The Courage of Hopelessness: Chronicles of a Year of Acting Dangerously
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- Author：Slavoj Žižek
- ISBN：0141986093
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Summary
The maverick philosopher returns to explore today's idealogical， political and economic battles， and asks whether radical change is possible
In these troubled times， even the most pessimistic diagnosis of our future ends with an uplifting hint that things might not be as bad as all that， that there is light at the end of the tunnel。
Yet， argues Slavoj Žižek， it is only when we have admit to ourselves that our situation is completely hopeless - that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact the headlight of a train approaching us from the opposite direction - that fundamental change can be brought about。
Surveying the various challenges in the world today， from mass migration and geopolitical tensions to terrorism， the explosion of rightist populism and the emergence of new radical politics - all of which， in their own way， express the impasses of global capitalism - Žižek explores whether there still remains the possibility for genuine change。 Today， he proposes， the only true question is，or should be， this: do we endorse the predominant acceptance of capitalism as fact of human nature， or does today's capitalism contain strong enough antagonisms to prevent its infinite reproduction？ Can we， he asks， move beyond the failure of socialism， and beyond the current wave of populist rage， and initiate radical change before the train hits？
'Žižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative' - Guardian
'Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized， and is master of the counterintuitive observation' -New Yorker
In these troubled times， even the most pessimistic diagnosis of our future ends with an uplifting hint that things might not be as bad as all that， that there is light at the end of the tunnel。
Yet， argues Slavoj Žižek， it is only when we have admit to ourselves that our situation is completely hopeless - that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact the headlight of a train approaching us from the opposite direction - that fundamental change can be brought about。
Surveying the various challenges in the world today， from mass migration and geopolitical tensions to terrorism， the explosion of rightist populism and the emergence of new radical politics - all of which， in their own way， express the impasses of global capitalism - Žižek explores whether there still remains the possibility for genuine change。 Today， he proposes， the only true question is，or should be， this: do we endorse the predominant acceptance of capitalism as fact of human nature， or does today's capitalism contain strong enough antagonisms to prevent its infinite reproduction？ Can we， he asks， move beyond the failure of socialism， and beyond the current wave of populist rage， and initiate radical change before the train hits？
'Žižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative' - Guardian
'Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized， and is master of the counterintuitive observation' -New Yorker
Reviews
Godfrey
，
My first attempt at reading Zizek。 The intro and the first 40 pages were great and felt like they were going somewhere。 Then suddenly the momentum disolved and the narrative turned into a string of unrelated essays。 These were challenging because they required some pretty specific background knowledge to understand。 Perhaps I'm just not the intended audience; but even so， his style of writing is very discursive， and his sentences — which often begin with something lucid and exciting — often end My first attempt at reading Zizek。 The intro and the first 40 pages were great and felt like they were going somewhere。 Then suddenly the momentum disolved and the narrative turned into a string of unrelated essays。 These were challenging because they required some pretty specific background knowledge to understand。 Perhaps I'm just not the intended audience; but even so， his style of writing is very discursive， and his sentences — which often begin with something lucid and exciting — often end with confusing anticlimax。 。。。more
Ayan Dutta
，
Erudite ， brash ， opinionated， iconoclastic ， brilliant 。。。。from the deluded communist Zizek
Miguel Soto
，
