Zizek - 2018 - How Mao Would Have Evaluated The Yellow Vests - Slavoj Zizek

How Mao would have evaluated the Yellow Vests – Slavoj Zizek about:reader?url=https://www.rt.com/op-ed/447155-zizek-ye...
rt.com
How Mao would have evaluated

the Yellow Vests – Slavoj Zizek
11-14 minutes
Slavoj Zizek is a cultural philosopher. He’s a senior

researcher at the Institute for Sociology and Philosophy at
the University of Ljubljana and Global Distinguished
Professor of German at New York University.
1 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
The French Yellow Vest movement exposes a problem at

the heart of today’s politics. Too much adherence to
popular “opinion” and not enough innovation and fresh
ideas.
Already a quick glance at the imbroglio makes it clear that

we are caught in multiple social struggles. The tension
between the liberal establishment and the new populism,
the ecological struggle, efforts in support of feminism and
sexual liberation, plus ethnic and religious battles and the
desire for universal human rights. Not to mention, trying to
resist digital control of our lives.
So, how to bring all these struggles together without simply

privileging one of them as the “true” priority? Because this
balance provides the key to all other struggles.
Also on rt.com French spirit in motion: Yellow Vests waltz to

Edith Piaf as police close down camp (VIDEO)
Old ideas
Half a century ago, when the Maoist wave was at its

strongest, Mao Zedong’s distinction between “principal” and
“secondary” contradictions (from his treatise “On
Contradiction,” written in 1937) was a common currency in
political debates. Perhaps, this distinction deserves to be
brought back to life.
Let’s begin with a simple example: Macedonia – what’s in a

name? A couple of months ago, the governments of
Macedonia and Greece concluded an agreement on how to
2 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
resolve the problem of the name “Macedonia.” It should

change its name into “Northern Macedonia.”
This solution was instantly attacked by the radicals in both

countries. Greek opponents insisted “Macedonia” is an old
Greek name, and Macedonian opponents felt humiliated by
being reduced to a “Northern” province since they are the
only people who call themselves “Macedonians.”
READ MORE: Macedonian parliament narrowly greenlights

name change for ‘brighter future’ with NATO & EU
Imperfect as it was, the solution offered a glimpse of hope

to end a long and meaningless struggle with a reasonable
compromise.
But it was caught in another “contradiction” – the struggle

between big powers (the US and EU on the one side,
Russia on the other side). The West put pressure on both
sides to accept the compromise so that Macedonia could
quickly join the EU and NATO, while, for exactly the same
reason (seeing in it the danger of its loss of influence in the
Balkans), Russia opposed it, supporting conservative
nationalist forces in both countries, to varying degrees.
So, which side should we take here? I think we should

decidedly take the side of compromise, for the simple
reason that it is the only realist solution to the problem.
Russia opposed it simply because of its geopolitical
interests, without offering another solution, so supporting
Russia here would have meant sacrificing the reasonable
solution of the singular problem of Macedonian and Greek
relations to international geopolitical interests.
3 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
Power games
Now let’s take the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief

financial officer and daughter of the firm’s founder, in
Vancouver. She is accused of breaking US sanctions on
Iran, and faces extradition to the US, where she could be
jailed for up to 30 years if found guilty.
Read more
What is true here? In all probability, one way or another, all

big corporations discreetly break the laws. But it’s more
than evident that this is just a “secondary contradiction” and
that another battle is being fought here. It’s not about trade
with Iran, it’s about the big struggle for domination in the
production of digital hardware and software.
What Huawei symbolizes is a China which is no longer the

