Our World Is Coming To An End | Aaron Bastani Meets Slavoj Žižek | Downstream
What this covers
Slavoj Žižek is perhaps the most famous living Marxist philosopher. In 2023, he has written 3 books with topics ranging from the nature of freedom to his intensely pessimistic view of the future.
He sat down with Aaron to talk about Israel and Palestine, Deep Fakes and the legacy of Stalin.
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Žižek argues that Western leftism has become fragmented and culturally focused rather than materially grounded, while fascistic nationalism is resurging globally; authentic left politics must combine pessimism about current trajectories with pragmatic material intervention and law-and-order governance to prevent authoritarian alternatives.
- The left's turn toward cultural Marxism and identity politics has weakened its capacity to build broad coalitions around economic grievances that fuel right-wing populism
- Emergent forms of fascism (China's 'conservative modernization,' Modi, Putin) represent the real threat, requiring global coordination mechanisms rather than localist or anarchist alternatives
- Leftists must embrace moderate conservatism—securing healthcare, education, and public order—while preparing for climate migration crises through managed emergency states
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Western intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya should have taught the left that imposing democracy from outside through military force is impossible; instead, the lesson should be to address material causes of instability (poverty, occupation, lack of sovereignty) rather than trying to engineer political systems.
“don't simply think that uh our not only our land but our Notions of freedom and so on don't think that we have the universal model this is for me the lesson of 2001 it's the end of fukuyama dream”
Henri Himmler kept the Bhagavad Gita in his pocket because it provided him an ethical framework (acting through distance, dispassion) to justify genocide without becoming a 'beast'—showing how religious texts can be weaponized.
“Bhagavad Gita was the book which henr Kimler had all the time in his pocket because this was his reply to how to kill the juice his ethical problem of himler was yes we are doing horrible thing killing Jewish children uh mothers how can we do it without becoming beasts ourselves his answer was Bhagavad Gita”
Authentic leftism must embrace 'pessimism in theory, optimism in practice'—accepting that present trajectories lead toward catastrophe while simultaneously engaging in material interventions and coalition-building; this Adorno/Horkheimer position avoids both naive utopianism and paralyzing despair.
“the only one that I can offer is what Max horkheimer one of the fathers of frankurt school said very nicely that in these desperate times the position of leftist should be pessimism in theory optimism in practice”
The history of anti-Semitism shows a transformation from pre-revolutionary religious anti-Semitism (focused on conversion) to post-Enlightenment biological/racial anti-Semitism that declares Jews inherently unredeemable—this later form, exemplified by Wagner and later Nazism, is actually more virulent and emerged paradoxically after Jewish civil emancipation.
“till vaguely French Revolution the focus of anti-Semitism was to convert the Jews and then the problem was the main form of an was okay they converted but are they secretly still practicing their rituals did they really convert you know that was the problem”
The pattern of revolutions (French, October, Arab Spring) is that good intentions produce internal dynamics of terror and excess that repeat with 'a kind of necessity' rather than through individual evil.
“something that was originally a good idea almost with a kind of a necessity as a rule turns wrong”
Anti-Semitism is a reliable symptom of corrupted leftism because it personalizes the enemy (the Jew as individual malefactor) rather than analyzing the system, whereas authentic Marxist analysis depersonalizes—even capitalists are forced by competitive logic to act as they do; when leftists blame Jews, something has fundamentally broken in their analysis.
“whenever there is a left Wing or something that appears to be you left wing anti-Semitism it means something is deeply wrong with that left you know why for a very simple reason for me the message of authentic left is not let's say a nice dream I'm a big poor proletarian or whatever we call it today you are a dirty boura I already see here the traces of the rope that we but uh like an authentic leftist always knows that the enemy is not you as such the enemy is the system”
The lesson of the 1968 uprising is not that revolution was a mistake, but that good revolutionary ideas systematically turn into their opposites: the anti-alienation struggle became precarious gig work; the fight against oppressive sexuality became objectifying promiscuity; the demand for authentic education became narrow vocational training—this is a recurring pattern requiring constant vigilance rather than naive optimism.