Este señor tan prolífico ahora nos trae una serie de ensayos donde comenta diferentes aspectos de la realidad social y política relativamente reciente: el ascenso de Trump al poder， la ola de inmigración y la respuesta antiinmigración en Europa， los conflictos de Oriente Medio， entre facciones musulmanas， entre árabes y judíos， etc。 Como siempre， es genial su uso de los conceptos psicoanalíticos y filosóficos， pero tengo que reconocer que en varios de los ensayos me sentí bastante descontextuali Este señor tan prolífico ahora nos trae una serie de ensayos donde comenta diferentes aspectos de la realidad social y política relativamente reciente: el ascenso de Trump al poder， la ola de inmigración y la respuesta antiinmigración en Europa， los conflictos de Oriente Medio， entre facciones musulmanas， entre árabes y judíos， etc。 Como siempre， es genial su uso de los conceptos psicoanalíticos y filosóficos， pero tengo que reconocer que en varios de los ensayos me sentí bastante descontextualizado。 Por eso， me quedo especialmente con el ensayo "Lo sexual （no） es político"， ya que desenreda de una forma muy original el tema de las identidades sexuales y de género， ofrece un punto de vista nuevo pero no el de la "corrección política" y da para seguir pensando。。。 De los demás tengo bastante menos que decir。 。。。more
Daniel Song
，
A compilation of interesting citations， obscure Lacanian language， and provocative political analysis all characteristic of Zizek。 His theory that Trump winning would further energize a left has not played out electorally （Biden not Bernie getting the nomination） but at the same time I doubt BLM would have become so mainstream especially among young people without the revulsion inspired by Trump。 Looking forward to reading Zizek's more philosophically based works。 A compilation of interesting citations， obscure Lacanian language， and provocative political analysis all characteristic of Zizek。 His theory that Trump winning would further energize a left has not played out electorally （Biden not Bernie getting the nomination） but at the same time I doubt BLM would have become so mainstream especially among young people without the revulsion inspired by Trump。 Looking forward to reading Zizek's more philosophically based works。 。。。more
Ami Iida
，
philosophy
Caspar Bryant
，
I'm not so interested in becoming one of the Žižek absolutists we see here and there， but all the same this was an impressive， broad text。 Žižek takes an Adam Curtis-esque survey of world economic powers， sprinkles in the expected digressions concerning Hegel and Lacan， and tackles some cultural issues too。 I think the broad prescriptive conclusions he draws are correct， if a little nonspecific。 But perhaps that is a strength。 Overall the book wasn't exactly a cure to pessimism - but that's not I'm not so interested in becoming one of the Žižek absolutists we see here and there， but all the same this was an impressive， broad text。 Žižek takes an Adam Curtis-esque survey of world economic powers， sprinkles in the expected digressions concerning Hegel and Lacan， and tackles some cultural issues too。 I think the broad prescriptive conclusions he draws are correct， if a little nonspecific。 But perhaps that is a strength。 Overall the book wasn't exactly a cure to pessimism - but that's not what Žižek is aiming for。 I'm not certain how to approach that really。 It lives up to the hopelessness of the title， only I'm undecided on where exactly that leaves me: I think what I'm trying to say is that it was a depressing read， but this is no fault of the author - if anything it attests to his effectiveness。 。。。more
Adrian
，
Zizek's persistent lamentations of his acquiescent rise to fame are somewhat founded when comparing his loud and cheeky public persona to his writing， which is insightful， confident， and surprisingly dense。 I really enjoyed my slow ride through this book over the holidays - battling festive distractions with the fully focus-deserving task of reading this work。 The process is deliberate and rewarding if you manage to soak in the flow of dense insights showered down on the reader。 While not saying Zizek's persistent lamentations of his acquiescent rise to fame are somewhat founded when comparing his loud and cheeky public persona to his writing， which is insightful， confident， and surprisingly dense。 I really enjoyed my slow ride through this book over the holidays - battling festive distractions with the fully focus-deserving task of reading this work。 The process is deliberate and rewarding if you manage to soak in the flow of dense insights showered down on the reader。 