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With irrepressible humor, Slavoj Žižek dissects our current political and social climate, discussing everything from Jordan Peterson and sex "unicorns" to Greta Thunberg and Chairman Mao. Taking aim at his enemies on left, right and centre, he argues that contemporary society can only be properly understood from a communist standpoint.Why communism? The greater the triumph of global capitalism, the more its dangerous antagonisms multiply: climate collapse, the digital manipulation of our lives, the explosion in refugee numbers, all need a radical solution. That solution is a left that dares to speak its name, to get its hands dirty in the real world of contemporary politics, not to sling its insults from the side-lines or to fight a culture war which is merely a fig leaf over its political and economic failures. As the crises caused by contemporary capitalism accumulate at an alarming rate, the left finds itself in crisis too, beset with competing ideologies and prone to populism, racism and conspiracy theories.A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name is Žižek’s attempt to elucidate the major political issues of the day from a truly radical left position. The first two parts explore the global political situation and the final part focuses on contemporary western culture as Žižek directs his polemic to topics such as wellness, Wikileaks and the rights of sexbots. This collection of wide-ranging essays provides an ideal introduction to the ideas of one of the most influential radical thinkers of our time.
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With irrepressible humor, Slavoj Žižek dissects our current political and social climate, discussing everything from Jordan Peterson and sex "unicorns" to Greta Thunberg and Chairman Mao. Taking aim at his enemies on left, right and centre, he argues that contemporary society can only be properly understood from a communist standpoint.Why communism? The greater the triumph of global capitalism, the more its dangerous antagonisms multiply: climate collapse, the digital manipulation of our lives, the explosion in refugee numbers, all need a radical solution. That solution is a left that dares to speak its name, to get its hands dirty in the real world of contemporary politics, not to sling its insults from the side-lines or to fight a culture war which is merely a fig leaf over its political and economic failures. As the crises caused by contemporary capitalism accumulate at an alarming rate, the left finds itself in crisis too, beset with competing ideologies and prone to populism, racism and conspiracy theories.A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name is Žižek’s attempt to elucidate the major political issues of the day from a truly radical left position. The first two parts explore the global political situation and the final part focuses on contemporary western culture as Žižek directs his polemic to topics such as wellness, Wikileaks and the rights of sexbots. This collection of wide-ranging essays provides an ideal introduction to the ideas of one of the most influential radical thinkers of our time.
