Slavoj Žižek on being a contemporary revolutionary

[RadioRaheem84]

Main Points:

No more collaborating with both progressive-liberal forces in the West than with reactionary government masked as anti-imperialist (Iran).

No more talk of capitalism with a human face.

No more talk of tribalism being a good model. We must be modern.

No more talk of nostalgia for old Soviet Models.

No more fawning over revolutionary movements abroad. You have work to do in your own area.


He also makes a good point in saying how arrogant progressive liberals in the United States and the West have gotten. Something I have been noticing for years too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GD69Cc20rw&feature=related

Enjoy....

[RED DAVE]

No references to unions, revolutionary organizations, cultural question, etc.

I just find all this hard to accept from a person who is a comfortable professor at "progressive-liberal" universities.

Where's the risk?

RED DAVE

[RadioRaheem84]

LOL. Good point.

Yes, it is a bit easy for him to say such when he is a darling of the 100 top intellectuals.

But his points are amazing. Again, his critique is aimed at getting leftists out of a total collaborative effort with liberals. It's time to find our own voice and not be afraid of the mainstream.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

His "A Plea for Leninist Intolerance" is spot on in its critique of liberalism and post-modernism. In other areas Zizek is all over the place.

http://www.egs.edu/faculty/slavoj-zizek/articles/a-plea-for-leninist-intolerance/

In "In Defense of Lost Causes" he describes the horrors of the Moscow show trials then says "Stalinism saved civilization" , with its cultural conservatism without elaborating why.
He spends way too long on catty banter with some of his academic rivals in jargon which is almost impenetrable.

Elsewhere he discusses a project for "reanimating Lenin" (metaphorically of course) but then says his model for this are MIT computer hackers and Wired magazine. I haven't seen the video RadioRaheema posted yet. In other videos I've seen of him he does not do a good job of explaining and defending socialism.

I have gotten something out of reading him but I do have the feeling of being "stood up " by him. He teases a lot. He flirts with Leninism, them backs away. Some of his politics are fairly liberal in practice.

[RadioRaheem84]

Of course. Good critique, comrade.

He does flutter about. But I am just thrilled to see any leftist finally standing up to liberalism in the West. Especially when it has been growing into a rather intolerant ideology ready to do battle with anything it deems "totalitarian".

[Hit The North]

Of course. Good critique, comrade.

He does flutter about. But I am just thrilled to see any leftist finally standing up to liberalism in the West. Especially when it has been growing into a rather intolerant ideology ready to do battle with anything it deems "totalitarian".

Of course, but "standing up to liberalism in the West" is a struggle for intellectuals. It is the struggle against capitalism in theory. The real struggle is against capitalism in practice, and its attempts to force the working class to pay for its crisis.

So, actually, a small group of workers fighting against cuts in services is more "thrilling", than a conference full of Zizeks declaiming against the system.

[RadioRaheem84]

So, actually, a small group of workers fighting against cuts in services is more "thrilling", than a conference full of Zizeks declaiming against the system.


Touche, comrade.:thumbup1:

[scarletghoul]

No references to unions, revolutionary organizations, cultural question, etc.
Zizek is not supposed to be an organiser, to be a Lenin, he's not trying to be the leader of the revolution who tells us what to do. He is focussed on ideology, and he's very good with that

I mean, you're gonna be disappointed if you're expecting every influential leftist to be an 'all-in-one' philosopher, organiser, speaker, posterboy, etc..

[RadioRaheem84]

True but what makes the ruling class tremble more? Intellectuals or an organized working class?

Parenti always says that intellectuals more so follow the trend of working class struggles and usually water it down.

[fa2991]

Parenti always says that intellectuals more so follow the trend of working class struggles and usually water it down.

I like how you referenced a lefty intellectual to put down lefty intellectuals in general. :lol:

[RadioRaheem84]

I like how you referenced a lefty intellectual to put down lefty intellectuals in general. :lol:
When a Cuban friend told him that their most privileged citizens in Cuba are teens and intellectuals, Parenti retorted sarcastically, "yeah the two groups that know so much".

[fa2991]

When a Cuban friend told him that their most privileged citizens in Cuba are teens and intellectuals, Parenti retorted sarcastically, "yeah the two groups that know so much".

:lol: Nice. Thanks for turning me on to Parenti, by the way. I got "History as Mystery" used a week ago after recognizing his name and I like it quite a lot so far.

[Barry Lyndon]

Zizeck rocks. He has his faults, and makes too many pop-culture references for my tastes, and makes it hard to tell whether he's serious half the time, but it is awesome to see a major intellectual putting revolutionary Marxism back on the agenda.

[RadioRaheem84]

Yes, it;s about time we step out of the shadows and shed the ridiculous progressive/liberal clothing a lot of us have been donning or collaborating with.

These broken issues progressive liberals support with no basis in critiquing the system that perpetuates them is getting tiresome.

Marx was right and we need to stop acting as though we should be afraid to speak up for fear of being shot down. The facts are on our side.

[ckaihatsu]

"reanimating Lenin"




(metaphorically of course)


Um....





Lenina Rosenweg
National Satanist


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[ckaihatsu]

Sorry to have to call you out like this -- you're really a Necro-Stalinist, aren't you???


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