While not saying anything particularly new or revolutionary， Zizek offers fluent insights into current affairs （political， economic， historical， and social） that often give room for the reader to research and contemplate nuanced areas of discussion。 I found myself often pausing the reading to look things up online， which often led to rabbit holes in themselves。 His chapter on Syriza in Greece and its fallout in the face of the 2015 EU bailouts was particularly interesting as a case study of what the European Left faces when reaching a position of power and crisis。 His opening chapter on capitalism and its form of a cupola retreads common leftist theory while offering a fresh injection of wit and cynicism。 The later chapters on populism read rather prophetically regarding the events unfolding in recent memory， and I think will already require a brief refresher from me！ Scathing criticisms of neoliberalism abound throughout， as well as crass allegorical jokes。 Enjoyed it and would recommend to those interested in politics and theory。 。。。more
Fin Quinlan
，
Although a good and interesting read Zizek opens with an idea of some cohesive point， but it concludes without any true insight and seems to just ramble to points。Chapters 1 to 5 set in place thought provoking， biting themes and ideas yet it is all wasted on a slow， unconsise concluding section。All around good read and would reccomend just let down slightly by the conclusion and rambling
Martin Lennon
，
Solid Zizek。 Interesting vignettes， barely comprehensible argument。
Keen
，
3。5 Stars！“My problem with Liberalism is that it’s more concerned with policing people’s language and thoughts without requiring them to do anything to fix the problem。 White liberal college students speak of ‘safe space’， ‘trigger words’， ‘micro aggressions’ and ‘white privilege’ while not having to do anything or， more importantly， give up anything。 They can’t even have a conversation with someone who sees the world differently without resorting to calling someone a racist， homophobic， misogyn 3。5 Stars！“My problem with Liberalism is that it’s more concerned with policing people’s language and thoughts without requiring them to do anything to fix the problem。 White liberal college students speak of ‘safe space’， ‘trigger words’， ‘micro aggressions’ and ‘white privilege’ while not having to do anything or， more importantly， give up anything。 They can’t even have a conversation with someone who sees the world differently without resorting to calling someone a racist， homophobic， misogynistic， bigot and trying to have them banned from campus， or ruin them and their reputation。”And this quote is actually from Nikki Johnson-Huston but Zizek uses it and that really spoke to me。 One of the things I enjoy about Zizek is how one moment he is waxing lyrical about Lacan and then next thing he is quoting at large from a Sly Stallone movie。 It’s that seamless move between the two that can make him fresh and appealing and is why he is no immediate risk from getting too stuffy or pretentious。 Elsewhere he quotes from a wide and interesting selection of sources though I imagine that one very much alive Australian journalist maybe somewhat troubled and paranoid as being referred to as “the late John Pilger”。“The true goal of lending money is not to get the debt reimbursed with a profit， but the indefinite continuation of the debt so that the debtor is in permanent dependency and subordination。”He rightly raises awareness about the likes of TISA （Trade In Services Agreement） and how terrifying schemes like these are effectively undermining democracy throughout much of the world and yet the vast majority of mainstream media made a point of ignoring this。 He also gets into IoT， Syriza and Yanis Varoufakis， Alain Badiou， Brexit with some interesting points and conclusions made。“Like God， bureaucracy is simultaneously all-powerful and impenetrable， capricious， omnipresent and invisible。”He gets stuck into all sorts of people in all sorts of ways， which I found hugely enjoyable， the likes of Tim Cook the CEO of Apple， “Tim Cook can easily forget about hundreds of thousands of Foxconn workers in China assembling Apple products in slave conditions-he makes his big gesture of solidarity with the underprivileged by demanding the abolition of gender segregation…As is often the case， big business stands here proudly united with politically correct theory。”Zizek also has a go at the shockingly poor quality of presidential candidates of the US’s 2016 election in Trump and Clinton “she makes changing nothing look desirable。” And later adds the delightful line “Can a country in which a person like Trump is president be really considered great？”There are times when he certainly waffles on a bit and he can get a bit tedious， but overall Zizek is on really good form here and I was heartily cheering along with him in many parts of this book。 。。。more