“the attacks against alienated factories this serial work you just work in line automatically they were against this nice what do we get are we getting today precarious work total uncertainty and so on it's even worse they were against alienated uh this oppression of women and so on we get today's promiscuous sexuality which in a way objectifies women and others even more education against alienated universities yes and now we have we are Justified to have a Nostalgia towards this big alienated University”
Hegelian analysis shows that democracies depend on unwritten rules and norms more than on written constitutions, which is why the US constitutional system is more fragile than it appears—once figures like Trump openly disrespect these unwritten rules with impunity, democracy collapses despite written protections.
“I have no Illusions about democracy the way we know it it's maybe coming to an end but I always emphasize in this book in other books that democracy are not just the written rules democracy are also there is no democracy without Unwritten silent rules that you have to obey and so on and this is simply breaking down in the United States”
The new global economic system is not classical capitalism but a hybrid of mega-corporations and states that extract value primarily through rent—controlling digital commons, data, and platforms rather than through production—exemplified by how Bill Gates became wealthy not from worker exploitation but from monopolizing the digital space through which we communicate.
“we have now this Mega Corporation from Amazon to uh uh Bill Gates and so on they own our Commons in this Commons in the sense of the space we used to exchange communicate you know how did that's my classic example Bill Gates become one of the wealthiest persons not by Ultra exploiting his workers he even pays them maybe reasonably well it is because the way we communicate at it's through the commons of digital space which is largely controlled by him and he gets from publicity or from us directly if you buy new windows it's rent we are returning to rent”
American capitalists in the 1920s believed the Soviet Union represented a 'Jewish state' because the early Soviet Politburo had a Jewish majority, a belief that Stalin later weaponized by introducing systematic anti-Semitism.
“look at when the left becomes anti-semitic Lenin it's ridiculous to say this look everybody knows Lenin's poit Bureau the ruling click forget about democracy the 8 10 people who run more than half of them were juice you which is why in the early anti Soviet in the 1920s the standard reproach was the that Soviet Union is a lsh state you know then comrad Stalin and enters the scene anti-Semitism a discret one but nonetheless enters enters the scene”
The majority of abortions are sought by poor women who already have children and lack resources, not by middle-class women protecting careers—a fact obscured by pro-choice rhetoric that accepts pro-life framing.
“abort the majority of abortions came from poorer women who already have two three children cannot do more”
The immigration smuggling industry is worth 10 billion dollars annually and benefits from restrictionist policies that criminalize migrants, making it a major economic actor benefiting from both left and right political positions.
“immigration is a great business the Smugglers turn around over 10 billions per year and uh those who come here are in great majority people who can afford it the really poor remain there”
The rise of 'Zionist anti-Semites'—figures like Trump who support Israel's territorial expansion while being supported by explicitly anti-Semitic movements (Proud Boys, etc.)—represents a new form of strategic alignment where antisemitism and Zionism converge, exemplified by historical figures like Herzl who proposed alliances with antisemitic movements.
“my greatest fear is are what I call that's why I mention them as was attacked what I call literally Zionist anti-semites people and Trump was this he supported Israel there you take Golan haes they move but at the same time in United States he was supported by so many anti-semitic organization Grassroots like proud boys”
Cancel culture and the practice of leftist identity-politics policing, while claiming to advance social justice goals, is deeply counterproductive because it fractures the broad left coalition needed to oppose right-wing authoritarianism and capital—the left should instead focus on building coalitions across gender, sexuality, and racial lines around material economic grievances.
“what worries me is that the way this is practiced it's deeply counterproductive because I think what I don't know don't ask me how to do it I don't know but isn't it crucial for the left instead of getting caught in this self divisive censoring you know oh you use that word what if it's still secretly racist and so on to think in terms of broad Coalition”
A western fundamentalist Christian who defends Israel on Zionist grounds while demanding the state NOT recognize Jesus Christ reveals that the underlying commitment is not to Israel but to a vision of Christian/Muslim war (Armageddon).
