards the existing centers of power. So with that, the team selected for this year was culture and science as the area of potential area of development, future development of Europe. So how you would see this as a motivational factor for policymaking in the future, because you mentioned before fear is a constant motivational factor for policymaking, like climate change, economic crisis.
Slavoj Žižek
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Moderator
So how you would see those issues to come up and to be a motivational factor for how to use these good governance and better policymaking.
So how you would see those issues to come up and to be a motivational factor for how to use these good governance and better policymaking.
Slavoj Žižek
Well, that's a big question. The first thing, I think, is a slightly controversial one. I like your idea of this bottom-up from outside. First, I think two apparently, I'm very much speaking to you now, like three associations, two apparently contradict. I think it's part of today's cynical world that we say politics is a horror, don't trust them, and so on and so on. I think that we need more politics. in advance. It's not only expert knowledge. You know, politics is not only a question of means to ends, what are our ends and so on. So we need fully to rehabilitate politics. To stop with this, you know, we are entering some new mystical society of knowledge, there is no politics and so on. Nonetheless, And we should rehabilitate politics back. Mistrust politicians. I think the precise organization like this one or no, I don't idealize NGOs. They can be very even corrupted and so on.
Well, that's a big question. The first thing, I think, is a slightly controversial one. I like your idea of this bottom-up from outside. First, I think two apparently, I'm very much speaking to you now, like three associations, two apparently contradict. I think it's part of today's cynical world that we say politics is a horror, don't trust them, and so on and so on. I think that we need more politics. in advance. It's not only expert knowledge. You know, politics is not only a question of means to ends, what are our ends and so on. So we need fully to rehabilitate politics. To stop with this, you know, we are entering some new mystical society of knowledge, there is no politics and so on. Nonetheless, And we should rehabilitate politics back. Mistrust politicians. I think the precise organization like this one or no, I don't idealize NGOs. They can be very even corrupted and so on.
Audience Member
Thank you.
Thank you.
Slavoj Žižek
Is that Uh, more and more, we will need… The organized, I don't like the term, civil society, it's again very manipulated, but a form of political organization which is not party state politics. That's for me the only hope. Initiatives must come from there. Politics. Politics can do only the efficient, relatively efficient job of making things run and so on and so on. It's interesting how in all parts of the world where something interesting is happening, like today, I think that much more than Chávez. Then Venezuela, Bolivia is interesting. It's all about Morales interacting with these different bodies and so on and so on. So that would be my. Thank you. Prescription That's c'est ça. Is that… Uh. Uh, uh, should we take, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh We all know how that's why I like also the topic culture. You know, culture is anything. It is clear today that culture is no longer just one sphere somewhere up there, to put it in Marx's terms, ideological superstructure. Some people even propose, and I'm sympathetic to it, the term cultural. More and more, not only in culture. In the wide sense, not just opera concerts, but let us say way of life, cultural experiences, but also, I don't know, transcendental meditation, fitness, whatever, all this, which is not direct. This is more and more. Not only or even culture in the sense of babysitting personal services, not only is this more and more important, at least in our developed countries, but even a step further. Even The more brutal, direct, primitive, let's call it. Economic consumption is formulated in cultural terms. I always like to read this as a symptom in publicity. Thank you. of publicity how they address you first you at least pretend to refer to real properties of the thing like you want people to buy Land Rover in the publicity you will try to prove that it spent less energy less gasoline less fuel than the competitors it's efficient it goes up steep terrain blah blah you refer to then the next level of publicity is this keeping up with the Joneses, and then this competitive, that you try to sell a product by referring to its social value in the sense of status symbol. You know, you have this, you signal something to others. But I claim that today we are entering a different domain where more and more gradually Publicity refers neither to the use value of the object nor to its symbolic value competitive like. this way you signal to others that what you are. subjective experience, how it will render your life meaningful. Today's publicity for Land Rover would have been something like, do you feel constrained by your alienated office life? Drive to the countryside with Land Rover, you will feel free. And I claim, so that I will give an apparently good example. This is… Then I mistrust. You can Buy organic food. Listen, let's be serious. Do you really think that Those half rotten apples which are supposedly organic are really any less harmful than the chemical or whatever happens Why do you buy it? It's not a claim that you really think it will help your health. Also not You don't make a great symbolic statement. It's something much more tricky, I think. It makes you feel good. You see, I contribute to environment. I'm not just a stupid consumerist. You know, I do something meaningful and so on. And that's the big art of today. I hate them because by this Starbucks coffee, hopefully we don't yet have them here. How the whole of Starbucks coffee is based on this. They tell you, no, with each cup of coffee that you buy, you help a Guatemala child becoming literate. Or no, they even have water. They say, each bottle of water it's called Ethos, like ethics, each bottle of water five cents go to for third world countries to have more drinking of course they profit even more the company but what I'm saying is that this is today's cultural Cultural capitalism. And I claim the point is not to reject this. Back to. Beat the opponent at his own time here. We can give a different twist to it, not just making it into another, another, Another more efficient tool of capitalist production And so on and so on. So again, Thank you. This would be And what is also important, my advice to us smaller countries is that Again, the same as I said about how there is no nature, mother nature. My practical advice is Beware that. Herzlichen Dank, Herr Präsident. I even published a book in French with this title, Was will Europa? What does the Europe want? I was referring to that Freudian legendary question, Was will das Weib? Nobody knows. What does the woman want? And I claim it's the same today. Nobody wants Europe, especially itself doesn't know what it wants. It's so the situation is open today. Europe is in confusion. This can be good, this can be bad. It's bad in the sense that Don't expect There is no big other in the sense of some authority which knows what's going on and will take care of us, but it's also a challenge for all of us, you know. when In this kind of open situations. Okay. I claim that as always, times today, times of crisis are times where there are great new changes open. But you must grab the trends. Everything depends on us. I know I didn't answer your question, but we philosophers never, never answer.