Magda w RPA
，
The title has no relation to what the book is about。 But then it’s a book about everything social/political that was happening in 2016 so perhaps it was difficult to choose a better one。 Some things I agree with （certain things he says about the dangers of PC）， some I disagree with （gender politics and more）。 In general he’s quite easy to follow but occasionally he rambles。 Interesting how he uses pop culture （movies， books） to make his points more clear。 However， he incorrectly summarized The T The title has no relation to what the book is about。 But then it’s a book about everything social/political that was happening in 2016 so perhaps it was difficult to choose a better one。 Some things I agree with （certain things he says about the dangers of PC）， some I disagree with （gender politics and more）。 In general he’s quite easy to follow but occasionally he rambles。 Interesting how he uses pop culture （movies， books） to make his points more clear。 However， he incorrectly summarized The Three Body Problem so I’m a bit suspicious about other references。 I know this review is chaotic but so is the book。 Most importantly， it didn’t age well as we know what happened later。 。。。more
Juan Carlos
，
No fui capaz de terminarlo， con eso digo todo。 Zizek escribe como habla， a pesar de tener tanto conocimiento， no logra ser didáctico y organizado en sus ideas。 El libro no tiene nada que ver con la descripción inicial。 Resulta siendo una "ensalada de palabras" describiendo el año 2018 según Zizek。 Hablando un poco de ISIS， un poco del Grexit， de China， de aquí de allá， pero nunca formando un relato coherente de lo que se supondría ser el libro。 No me gustó。 Sé que Zizek es así y bueno， son gusto No fui capaz de terminarlo， con eso digo todo。 Zizek escribe como habla， a pesar de tener tanto conocimiento， no logra ser didáctico y organizado en sus ideas。 El libro no tiene nada que ver con la descripción inicial。 Resulta siendo una "ensalada de palabras" describiendo el año 2018 según Zizek。 Hablando un poco de ISIS， un poco del Grexit， de China， de aquí de allá， pero nunca formando un relato coherente de lo que se supondría ser el libro。 No me gustó。 Sé que Zizek es así y bueno， son gustos， para mí， es perder el tiempo。 。。。more
Arbab Taimoor
，
The Hegelian， Slovej actually gauge events in at Hegelian way of dialectics， where he talked about the current politics， about the feminism， what things liberals scared of？ What defects leftist have been doing all long？ And why is there predictions of the Third World War？ You will get all of these questions answered in precise details in this book。 My suggestion to the people who don't have any knowledge about philosophy， significantly Hegel's philosophy shouldn't dare to take it for reading。 Yo The Hegelian， Slovej actually gauge events in at Hegelian way of dialectics， where he talked about the current politics， about the feminism， what things liberals scared of？ What defects leftist have been doing all long？ And why is there predictions of the Third World War？ You will get all of these questions answered in precise details in this book。 My suggestion to the people who don't have any knowledge about philosophy， significantly Hegel's philosophy shouldn't dare to take it for reading。 Your back on philosophy must be incredible。 。。。more
Dingsdaninja
，
Bin hiernach immer noch nicht sicher， ob es sich bei Žižeks Psychoanalyse um die Weltformel oder um Schabernack handelt。 Viele der Analysen in dem Buch erschienen mir sinnvoll und geistreich， andere wiederum vollkommen willkürlich。 Habe auf jeden Fall einiges mitgenommen， werde mich jetzt aber erst einmal nicht auf weitere Žižek Bücher stürzen。
Carlos Solsona
，
Better than expected。 Although he still keeps repeating the same old jokes and anecdotes， this one is way more elaborated than his recent non-philosopical interventions/essays。 In the period that goes between Absolute Recoil: Towards A New Foundation Of Dialectical Materialism （2014） and Sex and the Failed Absolute （2020）， which are his last "philosophy books"， I was expecting his classical "best-seller detour" as political commentator， but this time I think he was particularly eloquent。 Better than expected。 Although he still keeps repeating the same old jokes and anecdotes， this one is way more elaborated than his recent non-philosopical interventions/essays。 In the period that goes between Absolute Recoil: Towards A New Foundation Of Dialectical Materialism （2014） and Sex and the Failed Absolute （2020）， which are his last "philosophy books"， I was expecting his classical "best-seller detour" as political commentator， but this time I think he was particularly eloquent。 。。。more