Foxconn China, the place of half-slave labor assembling
machines developed elsewhere, but a place where software
and hardware is also conceived. China has the potential to
become a much stronger agent in the digital market than
Japan with Sony or South Korea with Samsung, through
4 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
economic heft and numbers.
But enough of particular examples. Things get more

complex with the struggle for universal human rights. We
get here the “contradiction” between proponents of these
rights and those who warn that, in their standard version,
universal human rights are not truly universal but implicitly
privilege Western values (individuals have primacy over
collectives, etc.) and are thereby a form of ideological
neocolonialism. No wonder that the reference to human
rights served as a justification of many military
interventions, from Iraq to Libya.
Partisans of universal human rights counter that their

rejection often serves to justify local forms of authoritarian
rule and repression as elements of a particular way of life.
But how to decide here?
A middle-of-the-road compromise is not enough, so one

should give preference to universal human rights for a very
precise reason. The dimension of universality has to serve
as a medium in which multiple ways of life can coexist, and
the Western notion of universality of human rights contains
the self-critical dimension which makes visible its own
limitations.
When the standard Western ideas are criticized for a

particular bias, this critique itself has to refer to some notion
of more authentic universality which makes us see the
distortion of a false universality.
But some form of universality is always here, even a

modest vision of the coexistence of different and ultimately
5 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
incompatible ways of life has to rely on it. In short, what this

means is that the “principal contradiction” is not that of the
tension(s) between different ways of life but the
“contradiction” within each way of life (“culture,”
organization of its jouissance) between its particularity and
its universal claim.
To use a technical term, each particular way of life is by

definition caught in “pragmatic contradiction,” its claim to
validity is undermined not by the presence of other ways of
life but by its own inconsistency.
Social divides
Things get even more complex with the “contradiction”

between the alt-right descent into racist/sexist vulgarity and
the politically correct stiff regulatory moralism.
Thus, it is crucial, from the standpoint of the progressive

struggle for emancipation, not to accept this “contradiction”
as primary but to unravel in it the displaced and distorted
echoes of class struggle.
In a fascist way, the rightist populist figure of the enemy

(the combination of financial elites and invading immigrants)
combines both extremes of the social hierarchy, thereby
blurring the class struggle.
On the opposite end and in an almost symmetrical way, the

politically-correct anti-racism and anti-sexism struggles
barely conceal that their ultimate target is white working
class racism and sexism, thereby also neutralizing class
6 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
struggle.
Read more
That’s why the designation of political correctness as

“cultural Marxism” is false. Political correctness in all its
pseudo-radicality is, on the contrary, the last defense of
“bourgeois” liberalism against Marxism,
obfuscating/displacing class struggle as the “principal
contradiction.”
The same goes for the transgender and #MeToo struggle. It

is also overdetermined by the “principal contradiction” of the
class struggle which introduces an antagonism into its very
heart.
Tarana Burke, who created the #MeToo campaign more

than a decade ago, observed in a recent critical note that in
the years since the movement began, it deployed an
unwavering obsession with the perpetrators — a cyclical
circus of accusations, culpability, and indiscretions.
“We are working diligently so that the popular narrative

about MeToo shifts from what it is,” Burke said.
7 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
“We have to shift the narrative that it’s a gender war, that
it’s anti-male, that it’s men against women, that it’s only for
a certain type of person — that it’s for white, cisgender,
heterosexual, famous women.“
In short, one should struggle to refocus #MeToo onto the

daily suffering of millions of ordinary working women and
housewives. This emphatically can be done. For example,
in South Korea, #MeToo exploded with tens of thousands of
ordinary women demonstrating against their sexual
exploitation.
READ MORE: Unintended consequences: #MeToo

movement causing ‘gender segregation’ on Wall Street
The ongoing Yellow Vests (gilets jaunes) protests in France

condense all we were talking about. Their fatal limitation
resides precisely in their much-praised “leaderless”
character, their chaotic self-organization.
In a typical populist way, the Yellow Vest movement

bombards the state with a series of demands which are
inconsistent and impossible to meet within the existing
economic system. What it lacks is a leader who would not
only listen to the people but translate their protest into a
new, coherent vision of society.
Also on rt.com The Yellow Vest toll: Number of injured in

French protests almost 3,000
The “contradiction” between the demands of the Yellow