“he said I'm totally wrong this this all this is good for Israel then he ends up but there is one sin which is more ominous than all that I reproach to present government of Israel which is inexcusable for the Jews that they don't recognize Jesus Christ”
The key to understanding contemporary political crisis is not individual evil figures like Trump, but the deep malfunctioning of global capitalism that creates the conditions ordinary people experience as failed—Trump exploited genuine economic grievance rather than creating the discontent ex nihilo.
“Trump is not an original fact he didn't fall on our happy Earth out of context all of a sudden everything was functioning nice then this no he reacted or he reacted to a deep crisis failed by millions of ordinary people he exploited this in a way which was totally reprehensible you know so again totally against him but the key is in the malfunctioning of our global capitalism”
What counts as 'possible' or 'impossible' in political discourse is itself an ideological category that shifts with material conditions—today we treat AI superintelligence as possible but raising taxes by 2% as economically impossible, when pandemic spending proved massive redistribution is materially feasible if politically desired.
“something declaring something possible or impossible is always also I'm sorry to use this old obscene term an ideological category in a certain situation it appears like this”
A 'Law and Order' left approach is necessary—prioritizing material security, stable institutions, and functioning public systems (healthcare, education) over abstract freedom rhetoric—because ordinary people rationally value security and stability, which the left must deliver rather than offer revolutionary enthusiasm.
“I am the the morning after leftist how will ordinary people feel the change when the enthusiasm is over how how will their life ordinary daily life how will they be affected”
Western liberalism's approach to immigration is deeply patronizing—treating immigrants as objects to be 'integrated' rather than agents with legitimate reasons for migration; this condescension combined with unmanaged migration fuels right-wing anti-immigration politics by destabilizing communities without addressing root causes.
“I profoundly agree with you how precisely those Western liberals who pretend to be respectful towards the others are at a deeper level deeply patronizing on the others their whole value system General frame remains Remains the Western one”
Modern state-level crises (climate migration, resource scarcity, ecological collapse) can no longer be solved by individual nation-states; we require global coordination mechanisms that override national sovereignty, but current nationalism prevents this from happening.
“today precisely when isn't it clear that all the problems that we have can only be solved in a some kind of global approach you cannot solve ecological threats by this state is doing this in another sovereign state no we will be compelled to develop mechanisms which will be which will have a status of not just a matter of choice but which will be able measures to overr right how do you call it cancel over the interests of the individual sovereign states”
Emergency states will become necessary as climate crises intensify (Fukushima, mass climate migration), and if the left doesn't prepare mechanisms to manage these emergencies, the right will—establishing fascistic control under the guise of necessary order.
“I think that in answer to the crisis in plural that that we are approaching today ecological immigrant and so on war we have to get ready to emergency States they will come and we had to build in mechanism of how we to deal with new emergency States because if we don't do it the right-wingers will do it in their own authoritarian way”
Lenin's state apparatus allowed for Stalinism—not because Lenin 'betrayed' the revolution, but because the structural logic of Leninist organization (centralized party control) contained the seeds of Stalinist authoritarianism; this is a recurring pattern where revolutionary structures don't accidentally become authoritarian but necessarily do.
“as a hegelian I don't buy this Trot skite story you know that if only Lenin were to survive for three four years he would have made a PCT with uh with with Trotsky throughout Stalin and then then what big socialist democracy no maybe a little bit better but nonetheless and I'm ready to go even further back here it's clear that I don't care if he wanted he Lenin this or not but leninism obviously did open up the space for stalinism”
The proliferation of strong nation-states globally represents the universalization of the worst aspects of European modernity—blood-and-soil nationalism, ethnic homogenization—while the best aspect (cosmopolitan universalism) is being abandoned; countries adopting strong nationalism cite anti-colonial or anti-Western rhetoric but are actually imitating European fascism.
“look first I think that those who critized most eurocentrism follow it in this strong Nations look at Turkey all the horrors that they did The Armenian Genocide and so on it was not down by old conservative Turks it was done by Young Turks who wanted to change turkey into a modern Sovereign Nation State”
The notion of 'demand the impossible' from 1968 is dangerously naive; instead, the left should 'demand the very possible'—identifying what material changes are actually feasible and organizing around them, using realism about possibility as a political tool.