Daniel
，
Zizek attempts to inspire the new generation of leftists to form a better alliance with the working class。 Something their liberal counterparts have failed to do。 He criticizes political correctness as the dead end that had characterized Republicans historically but not in recent times。 I think it's true that he tends to be vague at times。 I found this book enlightening nonetheless。 Zizek attempts to inspire the new generation of leftists to form a better alliance with the working class。 Something their liberal counterparts have failed to do。 He criticizes political correctness as the dead end that had characterized Republicans historically but not in recent times。 I think it's true that he tends to be vague at times。 I found this book enlightening nonetheless。 。。。more
Josesram
，
Sin alejarse de su característico cinismo frente al mundo actual， aclara porque es vital que las naciones hagan autocritica y replanteen un control a la globalizacion en pro de un desarrollo equilibrado。 Porque de lo contrario seguiremos en un túnel donde al final no está la luz salvadora sino otro tren en contra vía a punto de arrollar nos。
Ricardo Gomes
，
Sugestão de drinking game para futuros leitores: de cada vez que o autor citar Hegel ou um filósofo da Escola de Frankfurt， um shot de vodka。
Stephan Naro
，
What a frustratingly hard book to review。 There are several brilliant observations， but they are far outweighed by negative aspects， not least of which is that the brilliance is used for bad ends。 Out of a book I summarize as blathering toward Armageddon， I am going to focus on a very small number of the words he writes。Žižek claims that there is a "European emancipatory project"， one which Europe has an obligation to continue。 All very well and fun， I'm sure， but that doesn't necessarily entail What a frustratingly hard book to review。 There are several brilliant observations， but they are far outweighed by negative aspects， not least of which is that the brilliance is used for bad ends。 Out of a book I summarize as blathering toward Armageddon， I am going to focus on a very small number of the words he writes。Žižek claims that there is a "European emancipatory project"， one which Europe has an obligation to continue。 All very well and fun， I'm sure， but that doesn't necessarily entail being implemented how and where he suggests: in Europe。 Who is being emancipated if resourceful young men leave their countries of birth to fill low-paid jobs in Europe？ Themselves？ Already-wealthy employers？ The economies of the countries they leave？ The political systems they leave？ Maybe the corrupt power structures to whom they might offer a well-needed challenge？I think Žižek is blinded by the nightmare he is dreaming: communism - which only makes his quotation， on pg 65， all the more poignant:"If you [get] caught in another's dream， you are fucked。" - Gilles Deleuze。 。。。more
BlackOxford
，
When All Else Fails: Read the InstructionsIt is a principle of psychotherapy and religious conversion that the need to change one’s views about life does not become compelling until all other attempts to get things to ‘work’ fail。 The remaining option is unpalatable but unavoidable。 Breakdown is a necessary condition for repair。Žižek has an interesting though paradoxical take on this principle in The Courage of Hopelessness。 Everywhere in the world， socialism is in retreat。 Global capitalism has When All Else Fails: Read the InstructionsIt is a principle of psychotherapy and religious conversion that the need to change one’s views about life does not become compelling until all other attempts to get things to ‘work’ fail。 The remaining option is unpalatable but unavoidable。 Breakdown is a necessary condition for repair。Žižek has an interesting though paradoxical take on this principle in The Courage of Hopelessness。 Everywhere in the world， socialism is in retreat。 Global capitalism has never been healthier in its manipulative exploitation of those who benefit through it as well as those exploited by it。 