By Slavoj Žižek
Capitalism's crisis and emancipatory alternatives
Subject
Themes
Slavoj Žižek's "Trouble in Paradise" examines the ongoing crisis of global capitalism following Francis Fukuyama's much-celebrated claim about the 'End of History'. Writing in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse and during waves of protests from Occupy Wall Street to the Arab Spring, Žižek argues that what Fukuyama called 'paradise' (liberal-democratic capitalism as the best possible social order) is experiencing fundamental troubles that expose its inherent contradictions.
Slavoj Žižek's "Trouble in Paradise" examines the ongoing crisis of global capitalism following Francis Fukuyama's much-celebrated claim about the 'End of History'. Writing in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse and during waves of protests from Occupy Wall Street to the Arab Spring, Žižek…
Published in 2014, 'Trouble in Paradise' appeared at a critical juncture in global capitalism's trajectory. The 2008 financial crisis had shattered neoliberal triumphalism, whilst waves of protests from Occupy Wall Street (2011) to the Arab Spring (2011-2012) suggested widespread discontent with…
Žižek radically rethinks unemployment as not merely a side effect or temporary malfunction of capitalism, but as central to its very structure. Drawing on Marx's Capital, he insists that unemployment is 'structurally inseparable from the dynamic of accumulation and expansion which constitutes the…
Žižek challenges the common understanding that we live in a 'post-ideological' age where old belief systems have dissolved. Instead, he argues that ideology functions more powerfully than ever, precisely through the mechanism of cynical distance. The formula of contemporary ideology is not naive…
Žižek confronts a disturbing reality: the historical coupling of capitalism and liberal democracy is dissolving. The rise of authoritarian capitalism, exemplified by China, reveals that capitalism not only can function without democracy but may actually thrive better under authoritarian conditions.…
Žižek insists on reviving what Alain Badiou calls the 'Communist hypothesis', not as nostalgia for twentieth-century actually-existing socialism, but as the only adequate framework for comprehending and responding to contemporary capitalism's crises. This hypothesis represents the idea that…
Žižek introduces the crucial concept of 'worldlessness' to characterise our contemporary condition under global capitalism. Despite capitalism's worldwide reach, it fails to provide a meaningful world, a coherent symbolic universe within which subjects can orient themselves. This creates a peculiar…
Chapter 1 provides a diagnostic analysis of contemporary global capitalism's structural contradictions, challenging optimistic narratives about 'the best year ever' and the supposed triumph of free markets. Žižek confronts claims by commentators like Matt Ridley and Steven Pinker that we live in…
Chapter 2 explores the 'knowledge of the heart', examining the ideological mechanisms that make us accept capitalism despite its evident failures. Žižek challenges the notion that we live in a post-ideological age, arguing instead that ideology functions more powerfully through cynical distance. The…
Chapter 3 provides prognosis, examining trajectories awaiting us if current trends continue whilst identifying potential openings for emancipatory transformation. Žižek analyses the rise of authoritarian capitalism, particularly China's model combining economic dynamism with political repression.…
Chapter 4 explores epignosis (knowledge that engages us in action, subjectively assumed), outlining subjective and organisational forms appropriate for contemporary emancipatory struggle. Žižek moves beyond diagnosis and prognosis to address how we might actually move towards transformation. This…
By Slavoj Žižek
Subject
Themes
Slavoj Žižek's "Trouble in Paradise" examines the ongoing crisis of global capitalism following Francis Fukuyama's much-celebrated claim about the 'End of History'. Writing in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse and during waves of protests from Occupy Wall Street to the Arab Spring, Žižek argues that what Fukuyama called 'paradise' (liberal-democratic capitalism as the best possible social order) is experiencing fundamental troubles that expose its inherent contradictions.