“so when you hear the catchphrase which is from 68 of course demand The Impossible you say no do not demand The Impossible demand the depend demand demand the very possible”
Freedom requires material conditions to be actual rather than merely formal—genuine freedom is not just the right to choose, but the security that healthcare, education, and social support will enable real choice; this is what socialism understood and liberal theory obscures.
“freedom is a for sorry freedom is formal Freedom or it doesn't exist but what socialism did taught us is that freedom to be actual needs certain material conditions for example Universal Health Care I don't buy this right liberal argumentation it enslaves you no life is much more free if you are aware that if I get seriously ill cancer blah blah some social State mechanism will take care of that”
U.S. military interventions in Iraq and Libya, while justified as removing dictators, actually destabilized regions, empowered worse actors (ISIS in Iraq), and enabled demographic catastrophe (Christian flight from Iraq); understanding this requires Hegelian analysis of unintended consequences rather than moral judgment of intentions.
“the result of the American occupation of Iraq was that first Iranian influence GRE mhm plus most of the Christians immigrated from Iraq whatever you say about Sadam and he was a nightmare he wasn't a religious fundamentalist he was relatively secular you remember Tark aiz his foreign minister he was a Christian”
Trotsky's late position on Ukraine (full Ukrainian sovereignty and self-determination) represents the authentic leftist position on national liberation because it doesn't subordinate national freedom to proletarian internationalism but recognizes that genuine internationalism requires national sovereignty.
“I also quoted that the last speech and I am not a fan of try he screwed it up with his incredible arrogance in the last years of his life he allowed Stalin to take over but do you know the last speech of Trotsky no before he died sorry written article it's about Ukraine and he said full sovereignty to Ukraine even if it means becoming fully a sovereign state and then he said what if you tell me but this goes against proletarian internationalism and trosy gives a beautiful Marxist answer he says no if you don't allow Ukraine to go alone this is Russian nationalism true proletarian internationalism is simply you want the sovereign state have it and then we collaborate”
Small, productive capitalists (family businesses, local enterprises) are increasingly being expropriated by mega-corporate structures that control digital commons and extract rent rather than profit; the left should consider tactical alliances with these dispossessed capitalists against the mega-corporate class.
“there is an opposition emerging between this new Mega corporate FAL class and leftist will crucify me for this small productive capitalist true and maybe we should even rely on this and make tactical alliances with productive capitalist who also feel EXP exped today”
Fukuyama's 'end of history' thesis (that liberal democratic capitalism is the final form of human society) was decisively refuted by 9/11 and the subsequent wars, revealing the limits of liberal universalism; Fukuyama himself has since admitted his error.
“so I totally agree here with your father don't simply think that uh our not only our land but our Notions of freedom and so on don't think that we have the universal model this is for me the lesson of 2001 it's the end of fukuyama dream 20 one I mean 911 no fukuyama dream was we have liberal Democratic capitalism is universal formula here and there countries are pro blah blah blah”
South African poor populations express nostalgia for apartheid not from accepting racism but because apartheid maintained stability and basic standards of living, while post-apartheid corruption has delivered nothing.
“she told me she radical left is something so sad she told me the predominant atmosphere now among the poor blacks in South Africa is Nostalgia for apar heide isn't this horrible she said life was more stable because it was a police state standard of living was the same maybe even slightly higher”
Robespierre and Saint-Just in the final months of the Reign of Terror were actually trying to end the terror and were executing leftists (like Hébert) who wanted to continue it; they consciously risked and lost their lives to stop the machinery, making them tragic figures who understood the abyss rather than simple villains.
“Robespierre was obsessed with the idea how to end the terror he saw this deadly Machinery is getting dangerous so just follow detailed history all his last purges were against leftists who were usually at the Sint corrupted and wanted more terror like Joseph F the evil embodied”
The solution to migration crises requires addressing root causes in source countries—war, occupation, capitalist underdevelopment—rather than managed immigration into the West; Western powers should support economic development and stability in places like Tunisia so people choose to remain home rather than flee.