The political Left is in disarray and probably prefers the status quo in any case。 There is no coherent alternative intellectual argument on the horizon which might impede the further expansion of capitalist self-interest。So， guided by the established principles of psychotherapy， religious conversion， and the general aphorism ‘when in a deep hole stop digging，’ it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect some sort of intellectual reversal by Žižek， at least a modification of his long-term Marxist analysis。 Bot no， instead world events， for him， point more urgently than ever to the truth and usefulness of communism as an explanation of these events and as an ideal around which to rally for world betterment。Don’t get me wrong: I admire Žižek’s intellect。 His resistance to the idea of immigrants as the new proletariat， his defence of European culture as the source of anti-colonialism as well as the original malaise， his mistrust of academic and bourgeois Leftists as mere ‘jobs worth’ types concerned more with ideological credential rather than the political fate of the world are all things I can agree with。But Žižek’s unmitigated devotion to Marxism seems to distort his considered observations about the way the world is。 His response is more of the same that he has been preaching for decades: “The task confronting us today is precisely the reinvention of communism， a radical change that moves well beyond some vague notion of social solidarity。” Note: a reinvention of communism， an adaptation of the same underlying theory of the physical alienation of human beings from themselves。But as he documents in his own arguments， people apparently want to be alienated from whatever Žižek thinks they really are。 The proletariat seems to resolve itself into those who， for the moment， find themselves outside the protective bubble of capitalism。 But capitalism is inexorably sweeping in these outliers。 It is avoiding the mistake of that other global European institution， the Catholic Church， by accepting entirely local customs and traditions and transforming them into brands and desirable objects for sale。For those already inside the global capitalist bubble， Žižek can only plead for a raising of consciousness about the ‘objective’ situation: “Our ethico-political duty is not just to become aware of the reality outside our cupola， but to fully assume our co-responsibility for the horrors outside it。” Sure， that’ll work。 Just look at the great successes of the Green movement in changing national environmental policies。 Their progress depends as much upon convincing folk of their own direct interests as any other political party。 And what is there left but “ some vague notion of social solidarity”？Perhaps I’ve missed it in my intermittent reading of Žižek’s work， but nowhere can I recall an admission of error， the recognition of an intellectual mistake that he regrets making， an apology for a lack of understanding or for misdirecting the understanding of others。 He continuously returns to the same tired tropes of Marxism just as evangelical Christians harp endlessly about the real， the authentic， the eternal message of the gospels。 His attempts to reinterpret Marxist doctrine as if a century and a half of ideological ‘experimentation’ has never taken place is just silly。 Perhaps other people are reading a different manual。 。。。more
Olethros
，
-Entre el entretenido cajón de sastre， el fuego a discreción y el suave ajuste de cuentas。-Portada del libro El coraje de la desesperanza， de Slavoj ZizekGénero。 Ensayo。Lo que nos cuenta。 El libro El coraje de la desesperanza （publicación original: The Courage of Hopelessness。 Chronicles of a Year of Acting Dangerously， 2017）， con el subtítulo Crónicas del año en que actuamos peligrosamente， repasa la actualidad política y socioeconómica del mundo desde la crítica al capitalismo y sus consecuenc -Entre el entretenido cajón de sastre， el fuego a discreción y el suave ajuste de cuentas。-Portada del libro El coraje de la desesperanza， de Slavoj ZizekGénero。 Ensayo。Lo que nos cuenta。 El libro El coraje de la desesperanza （publicación original: The Courage of Hopelessness。 Chronicles of a Year of Acting Dangerously， 2017）， con el subtítulo Crónicas del año en que actuamos peligrosamente， repasa la actualidad política y socioeconómica del mundo desde la crítica al capitalismo y sus consecuencias， poniendo el acento en sociedades， lobbies， naciones， tendencias， movimientos y otra gran variedad de actores que， para el autor， tienen mucho que decir en la situación y， en muchos casos， en la evolución de los acontecimientos。¿Quiere saber más de este libro， sin spoilers？ Visite:https://librosdeolethros。blogspot。com。。。 。。。more
