(Zizek holding Alain Badiou’s book)
‘Crisis is the Spectacle: Where Is the Real?’, is taken from the book The
Communist Hypothesis, by Alain Badiou. The chapter starts off in an
interesting way: comparing the current global financial crisis to a blockbuster
movie. Playing also on the link between the financial world and the cinema
world, which in itself is a billion dollar industry. However, as Badiou points
out, the financial world is not a Hollywood film, where the good guy always
win. The reality of it is that is those who run the system that win, that stay
in control. And their interests are not to save the weak, “their only
‘responsibility’ is to make a profit”. And the way they make profit is by
deceiving the common man. They create things so that we will spend, to create
profit. They want us to become dependent on these things and on them so that
when they are in trouble, we will want to save them. And it is not them that
ends up with a few scratches fighting off the evil, to save us, but it is the
simple man, that is hurt and feels the repercussions of their system not
working. All the while they are saved, and come out probably even better than
before.
In this text, as we can expect from a Marxist, Badiou
criticises capitalism and how it is the source of the current crisis the world
is in. Capitalism isn’t working. It, in fact, has never really worked, which is
why there is so much debt. We just made ourselves believe, and the ones in
power made us believe that it did, so that they could make profit on their
deception. They want us to become dependent on this system, because they are
dependent on us. And we let them. People know that the system is flawed but
they are too scared to act on it, try and change it. The failures through
History have scared us from starting again and try and find something better.
We would rather continue with the same problems, and start in a position of
disappointment, than try and have the possibility that the fall is greater;
rather the evil they know than a possible new ‘evil’ they don’t know. People
have become comfortable in their deception. They willingly spend the money,
increase the profit, make the rich richer and then save them because they hope
that they make some kind of profit from it as well.
Badiou’s text is quite cynical, pointing out the laws of the
world but how can it not be, looking at the state of things you cannot not stop
and wonder that he might be right. And then you will dismiss this thought you
just had, because you have already been sold on the illusion. The ‘ordinary
man’ is ready to suffer. Society is so afraid of knowing the truth, really
understanding what is happening, that they would rather the illusion. Society
wants to be protected. And it is because of the want to be sheltered that
capitalism continues.
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