“I'm here very realist one right- Winger in Germany and I tend to agree said why don't we instead of farist try to build to construct factories in Tunisia in Northern Africa to give them job there I'm very and I don't downplay”
Israel has historically helped create and sustained Hamas to prevent Palestinian unity and postpone two-state solutions by dividing Palestinians between secular West Bank and Islamist Gaza.
“Hamas was everybody admits this now was not created but helped a lot by Israel because they thought if if Palestinians are split between West Bank which is more PLO secular and Gaza more Muslim fanatic they will not be United so this will postpone a two-state solution”
The Iranian uprising in 2022-2023 after Mahsa Amini's death is exemplary of genuine emancipatory struggle because it united women's liberation with broader social demands in an unscripted way, transcending sectarian identity politics that fragments the left.
“the only really big thing that recently happened and I hope we will all agree here is something incredible is the Iranian of after that Kurdish girl was killed by the islami police whatever for not having a wearing a scarf it was something incredible millions of people first women then Ordinary People not just Muslims you know why I like this because this was not the boring politically correct feminism”
Western military support for Israel has enabled decades of daily violence against Palestinian farmers in the West Bank (burning fields, killing civilians)—this is documented and acknowledged even by liberal Israeli media; understanding Hamas requires understanding this context without relativizing Hamas's attack, which was unjustifiable but strategically explainable.
“you cannot even understand it without now everybody is talking Hamas versus Israel what about 4 million Palestinians is there any perspective for them like you know I have connections there on the West Bank with Jew and with Palestinians and I'm not saying anything subversive you know that Anthony blink Secretary of State said recently Israel has to stop this daily violence against West Bank Palestinian Farmers burning their fields killing them”
Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel was strategically counterproductive—designed not to achieve military victory but to ensure decades of futile conflict and prevent any possibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace; this represents a form of violence that guarantees prolonged suffering rather than liberation.
“my Israeli friends who are left there close to Palestinians told me they knew people in that K boots and raving they were the best of Israelis in the sense of how to relate with Arabs and it's clear that Hamas attack on them was destined not so much to win over Israel but for decades in future to block any chance of Peace it was a war to make sure that there will not be a peace”
The 1968 Arab Spring did not produce lasting leftist political alternatives because, as with all contemporary uprisings, the question of what happens the next day after revolution is not answered—hence the left's defeat.
“the lesson of Arab Arab Spring it's a very sad and interesting one it's the same lesson as that of CA which was a miracle but it went wrong”
A massive ecological catastrophe like Fukushima that could have evacuated 30 million people reveals the inadequacy of market-based solutions and requires global coordinated governance—yet such mechanisms don't exist.
“for one day Japanese authorities were in a panic it looked that they will have to evacuate the whole Tokyo area 30 million people where to put them in a rational world order the answer is clear there are now with global warming waste vast land which can which can where hundreds of millions people literally can settle in Siberia”
The goal of asking increasingly impossible standards of political correctness ('are you he or she or they?') is not genuine inclusion but division of potential coalitions.
“isn't it crucial for the left instead of getting caught in this self divisive censoring you know oh you use that word what if it's still secretly racist and so on to think in terms of broad Coalition”
China has undergone a fundamental transformation from communism to a form of fascism under Deng Xiaoping—not Nazi fascism but 'conservative modernization' fascism: allowing market capitalism while maintaining strict one-party nationalist state control, representing a dangerous model being adopted globally.
“I read some books they are more rightwing but they make a point that the secret of what is happening now now in China is that what dening really did is to change China to put it in brutal simplistic terms from communism to Fascism fascism means in contrast to Communism where you nationalize economy you allow a certain degree of free market economy but you have a strong nation state one party non-democratic state to control it”
Putin uses Lenin as his primary ideological target in justifying invasion of Ukraine, claiming that Lenin 'invented Ukraine' and that modern Russia should finally undo Bolshevik mistakes through decommunization; this reveals that the Ukraine conflict is fundamentally about the legacy of Soviet communism and nation-state formation.