Is that Uh, more and more, we will need… The organized, I don't like the term, civil society, it's again very manipulated, but a form of political organization which is not party state politics. That's for me the only hope. Initiatives must come from there. Politics. Politics can do only the efficient, relatively efficient job of making things run and so on and so on. It's interesting how in all parts of the world where something interesting is happening, like today, I think that much more than Chávez. Then Venezuela, Bolivia is interesting. It's all about Morales interacting with these different bodies and so on and so on. So that would be my. Thank you. Prescription That's c'est ça. Is that… Uh. Uh, uh, should we take, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh We all know how that's why I like also the topic culture. You know, culture is anything. It is clear today that culture is no longer just one sphere somewhere up there, to put it in Marx's terms, ideological superstructure. Some people even propose, and I'm sympathetic to it, the term cultural. More and more, not only in culture. In the wide sense, not just opera concerts, but let us say way of life, cultural experiences, but also, I don't know, transcendental meditation, fitness, whatever, all this, which is not direct. This is more and more. Not only or even culture in the sense of babysitting personal services, not only is this more and more important, at least in our developed countries, but even a step further. Even The more brutal, direct, primitive, let's call it. Economic consumption is formulated in cultural terms. I always like to read this as a symptom in publicity. Thank you. of publicity how they address you first you at least pretend to refer to real properties of the thing like you want people to buy Land Rover in the publicity you will try to prove that it spent less energy less gasoline less fuel than the competitors it's efficient it goes up steep terrain blah blah you refer to then the next level of publicity is this keeping up with the Joneses, and then this competitive, that you try to sell a product by referring to its social value in the sense of status symbol. You know, you have this, you signal something to others. But I claim that today we are entering a different domain where more and more gradually Publicity refers neither to the use value of the object nor to its symbolic value competitive like. this way you signal to others that what you are. subjective experience, how it will render your life meaningful. Today's publicity for Land Rover would have been something like, do you feel constrained by your alienated office life? Drive to the countryside with Land Rover, you will feel free. And I claim, so that I will give an apparently good example. This is… Then I mistrust. You can Buy organic food. Listen, let's be serious. Do you really think that Those half rotten apples which are supposedly organic are really any less harmful than the chemical or whatever happens Why do you buy it? It's not a claim that you really think it will help your health. Also not You don't make a great symbolic statement. It's something much more tricky, I think. It makes you feel good. You see, I contribute to environment. I'm not just a stupid consumerist. You know, I do something meaningful and so on. And that's the big art of today. I hate them because by this Starbucks coffee, hopefully we don't yet have them here. How the whole of Starbucks coffee is based on this. They tell you, no, with each cup of coffee that you buy, you help a Guatemala child becoming literate. Or no, they even have water. They say, each bottle of water it's called Ethos, like ethics, each bottle of water five cents go to for third world countries to have more drinking of course they profit even more the company but what I'm saying is that this is today's cultural Cultural capitalism. And I claim the point is not to reject this. Back to. Beat the opponent at his own time here. We can give a different twist to it, not just making it into another, another, Another more efficient tool of capitalist production And so on and so on. So again, Thank you. This would be And what is also important, my advice to us smaller countries is that Again, the same as I said about how there is no nature, mother nature. My practical advice is Beware that. Herzlichen Dank, Herr Präsident. I even published a book in French with this title, Was will Europa? What does the Europe want? I was referring to that Freudian legendary question, Was will das Weib? Nobody knows. What does the woman want? And I claim it's the same today. Nobody wants Europe, especially itself doesn't know what it wants. It's so the situation is open today. Europe is in confusion. This can be good, this can be bad. It's bad in the sense that Don't expect There is no big other in the sense of some authority which knows what's going on and will take care of us, but it's also a challenge for all of us, you know. when In this kind of open situations. Okay. I claim that as always, times today, times of crisis are times where there are great new changes open. But you must grab the trends. Everything depends on us. I know I didn't answer your question, but we philosophers never, never answer.
Audience Member
The question.
The question.