“An ideology that allows its adherents to act on their worst impulses can mobilize millions.”

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“As Žižek explains, the challenges we face in the 21st century are unprecedented and the situation is far from excellent (as could be the future) unless a unified movement arises to address issues such as global poverty, climate change, the Covid pandemic, political apathy and other social ills… Whether or not you agree with Žižek, his ideas are worthy of consideration and encourage us to reflect upon our own views and actions.”

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“In the last two Covid years, Žižek has published three books with OR Books, which are the ‘easiest’ and most accessible [of his books]—a good ‘jumping in’ point for the Žižek-curious, and light reading for those who’ve followed him for a while. The first two were titled Pandemic!: Covid-19 Shakes the World and Pandemic! 2: Chronicles of a Time Lost. The third, which came out at the end of 2021, is Heaven In Disorder, after a quote by Mao Zedong: ‘There is great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent.’ The idea being that times of unrest offer possibilities and opportunities for political change…

There’s much to agree with, enjoy, and ponder in Heaven In Disorder: The continued torture of Assange is a travesty, and a danger to all press freedom everywhere; climate change is, or should be, a worldwide emergency to which our governments should be responding; Biden is just as bad as Trump, if not worse in some ways. All of which liberals/centrists/Democrats here in America may not want to think about or acknowledge. He does offer some solutions, especially in his final essay.”

“One of Mao Zedong’s best-known sayings is: ‘There is great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent.’ It is easy to understand what Mao meant here: when the existing social order is disintegrating, the ensuing chaos offers revolutionary forces a great chance to act decisively and take political power. Today, there certainly is great disorder under heaven, with the Covid-19 pandemic, global warming, signs of a new Cold War, and the eruption of popular protests and social antagonisms worldwide naming but a few of the crises that beset us. But does this chaos still make the situation excellent, or is the danger of self-destruction too high?”

“After the triumph of global capitalism, the spirit of collective engagement has been repressed, but now, the repressed spirit seems to have returned in the form of religious fundamentalism.

Can this lead to a return of the proper form of collective emancipatory engagement? Yes. And it is already knocking on our doors with great force. Tackling climate change, for example, calls for large-scale collective actions which will require many sacrifices and letting go of certain pleasures we cherish.”

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“We should learn to trust science: it is only with the help of science that we can overcome our problems (caused, among other things, by science in the service of power). We should learn to trust public authority: only such an authority makes it possible to confront dangers like pandemics and environmental catastrophes by way of imposing necessary measures. We should learn to trust ‘the big Other,’ the shared space of basic values: without it, solidarity is not possible.”

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“The routine of these billionaires is nothing but a lie: speculative exploitation followed by vacuous humanitarian concerns about the catastrophic consequences that their ruthless capitalism is responsible for in the first place.”

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