“maybe in this book at I like to quote Putin made a crucial speech in uh now it's a year and a half ago when he started the war two days 21st and 23rd of February did you notice that he repeatedly mentions as a in a critical way only one name not zalinski zalinski is unpronouncable he will never even mention him Lenin he said the proper name of Ukraine should be Ukraine of Vladimir ilich Lenin he says Bolsheviks invented Ukraine”
Demographic shifts and geopolitical power realignment are occurring (Africa's population growth, China's development, wealth moving East), but these are secondary to the internal crisis of the United States and Western democracies; the real danger is democratic breakdown in the West itself through figures like Mike Johnson and Trump openly disrespecting constitutional norms.
“I think that the true horror if you were to name me a spot on the earth about which what goes on there I'm really worried it would have been not the Middle East not China but United States I think that this can you imagine what danger think this is uh this guy my God”
The absence of a genuine left party in many Western countries (UK Labour is now center-right, not left; France and Germany have fragmented lefts) combined with the rise of 'extreme freakish right Wingers' creates a dangerous political dynamic where there is no credible alternative to the right.
“you no longer have a leftist party you have a moderate moderate conservative party it's called labor party no yeah they're the centr right party now yeah yeah yeah yeah and then you have extreme freakish right Wingers”
The idea of 'civilizational clash' or inevitable conflict between China and the West is self-fulfilling and ignores that China itself is dealing with internal structural crises (empty apartments, demographic collapse, growth slowdown) that redirect focus from external threats.
“I think that it's facing a crisis but I the problem is obviously with people that are watching China there are huge incentives to overstate yeah the extent of problems but that's why I'm interesting to but there are huge incentives to Chinese state to lie as well”
Ukraine requires sustained Western military support to prevent Russian annexation; calls for 'peace' without this support are equivalent to allowing Russian territorial conquest, and the stalemate position is the best available outcome short of Ukrainian military victory.
“if you simply stop supporting Ukraine I'm not suggesting that no no so if you but you're saying rather than a negotiated settlement which I agree like it wouldn't be worth the paper is written on fine but what you're proposing it seems to me is just a a permanent low-level war between Russia and Ukraine forever then which maybe is the best you can hope for I don't know but yeah that's that's what I am tempted to suggest”
Ukraine has internal problems (corruption, suppression of left politics, restrictions on political freedom) that the left should critique even while supporting its military defense against invasion; supporting Ukraine doesn't require unconditional praise of its government.
“if you are a leftist in Ukraine today you are in great danger that you or your party will be prohibited as potentially pro-russian are they crazy my God don't they read Putin”
The left becoming 'cultural Marxism' after 1968 (focusing on identity and representation rather than production and class) was a recapture of Marxism by liberal culturalism, abandoning the material analysis that would explain why immigration occurs (global capital's underdevelopment of the Global South) in favor of celebrating 'diversity' while ignoring the material devastation driving it.
“this is another bad consequence of I will give you a very simplified answer of 68 when uh Marxism became cultural Marxism in my Orthodox Marxist term it was recaptured by liberal culturalist ideology you know and I deeply sorry we don't have more time I profoundly agree with you how precisely those Western liberals who pretend to be respectful towards the others are at a deeper level deeply patronizing on the others their whole value system General frame remains Remains the Western one”
Violent revolutionary rupture may be necessary to break an old order (Martin Luther King's success required the implicit threat of more radical Black violence; Mandela's leverage came from fear of radical alternatives), but the left must also think deeply about what comes after, not just about overthrowing power but about how the new regime avoids becoming another tyranny.
“even if not actual violence in a at moments of radical emancipation you at least need a threat of more radical deadly measure for example this guy looks at the in the 60s Martin Luther King uh for Black full black emancipation the struggles and he said why did Martin Luther more or less the struggle goes on succeed because behind him there was a threat of much more violent radical blacks look at Mandela the aparat made the deal with him because they were afraid there were much more radical blacks waiting getting ready for much more radical measures”
The term 'Native American' is deeply patronizing because it conflates 'nature' with 'native' and implies these peoples are natural rather than cultural; indigenous peoples themselves often prefer 'Indian' because it at least preserves the mark of colonialism and Western stupidity rather than obscuring it.
