The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is now one of the most important thinkers, recently spoke about the future and criticized the way we have handled the pandemic, for him the global crisis is a coup de grace for neoliberal capitalism, which he already considers dead. .
As always, Zizek’s ideas have caused a lot of controversy, mainly because of his claim that the pandemic will lead to a new world order that will reinvent a new communism.
- In particular.
- His debate with Giorgio Agamben.
- Mentor of the idea that the pandemic is overrated and that quarantines must relax to return to normal.
- As soon as possible.
- Has become famous.
He recently published the book Pandemic: Covid-19 and the reinvention of communism and announced that he would donate all the benefits of this publication to the organization Médecins Sans Frontiares.
The pandemic forced everyone to stop producing, which is the ultimate mantra of capitalism. It has become impossible to maintain the free-market economy as we know it because of the threat of exponential contagion, which has radically changed our consumption patterns.
Slavoj Zizek believes that the world will never be the same again and believes that the coronavirus is the coup de grace that ushers in a new economic and political era.
For him, the pandemic is a catastrophe that will force us to adopt new perspectives to analyze reality. The first big sign of these new times is the fact that virtually everyone thinks globally.
First, it was science that took responsibility for sharing information from the beginning, that was decisive.
To overcome the crisis, it is also necessary to have a global perspective on available resources, some countries have addressed the nationalist and competitive approach to the problem, however, those who have adopted a cooperative position are the ones that are now taking hold as globals. Leaders.
Zizek cites and values the cynical-vitalist point of view. It refers to the position, open or disguised, of simply letting the situation flow. The result is that the weakest perish, while the strongest survive.
No one dares to assume this position openly. However, some statements and measures seem to reveal this primitive intent. Zizek cites, for example, the protocol of the “Three Wise Men?”United Kingdom.
According to him, “three sages in each hospital, must decide on the “rationalization of care. “What does this mean in practice? That they will determine who lives and who does not.
After all, it is the quintessence of neoliberal capitalism, which in life as has previously manifested itself in terms of access to employment and redistribution of wealth.
The system always leaves out a large segment of people, but exclusion can now mean death itself, will societies that continue to prevail tolerate these criteria?
For Slavoj Zizek, the capitalist system was already doomed to disaster by the climate crisis. According to him, the pandemic is “the last warning against the ecological crisis that is endangering the future of the world. “
His view coincides with the UN and WHO WARNINGS about the impending global disasters caused by the overexploitation of the planet, which happened in Australia at the end of 2019 would be a preview of what awaits the whole world.
Zizek points out that two logics will come into conflict. On the one hand, there is the brutal logic of “all for themselves. However, this way of thinking doesn’t seem to have much of a future, because either we’re all coming out of the pandemic and the climate crisis, or we’re sinking. “This is not something that can be successfully solved at the local level, on the other hand, there is the logic of helping each other.
The Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst suggests that societies should wonder what kind of social order should replace liberal capitalism.
In his view, global reality shows that a society built on individualism, exclusion, utilitarianism and productivity as core values is no longer sustainable.
In the long run, the thinker says that we will realize that life on the planet will only be possible through intelligent cooperation, he is not talking about a kind of romantic solidarity, but of building a common front for life on the planet to continue to grow. Exists.