Slavoj Žižek - China, "asian capitalism" and our lack of ideology

[MsGatubela007]

Ideology may be the most dangerous tool to rule over people...Using ordinary people in need, like those in economical crisis, and brainwashing them. Where had been those "ideologists" before? They are just using the situation to gain attention to their sick opinions. People are desperate, let´ s talk to them, right? Does this man actually know how the mortgage "chain" started? Let´ s be sane and use our own brain...

[Theknopf]

ONE HAS TO HAVE A BACK GROUND IN HISTORY PHILOSOPHY Neuro-science ANTHROPOLOGY ETC lots of fun thank you.

[PedroArvy]

For my sources, search Google for "gdp per capita" and click on Wikipedia. For some reason comments don't allow direct links here.

[PedroArvy]

Zizek says that Chinese capitalism is more efficient than Western capitalism. What does he mean by this? If you look at performance by GDP China is way less than most of the European countries of the former Soviet Union.

[spischek]

@PedroArvy

what he means is that China and the other Asian "tiger" states show enormous growth since decades and their capitalist accumulation is less limited by democratic and working class institutions. Wait three more decades and we will see if Western countries adopt the authoritarian mode of capitalist accumulation.

[PedroArvy]

@spischek

I disagree. He is quite specific when he talks about China and he uses the term "a more efficient form of capitalism than the west" in several videos. I think if you are going to take Zizek seriously you have to look at precisely what he says, not what it implies or could mean. This is one thing I don't like about him, he makes these big statements delivered with infectious enthusiasm but short on specifics and almost always unsourced.

[PedroArvy]

Its also the criticism of him on WikiPedia:

Both agree that Žižek flouts standards of reasoned argument. Harpham calls Žižek's style "a stream of nonconsecutive units arranged in arbitrary sequences that solicit a sporadic and discontinuous attention."

[balancetrembling]

cocaine.

[nonners21]

11:59

"Really, the problem is the lack of vision, and I think that this lack of vision is precisely, for me, the proof of how strong ideology rules. People say we no longer live in ideological times - of course we do! More than ever! Ideology which really works, which never percieves itself as ideology but simply as the natural state of things."

[vkvladman]

He wasn't saying that we have a "lack of ideology" he was saying quite the opposite... also Asian not Aisian :P

[literarninoviny]

@vkvladman Thank you, please excuse our bad English.

[vkvladman]

@literarninoviny haha it's ok :P

[Platemaster]

But hey, great video

[Platemaster]

Please find a less annoying interviewer next time.