Introduction : from the communist standpoint the global mess -- 200 years after : is Marx alive, dead, or a living dead? -- Why secondary contradictions matter : a Maoist view -- Nomadic proletarians -- Should the left's answer to rightist populism really be a "Me too"? -- When unfreedom itself is experienced as freedom -- Only autistic children can save us! -- They are both worse! -- A desperate call for (t)reason the West... -- Democratic socialism and its discontents -- Is Donald Trump a frog embracing a bottle of beer? -- Better dead than red! -- "There is disorder under heaven, the situation is excellent" -- Soyons realistes, demandons l'impossible! -- Catalonia and the end of Europe -- Which idea of Europe is worth defending? -- The right to tell the public bad news...and the rest -- It's the same struggle, dummy! -- The real anti-Semites and their Zionist friends -- Yes, racism is alive and well! -- What is to be done when our cupola is leaking? -- Is China communist or capitalist? -- Venezuela and the need for new clichés -- Welcome to the true new world order! -- A true miracle in Bosnia ideology -- For active solidarity, against guilt and self-reproach -- Sherbsky Institute, APA -- Welcome to the brave new world of consenticorns! -- Do sexbots have rights? -- Nipples, penis, vulva...and maybe shit -- Cuaron's Roma : the trap of goodness -- Happiness? no, thanks! -- Assange has only us to help him! -- Is Avital Ronell really toxic?
Summary:
With irrepressible humor, Slavoj Z̆iz̆ek 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 the Left, Right, and Center, 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: comate 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 sidelines or to fight a culture war that is merely a fig leaf covering 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 poulism, racism, and conspiracy theories. A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name is Z̆iz̆ek's attempt to elucidate the major poliktical issues of the day from a truly radical Leftist position. The first three parts explore the global political sitution [sic] and the final part focuses on contemporary Western culture, as Z̆iz̆ek directs his polemic to topics such as wellness, Wikileaks, and the rights of sexbots. This wide-ranging collection of essays provides the perfect insight into the ideas of one of the most influential radical thinkers of our time. -- From back cover.
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