La Central
，
"¿Qué queda vivo del Manifiesto comunista cuando la clase trabajadora， sujeto de la revolución， tiende a la derecha más reaccionaria？ ¿Hay espacio para las alternativas y la esperanza en un mundo cada vez más inundado de fundamentalismos y nuevos conflictos？ Zizek no tiene ninguna duda: no hay razones para la esperanza。 No existe alternativa e imaginarla sólo beneficia al estado actual de las cosas。Con su estilo arrollador nos defiende， en estos dos libros publicados en Anagrama， una visión pesi "¿Qué queda vivo del Manifiesto comunista cuando la clase trabajadora， sujeto de la revolución， tiende a la derecha más reaccionaria？ ¿Hay espacio para las alternativas y la esperanza en un mundo cada vez más inundado de fundamentalismos y nuevos conflictos？ Zizek no tiene ninguna duda: no hay razones para la esperanza。 No existe alternativa e imaginarla sólo beneficia al estado actual de las cosas。Con su estilo arrollador nos defiende， en estos dos libros publicados en Anagrama， una visión pesimista hasta vaticinar una tercera guerra mundial。 Ataca la izquierda de la esperanza， cuyo optimismo les inmoviliza。 Apoya a Trump como mal menor frente a Clinton。 Carga contra ese marxismo reducido a un discurso universitario cualquiera。 Denuncia el común interés entre el capitalismo global y el tradicionalismo étnico。 Goza， en definitiva， de extirpar de sus lectores todo resquicio de esperanza católica。Marx intentó pensar una solución al problema del capital。 Si comunismo significa algo hoy en día， ya no es el nombre de una solución， sino el del problema de la gestión de lo común。 Problema sin solución al que Zizek sólo ofrece el dictum “cuanto peor， mejor”。 Quizás por eso habla en términos de coraje。" Miquel Àngel Riera 。。。more
Aleister Quezada
，
En El coraje de la desesperanza encontramos las respuestas que Zizek le da a los críticos de sus trabajos anteriores， revisando cómo la ideología trabaja detrás de las grandes problemáticas sociales de nuestro tiempo， desde las problemáticas LGBTQ+ （que es， en mi opinión， su punto más bajo）， hasta el significado que guarda el personaje de Trump en relación a la figura de Bernie Sanders）。Con un tono crítico sobre distintas obras por parte de decenas de autores， Zizek escribe una crónica que echa En El coraje de la desesperanza encontramos las respuestas que Zizek le da a los críticos de sus trabajos anteriores， revisando cómo la ideología trabaja detrás de las grandes problemáticas sociales de nuestro tiempo， desde las problemáticas LGBTQ+ （que es， en mi opinión， su punto más bajo）， hasta el significado que guarda el personaje de Trump en relación a la figura de Bernie Sanders）。Con un tono crítico sobre distintas obras por parte de decenas de autores， Zizek escribe una crónica que echa muchas luces sobre la realidad europea y norteamericana （tomando， de vez en cuando， situaciones ocurridas en otras partes del planeta）。Pese a todas las diferencias que uno puede guardar con el pensamiento político del esloveno， siempre es bueno encontrarse en diálogo con estas temáticas a través de distintos puntos de vista。Rescato los capítulos sobre China y Grecia， que son un gran análisis de las perspectivas de la izquierda actual y las soluciones posibles a los enfrentamientos contra un capitalismo global y los problemas derivados de las culturas locales。 。。。more
Amer Zaffar
，
Žižek is very best for understanding the ideology behind the ongoing matters in the world 。。。。。his analysis of the failure of global liberalism and trade deals terrific。。。。
Felix Krull
，
You know， Lacan， and so on。。。it's a guilty pleasure for the reader and a demonstration of Zizek's self-indulgence in flipping back and forth between news items， anecdotes and the big Other。 You know， Lacan， and so on。。。it's a guilty pleasure for the reader and a demonstration of Zizek's self-indulgence in flipping back and forth between news items， anecdotes and the big Other。 。。。more
Nick Malone
，
