Violence

Zizek argues that the physical violence we see is often generated by the systemic violence that sustains our political and economic systems. With the help of eminent philosophers like Marx, Engel and Lacan, as well as frequent references to popular culture, he examines the real causes of violent outbreaks like those seen in Israel and Palestine and in terrorist acts around the world. Ultimately, he warns, doing nothing is often the most violent course of action we take.

'A startling critic of great daring, who doesn't watch his back or observe the pieties as he swerves and swoops through the age of globalised images and fabricated realities.' Times Literary Supplement'Zizek is A... the most formidably brilliant exponent of psychoanalysis, indeed of cultural theory in general, to have emerged in Europe for some decades.' Terry Eagleton, University of Oxford'[Zizek] stares out, dishevelled, from the page and dares the reader to disagree.' The Guardian

Slavoj Zizek is a Slovenian sociologist, postmodern philosopher and cultural critic. In 1990 he ran for Presidency of the Republic of Slovenia and is currently the international director of the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Birkbeck. He is the author of Welcome to the Desert of the Real; How to Read Lacan as well as feature films Zizek! and The Pervert's Guide to Cinema.

'The Elvis of Cultural Theory' Chronicle of Higher Education 'A thinker whose views are worth paying attention to' New Yorker Does the advent of capitalism and, indeed, civilization cause more violence than it prevents? Is there violence in the simple idea of "the neighbour"? And could the appropriate form of action against violence today simply be to contemplate, to think? In this passionate plea for awareness, Zizek turns his unflinching gaze on the capitalist democracies we live in. He explores the bloody totalitarian regimes of the last century and that violence which is named 'divine'. Drawing on high and low culture, Kant, Lacan, jokes and contemporary cinema, this celebrated academic turned philosophical icon discusses the inherent violence of globalization, capitalism, fundamentalism, and language, in a work that will confirm his standing as one of our most erudite and incendiary modern thinkers. This is a book poised to set a new agenda for our thinking about violence.

'The Elvis of cultural theory' confirms his status as the most exciting philosopher in recent history as he explores the nature of violence in typically controversial style. Zizek argues that the physical violence we see is often generated by the systemic violence that sustains our political and economic systems. With the help of eminent philosophers like Marx, Engel and Lacan, as well as frequent references to popular culture, he examines the real causes of violent outbreaks like those seen in Israel and Palestine and in terrorist acts around the world. Ultimately, he warns, doing nothing is often the most violent course of action we take.

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