Vests and the state is “secondary”: their demands are
rooted in the existing system. The true “contradiction” is
8 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
between our entire socio-political system and (the vision of)

a new society in which the demands formulated by the
protesters no longer arise. How?
The old Henry Ford was right when he remarked that, when
he offered the first serially produced car, he didn’t follow
what people wanted. As he put it succinctly, if asked what
they want, the people would have answer: “A better and
stronger horse to pull our carriage!”
This insight finds an echo in Steve Jobs’ infamous motto

that “a lot of times, people don't know what they want until
you show it to them.”
In spite of all one has to criticize in the activity of Jobs, he

was close to an authentic master in how he understood his
motto. When he was asked how much customer feedback
Apple uses, he snapped back: “It's not the customers’ job to
know what they want… we figure out what we want.”
Note the surprising turn of this argumentation. After denying

that customers know what they want, Jobs doesn’t go on
with the expected direct reversal “it is our task (the task of
creative capitalists) to figure out what customers want and
then ‘show it to them’ on the market.”
Instead, he continues “we figure out what we want” – this is

how a true master works. He doesn’t try to guess what
people want. He simply obeys his own desire so that it is
left to the people to decide if they will follow him.
In other words, his power stems from his fidelity to his

vision, from not compromising it.
9 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53
And the same goes for a political leader that is needed

today. Protesters in France want a better (stronger and
cheaper) horse – in this case, ironically, cheaper fuel for
their cars.
They should be given the vision of a society where the price

of fuel no longer matters in the same way that, after cars,
the price of horse fodder no longer matters.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the

mainstream media won’t tell you.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this

column are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of RT.
10 of 10 02/01/2019, 16:53

Zizek - 2018 - How Mao Would Have Evaluated The Yellow Vests - Slavoj Zizek

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Zizek - 2018 - How Mao Would Have Evaluated The Yellow Vests - Slavoj Zizek

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

How Mao would have evaluated the Yellow Vests – Slavoj Zizek about:reader?url=https://www.rt.com/op-ed/447155-zizek-ye...

How Mao would have evaluated

Slavoj Zizek is a cultural philosopher. He’s a senior

The French Yellow Vest movement exposes a problem at

Already a quick glance at the imbroglio makes it clear that

So, how to bring all these struggles together without simply

Also on rt.com French spirit in motion: Yellow Vests waltz to

Half a century ago, when the Maoist wave was at its

Let’s begin with a simple example: Macedonia – what’s in a

resolve the problem of the name “Macedonia.” It should

This solution was instantly attacked by the radicals in both

READ MORE: Macedonian parliament narrowly greenlights

Imperfect as it was, the solution offered a glimpse of hope

But it was caught in another “contradiction” – the struggle

So, which side should we take here? I think we should

Now let’s take the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief

What is true here? In all probability, one way or another, all

What Huawei symbolizes is a China which is no longer the

economic heft and numbers.

But enough of particular examples. Things get more

Partisans of universal human rights counter that their

A middle-of-the-road compromise is not enough, so one

When the standard Western ideas are criticized for a

But some form of universality is always here, even a

incompatible ways of life has to rely on it. In short, what this

To use a technical term, each particular way of life is by

Things get even more complex with the “contradiction”

Thus, it is crucial, from the standpoint of the progressive

In a fascist way, the rightist populist figure of the enemy

On the opposite end and in an almost symmetrical way, the

That’s why the designation of political correctness as

The same goes for the transgender and #MeToo struggle. It

Tarana Burke, who created the #MeToo campaign more

“We are working diligently so that the popular narrative

In short, one should struggle to refocus #MeToo onto the

READ MORE: Unintended consequences: #MeToo

The ongoing Yellow Vests (gilets jaunes) protests in France

In a typical populist way, the Yellow Vest movement

Also on rt.com The Yellow Vest toll: Number of injured in

The “contradiction” between the demands of the Yellow

between our entire socio-political system and (the vision of)

This insight finds an echo in Steve Jobs’ infamous motto

In spite of all one has to criticize in the activity of Jobs, he

Note the surprising turn of this argumentation. After denying

Instead, he continues “we figure out what we want” – this is

In other words, his power stems from his fidelity to his

And the same goes for a political leader that is needed

They should be given the vision of a society where the price

Like this story? Share it with a friend!

Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this

Você também pode gostar