The Idea of Communism
Do not be afraid, join us, come back! You’ve had your anti-communist fun, and you are pardoned for it—time to get serious once again!—Slavoj Žižek
Responding to Alain Badiou’s ‘communist hypothesis’, the leading political philosophers of the Left convened in London in 2009 to take part in a landmark conference to discuss the perpetual, persistent notion that, in a truly emancipated society, all things should be owned in common. This volume brings together their discussions on the philosophical and political import of the communist idea, highlighting both its continuing significance and the need to reconfigure the concept within a world marked by havoc and crisis.
With contributions by Alain Badiou, Judith Balso, Bruno Bosteels, Susan Buck-Morss, Costas Douzinas, Terry Eagleton, Peter Hallward, Michael Hardt, Jean-Luc Nancy, Antonio Negri, Jacques Rancière, Mark Russo, Alberto Toscano, and Gianni Vattimo
Paperback, 240 pages
ISBN: 9781844674596
December 2010
$26.95 / £14.99
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Part of the The Communist Hypothesis series
Blog
An interview with Jason Barker, director of Marx Reloaded
Marx Reloaded is a documentary on the political relevancy of the economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx in the light of the global financial crisis, featuring insight and interviews from such figures as Slavoj Zizek, Antonio Negri, Jacques Rancière and Peter Sloterdijk. As the film hits cinemas next week, we asked its director, Jason Barker, a few questions.
"Theorizing a communism for the twenty-first century"- The Idea of Communism reviewed on Libcom
In his rigorous review of The Idea of Communism for Libcom, Alasdair Thompson walks us through the main themes of this collection of essays by some of today's most important political thinkers. Edited by Costas Douzinas and Slavoj Žižek, The Idea of Communism was developed in the wake of a 2009 conference of the same name at Birkbeck Institute of the Humanities. Thompson's review looks at a number of these texts in relation to each other, including work by Michael Hardt, Alain Badiou and Alberto Toscano.
Idea of Communism—Resources and commentary
Following on from our announcement of Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek's New York conference, Communism, A New Beginning?, we have brought together the numerous reports, responses, commentary and resources relating to the first Idea of Communism conference in London.
If there's anything missing, please add in the comments below.
Upcoming Events
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March 17, 2012
Room B01 Clore Management Centre
Birkbeck panel with Paul Mason, Costas Douzinas and Deborah Mabbett
Paul Mason, author of Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions will take pa...
Discussions
Begin a discussion about this book-
Communism, A New Beginning?
Slavoj Žižek hosts a conference at Cooper Union in New York, to discuss the continued relevance of the communist idea.“The long night of the Left is coming to a close” wrote Slavoj Žižek and Costas Douzinas in their introduction to The Idea of Communism. The continuing economic crisis, the shift away from a unipolar world defined by American hegemony, and the ecological crisis mean that growing numbers of people are keen to explore an alternative, and to rediscover the idea of communism. With the advent of the Arab Revolts, millions have sought new ways to overcome corruption and dictatorship—and they've now been joined by the wave of occupations in the US, challenging runaway inequality and the power of corporations and the super-rich.Friday, Oct 14, 6–9pm EDT: Slavoj Žižek, Frank Ruda, and Alain Badiou read by Bruno Bosteels.Saturday, Oct 15, 10am–1pm EDT: Bruno Bosteels and Susan Buck-Morss.Saturday, Oct 15, 3–7pm EDT: Adrian Johnston and Etienne Balibar.Sunday, Oct 16, 10am–1pm EDT: Jodi Dean and Slavoj Žižek.
Other books by Slavoj Žižek, and Costas Douzinas
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Less Than Nothing
by Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek's masterwork on the Hegelian legacy
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Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism?
Undermining the liberal-democratic consensus that enables the designation of totalitarianism.by Slavoj Žižek
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Revolution at the Gates
by V. I. Lenin
How to reinvent Lenin in the era of “cultural capitalism.”
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Living in the End Times
by Slavoj Žižek
Žižek analyzes the end of the world at the hands of the “four riders of the apocalypse.”
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Contingency, Hegemony, Universality
by Slavoj Žižek, Ernesto Laclau, et al.
The Hegelian legacy, Left strategy, and post-structuralism versus Lacanian psychoanalysis.
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lacan (But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock)
Edited by Slavoj Žižek
Hitchcock gets onto the analyst’s couch in this extraordinary volume of case studies.
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In Defense of Lost Causes
by Slavoj Žižek
Acclaimed, adrenalin-fuelled manifesto for universal values.
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First As Tragedy, Then As Farce
by Slavoj Žižek
From the tragedy of 9/11 to the farce of the financial meltdown.
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The Fragile Absolute
by Slavoj Žižek
Argues that the subversive core of the Christian legacy forms the foundation of a politics of universal emancipation.
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The Ticklish Subject
by Slavoj Žižek
A specter is haunting Western thought, the specter of the Cartesian subject.
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The Sublime Object of Ideology
by Slavoj Žižek
Exploring the ideologies fantasies of wholeness and exclusion which make up human society.
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The Plague of Fantasies
by Slavoj Žižek
The relations between fantasy and ideology, and the deluge of digital phantasms surrounding us.
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For They Know Not What They Do
by Slavoj Žižek
The eminent philosopher explodes the roles of pleasure and desire in contemporary politics and culture.
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The Indivisible Remainder
by Slavoj Žižek
Confronts Schelling with Hegel, and illuminates popular culture and modern subjectivity.
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Virtue and Terror
by Maximilien Robespierre, and Slavoj Žižek
Robespierre’s justification of the Terror in the French Revolution.
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Lacan
Edited by Slavoj Žižek
A dazzling re-evaluation of Jacques Lacan, uncovering his hidden inspirations.
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The Metastases of Enjoyment
by Slavoj Žižek
The status of women and the role of violence in contemporary culture and politics.
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Iraq
by Slavoj Žižek
Žižek analyzes the bizarre logic used to justify the attack on Iraq.
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Welcome to the Desert of the Real
by Slavoj Žižek
Probing beneath the level of TV punditry, Žižek offers a highly original and readable account that serves as a fascinating and insightful comprehension of the events of September 11.
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Mapping Ideology
Edited by Slavoj Žižek
Indispensable contemporary writing on the subject of ideology.