Typical Zizek critiques still apply here- he's totally willing to jump to ideological/social conclusions based on entirely aesthetic or artistic examples- but genuinely engaging defense of implicit consent and sexual ambiguity （in addition to contributing to a contract-obsessed society， it's literally the whole fun of sex， he suggests， and he's right lol）。 Lots of boring shit in here that I couldn't bring myself to care about though。 Typical Zizek critiques still apply here- he's totally willing to jump to ideological/social conclusions based on entirely aesthetic or artistic examples- but genuinely engaging defense of implicit consent and sexual ambiguity （in addition to contributing to a contract-obsessed society， it's literally the whole fun of sex， he suggests， and he's right lol）。 Lots of boring shit in here that I couldn't bring myself to care about though。 。。。more
Brendan Coke
，
Tense， dense， mad， bad and dangerous to know。 Dialectical materialism at its most entertaining。 Enjoyable （！）。 A few extra chapters would not have gone amiss。 Why do Zizek's books always end like some intense， philosophical art house movie？ i。e ambiguously？ More refrigerator talk？ （as Hitchcock might assume？） Maybe。。。 Tense， dense， mad， bad and dangerous to know。 Dialectical materialism at its most entertaining。 Enjoyable （！）。 A few extra chapters would not have gone amiss。 Why do Zizek's books always end like some intense， philosophical art house movie？ i。e ambiguously？ More refrigerator talk？ （as Hitchcock might assume？） Maybe。。。 。。。more
Jonas
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In "Der Mut der Hoffnungslosigkeit" schreibt Slavoj Žižek auf gewohnt unterhaltsame und provokante Art über zeitgenössische politische Strukturen und politisches Geschehen。 Sein Fokus liegt dabei auf dem globalen Kapitalismus und seinen Antagonismen， sowie gegenwärtigen ideologischen Zusammenhängen damit。Wobei man von "Fokus" fast gar nicht sprechen kann， denn Žižek liebt es， spontan ausführliche Anekdoten und Referenzen anzubringen， die zwischen vulgärem Alltagshumor und Ausflügen in Lancansche In "Der Mut der Hoffnungslosigkeit" schreibt Slavoj Žižek auf gewohnt unterhaltsame und provokante Art über zeitgenössische politische Strukturen und politisches Geschehen。 Sein Fokus liegt dabei auf dem globalen Kapitalismus und seinen Antagonismen， sowie gegenwärtigen ideologischen Zusammenhängen damit。Wobei man von "Fokus" fast gar nicht sprechen kann， denn Žižek liebt es， spontan ausführliche Anekdoten und Referenzen anzubringen， die zwischen vulgärem Alltagshumor und Ausflügen in Lancansche Psychoanalyse （Psychoanalyse nach Jacques Lacan） variieren。Wirklich anschaulich arbeitet er heraus， dass Populismus und der Rechtsruck der Gesellschaft nicht （allein） das große Übel sind， sondern Symptome der liberalen， kapitalistischen Strukturen， die weltweit herrschen。 Mit anderen Worten: Erst eine Politik， wie die， für die Hillary Clinton steht， hat Donald Trump ermöglicht。 （Dieses Bild findet sich im Buch wieder。） Angesichts des Horrors des Rechtspopulismus sich den "normalen"， kapitalistisch-liberalen Zustand zurückzuwünschen， bedeutet， den Horror dieses normalen Zustands zu ignorieren。Wenn es zu seinen Bewertungen konkreter aktuellpolitischer Ereignisse kommt， werden Žižeks Positionen jedoch deutlich fragwürdiger。 Denn selbst， wenn er die meisten Umstände plausibel beschreibt， entsteht hin und wieder der Eindruck， er würde bei einigen Themen entscheidende Aspekte und Facetten weglassen oder in anderem Licht betrachten， um sie als Veranschaulichung für sein Weltbild zu nutzen。 Es wird außerdem nicht jede/r Leser/in （mich eingeschlossen） in der Lage sein， ausführliche Recherchen zu den im Buch angeführten Ereignissen und Umständen zu machen。So ist es mir beispielsweise schwer gefallen， wenn er die oben erwähnte Lacansche Psychoanalyse für seine Argumentation gebraucht hat， da ich mich im Gebiet der Psychoanalyse so gut wie gar nicht auskenne。 Ich weiß nur， dass auch dieses Gebiet ein sehr kontrovers diskutiertes ist， weswegen mir ein wichtiger Baustein gefehlt hat， einige Argumente Žižeks zu bewerten。Man sollte "Der Mut der Hoffnungslosigkeit" nicht lesen， wenn man eine optimistische "How To"-Anleitung zur Schaffung sozialer Gerechtigkeit und Rettung der Welt möchte。 Andersherum ist dieses Buch jedoch auch nicht einfach ein pessimistischer Kommentar eines derben Zynikers， als der Slavoj Žižek hin und wieder gelabelt wird。 — Genau die Herangehens- und Denkweisen jenseits solcher Gegensätze interessieren ihn: Es gab und gibt noch etwas anderes， jenseits von Clinton und Trump， jenseits vom Kapitalismus。Wer vor Widersprüchen， Konfrontation und （hin und wieder） edgy Vulgaritäten nicht zurückschreckt， und an linker Kritik herrschender Zustände interessiert ist， kann sich getrost auf dieses Buch einlassen und wird es schätzen können。 。。。more
Salvador Medina
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