It may be that the somewhat harsh criticisms of his work and thought I've read from listmembers today are justified.
Even so, there is a profound thing which stands between us and the world we'd like to see. No, I'm not referring to capitalism though it plays a major role.
I'm talking about the complex of belief.
If you visit TomDispatch today -
http://www.nationinstitute.org/tomdispatch/
you'll read the following quote:
George Bush, statement upon Saddam Hussein's capture linking him once again to the "war on terror":
"We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sheer belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won."
...
Our natural reaction to this sort of material is to dismiss it and those who believe it. The charitable explanation is that a massive propaganda effort keeps Americans from knowing *the truth*. And this is so. But it is not enough.
A less charitable explanation is that the US is full of *bubbas* whose beer, porn and racism deranged minds prevent them from understanding subtle points of feeling or empathy for the victims of American aggression.
This is also true, as far as it goes, too. But again, it is not enough.
What I appreciate about Zizek's approach and others who're trying to look at the whole world and the mind in it, is the loving embrace of all the threads which make up the moment. Not merely Marxism, or a fact-based critique of imperialism (etc) but all of it.
I do not know if he's on the right track (though I found *Plague of Fantasies* and *The Sublime Object of Ideology* to be very helpful) but I do know that we cannot hope to build a better world by not understanding the world we're in and the motivations, dreams and fears of the people in it.
I believe this is what Zizek is trying to do. Brilliant? I don't know. A clown, a charlatan? Perhaps. But then again, aren't we all depending upon the moment?
DRM