First As Tragedy, Then As Farce

By (author) Zizek, Slavoj
By (author) Zizek, Slavoj; By (author) Zizek Slavoj
Short description/annotation
The leading philosopher of our time tackles the demise of liberalism, from the tragedy of 9/11 to the farce of the financial meltdown.
Description
Billions of dollars were hastily poured into the global banking system in a frantic attempt at financial stabilisation. So why has it not been possible to bring the same forces to bear in addressing world poverty and environmental crisis? In this take-no-prisoners analysis, Slavoj Zizek frames the moral failures of the modern world in terms of the epoch-making events of the first decade of this century. What he finds is the old one-two punch of history: the jab of tragedy, the right hook of farce. In the attacks of 9/11 and the global credit crunch, liberalism dies twice: as a political doctrine and as an economic theory. The election of Donald Trump only confirms the bankruptcy of a liberal order on its last legs.

First as Tragedy, Then as Farce is a call for the left to reinvent itself in the light of our desperate historical situation. The time for liberal, moralistic blackmail is over.
Review quote
Zizek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation.
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One of the most innovative and exciting contemporary thinkers of the left.
Review quote
Few thinkers illustrate the contradictions of contemporary capitalism better than Slavoj Zizek ... one of the world''s best-known public intellectuals.
Review quote
A gifted speaker-tumultuous, emphatic, direct-he writes as he speaks.
Biographical note
Slavoj Zizek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. His books include Less Than Nothing, The Sublime Object of Ideology, and many more.
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The leading philosopher of our time tackles the demise of liberalism, from the tragedy of 9/11 to the farce of the financial meltdown
Feature
The latest titles in the bestselling Essential Zizek series - the key works in Zizek''s large body of writing.
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Zizek remains one of the most explosive and controversial voices in modern thought.
More Information
Author By (author) Zizek, Slavoj
Date Of Publication Jul 10, 2018
EAN 9781786635938
Contributors Zizek, Slavoj; Zizek Slavoj
Publisher Verso Books
Languages English
Country of Publication United Kingdom
Width 129 mm
Height 198 mm
Thickness 11 mm
Product Forms Paperback / Softback
Weight 0.197000
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