“there were many so-called Native Americans and they already hated the term because it's the political correct term they told me o that this is so patronizing what is the opposite of nature culture so they told me we are n n natural Americans and you are cultural Americans or what and they gave me a wonder they said we much prefer to be called Indians why because then this name is at Le at least a monument to White Man's stupidity”
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are approaching real technical breakthroughs, but current projections—both utopian (merger with God, transcendence) and dystopian (total surveillance, loss of individuality)—are ideological fantasies that obscure what will actually happen, which is unpredictable.
“of course we are approaching a breathtaking change but I think that all the projections that we have of artificial intelligence taking over on the one hand the pessimist projection we will be totally regulated by by Mega machines we will lose our individuality on the opposite hand it will be like theology actualized we will become one with got they are obvious nonsense I don't know what will happen I know this will not happen”
The left should seek converts not traitors and build broad coalitions with moderate forces, as demonstrated by Bernie Sanders' approach to abortion—focusing on shared goals (reducing abortion need) rather than demanding ideological purity.
“we should always focus on this how to build a broad Coalition seek converts not traitors”
European Jews were uniquely positioned by their exclusion from land ownership and nation-state belonging to embody Enlightenment universalism and 'public use of reason'—they are therefore constitutive of European modernity, and their departure or marginalization signals the collapse of the cosmopolitan Enlightenment project in favor of blood-and-soil nationalism.
“it was the juice without having a specific place here that were as it were by their position forced into universalism you know Universal reason independently of n they embody with their objective social position European Jews what Kant called public use of Reason”
What happened in Latin America under Evo Morales (Bolivia) for 12 years is the only recent clear case of a successful left government because it actually raised the standard of living of ordinary people while avoiding capital flight, through pragmatic (not ideologically pure) governance.
“for example in Latin America the only clear case is but now maybe things are going worse is I admit this I was linked with them uh Morales Lera Lucho AR Bolivia Morales was 12 years in power the standard of ordinary people went up but nonetheless they did it in such an intelligent way they didn't scare out the capital and they you remember then there was a kudeta and they were even reelected I like this type of pragmatic left who is not which is not caught into their own slogans”
The only durable legacy of 1968 was that sensitivity to racism, women's rights, and LGBTQ issues became embedded in daily ideology—not the economic organization or sexual liberation.
“look how we talk about women today this is one of the lasting legacies of 68”
The concept of ideology is being used by Žižek in a non-pejorative sense to mean our spontaneous way of experiencing the world, shaped by social conditions; the left's achievement in winning certain notions (sensitivity to racism, women's rights, LGBT inclusion) into 'common ideology' represents genuine cultural progress.
“by ideology I mean how we spontaneously experience the situation so no I but now Things become more sensitive because I think we have to judge it Case by case for example it was not violent but it was a Rapture the only really big thing that recently happened and I hope we will all agree here is something incredible is the Iranian of after that Kurdish girl was killed by the islami police”
The Iranian government is deeply oppressive, but the country retains a vibrant civil society and intellectual life; Western sanctions and military threats have not successfully weakened the regime but have strengthened it by enabling nationalist mobilization.
“it's totally different from other Arab countries it's still has an incredible uh incredible Civil Society life philosophy they they translated there in spite of all City politics up there they translated over 10 of my books is an Lively intellectual country”
Žižek considers himself a 'Stalinist' in the paranoid sense that he must remain sober and vigilant to recognize threats, not in the sense of supporting authoritarian violence, distinguishing between a psychological disposition and a political program.
“I'm really a stalinist not superficial you know what's my idea please the world is a dangerous place if you get drunk you want to embrace people you get kind and then you don't recognize the attack you cannot defend itself no we must stay sober parano to see where the attack is coming that's my really that's my spontaneous stance”
I am comfortable writing about films I haven't seen and forming strong opinions; this is justified because my opinions are about the ideological form/structure of the film, not its empirical details, and reality should conform to correct analysis rather than correct analysis conforming to reality.
“I even have an opinion on films that I haven't seen you know like what I wrote about Barbie and Oppenheimer it's now a public secret that when I wrote that I haven't seen the films you know I'm here a hegelian you know that famous heels stands if if reality doesn't fit what I Proclaim to be the notional truth so much worse for reality”