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"Democracy must be reinvented"—Žižek on Occupy & the Arab Spring

By Tamar Shlaim / 04 January 2012

Slavoj Zizek in an interview for Germany's Deutsche Welle television, talking about Occupy, communism and the need for a reinvention of democracy.

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I enjoy and admire Zizek very much; so I question the wisdom of posting this video which seems designed to make him appear to be fool. "So, getting rid of democracy? Would that be a solution?" she asks. Why even bother to answer such stupid questions? Zizek's responses are clipped and edited together to such an extent that they say virtually nothing; rare for him!

Brian Prager / 05 January 2012

Raymond Lotta's polemic vs Slavoj Zizek--Events of the past year,
from Egypt to the Occupy movements, are opening new vistas and throwing up
big issues for debate. Can you break out of the framework of capitalism? Is
there a relevant Marxist vision and strategy that speaks to the enormity of the
problems humanity confronts and that yields liberatory solutions? In
short, is a radically different, and better, world possible?

This is the backdrop for my polemic against the political philosophy of Slavoj
Zizek. This is a debate that takes in the lessons of the revolutions of
the 20th century, the significance of Bob Avakian's new synthesis of communism,
and the nature of the world capitalist system. I am arguing that Zizek's
stance, despite his radical reputation, is actually harmful to the cause
of revolution. The polemic is at http://revcom.us/a/256/vilifying_communism_and_accommodating_imperialism-en.html

Raymond Lotta / 21 January 2012

Raymond Lotta in a polemic vs Slavoj Zizek--Events of the past year,
from Egypt to the Occupy movements, are opening new vistas and throwing up
big issues for debate. Can you break out of the framework of capitalism? Is
there a relevant Marxist vision and strategy that speaks to the enormity of the
problems humanity confronts and that yields liberatory solutions? In
short, is a radically different, and better, world possible?

This is the backdrop for my polemic against the political philosophy of Slavoj
Zizek. This is a debate that takes in the lessons of the revolutions of
the 20th century, the significance of Bob Avakian's new synthesis of communism,
and the nature of the world capitalist system. I am arguing that Zizek's
stance, despite his radical reputation, is actually harmful to the cause
of revolution. The polemic is at http://revcom.us/a/256/vilifying_communism_and_accommodating_imperialism-en.html

Raymond Lotta / 21 January 2012