Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jonfaith's review
3.0
Things we were used to as part of our daily life will no longer be taken for granted, we will have to learn to live a much more fragile life with constant threats. We will have to change our entire stance to life, to our existence as living beings among other forms of life.
Bought this during the pandemic but found myself unable to turn to it then. It isn't that the book suddenly became dated (Odin knows, I have my vacc cards [plural] in my pocket so I can have a sixth jab this afternoon) but it is almost painful to return to such unease, such a prolonged panic. The chapters are barely the length of emails, observations about fatigue, burnout society, the hope for a revolutionary response to such conditions, and apprehensions about the future, a stark departure for his normal "Maoist" optimism about chaos.
I read this in just over an hour. Not as much Hegel and Lacan as one would expect and barely a reference to Hitchcock. There is as always a humbling silence or distance. My pandemic didn’t involve sheltering in place. My work was deigned essential so each day I crept out into the world, marveling at the dearth of traffic, astonished at the orderly queues. The author relates how he’s always preferred a quiet room over anything with could be deemed an attraction. Yet at the moment it becomes impossible to venture out he became a victim of his often cited negation of a negation: he had had to settle for plain coffee instead of coffee without cream. So it goes.
Bought this during the pandemic but found myself unable to turn to it then. It isn't that the book suddenly became dated (Odin knows, I have my vacc cards [plural] in my pocket so I can have a sixth jab this afternoon) but it is almost painful to return to such unease, such a prolonged panic. The chapters are barely the length of emails, observations about fatigue, burnout society, the hope for a revolutionary response to such conditions, and apprehensions about the future, a stark departure for his normal "Maoist" optimism about chaos.
I read this in just over an hour. Not as much Hegel and Lacan as one would expect and barely a reference to Hitchcock. There is as always a humbling silence or distance. My pandemic didn’t involve sheltering in place. My work was deigned essential so each day I crept out into the world, marveling at the dearth of traffic, astonished at the orderly queues. The author relates how he’s always preferred a quiet room over anything with could be deemed an attraction. Yet at the moment it becomes impossible to venture out he became a victim of his often cited negation of a negation: he had had to settle for plain coffee instead of coffee without cream. So it goes.
mveldeivendran1's review
3.0
I remember vaguely from someone's work that it is far easier to act than to think in the times of crisis.
Well these are tough times. We have choice to conform and comfort ourselves yet the times demand for more critical thinking to question the ways our system functions, well, in a holistic way.
I am not intending this book provides a holistic one. Yet it could contribute for the process. With his typical political philosophy showered by Žižek in this pamphlet addresses the lockdown with a 'told you so' attitude referring the medical crisis complimented by economic and psychological ones. Because most of his views are considered a far radical left among the many far radical lefts.
Žižek says that in crisis times we are all Socialists citing Trump considering UBI to adult citizens, Boris making the temporary nationalization of UK railways and a few more.
"As Owen Jones has noted, climate crisis is killing many more people around the world than coronavirus, but there is no panic about this."
"I am not a utopian here, I don’t appeal to an idealized solidarity between people—on the contrary, the present crisis demonstrates clearly how global solidarity and cooperation is in the interest of the survival of all and each of us, how it is the only rational egotist thing to do."
Žižek isn't much interested in providing empty promises about these radical changes, if made happen, would make a better world and prosperous survival. Of course that wouldn't sound like Žižek.
"It’s not a vision of a bright future but more one of 'disaster Communism' as an antidote to disaster capitalism."
Reading this pamphlet work of Žižek might or might not be interesting, insightful, entertaining to some extent depending on the individual's understanding of world politics. Still I'd say it's worth reading rather spending an hour or two on memes.
Well these are tough times. We have choice to conform and comfort ourselves yet the times demand for more critical thinking to question the ways our system functions, well, in a holistic way.
I am not intending this book provides a holistic one. Yet it could contribute for the process. With his typical political philosophy showered by Žižek in this pamphlet addresses the lockdown with a 'told you so' attitude referring the medical crisis complimented by economic and psychological ones. Because most of his views are considered a far radical left among the many far radical lefts.
Žižek says that in crisis times we are all Socialists citing Trump considering UBI to adult citizens, Boris making the temporary nationalization of UK railways and a few more.
"As Owen Jones has noted, climate crisis is killing many more people around the world than coronavirus, but there is no panic about this."
"I am not a utopian here, I don’t appeal to an idealized solidarity between people—on the contrary, the present crisis demonstrates clearly how global solidarity and cooperation is in the interest of the survival of all and each of us, how it is the only rational egotist thing to do."
Žižek isn't much interested in providing empty promises about these radical changes, if made happen, would make a better world and prosperous survival. Of course that wouldn't sound like Žižek.
"It’s not a vision of a bright future but more one of 'disaster Communism' as an antidote to disaster capitalism."
Reading this pamphlet work of Žižek might or might not be interesting, insightful, entertaining to some extent depending on the individual's understanding of world politics. Still I'd say it's worth reading rather spending an hour or two on memes.
fizaaaa's review
4.0
To the point, apt and a concise read. Finished in an hour and also enjoyed reading it.
adlewis's review
4.0
A good, short read, stuffed with some prescient ideas but only ever one answer: Communism. It’s not a dirty word, and it’s a legitimate approach — but it feels like Zizek always has that answer as his goal, regardless of the topic or context. Perhaps more of the answers could be left to the reader, especially if he wishes for a call to action.
moothemonster's review
fast-paced
1.0
While I appreciate how easy this book was to understand, especially as a philosophy/sociology book, it really said nothing. It read like Zizek was trying to be the first to write theory about COVID-19, and forgot to actually write anything insightful in the process. He brings up a lot of ideas, but then refuses to elaborate on them, leaving us to wonder, amongst other things, what he actually means by 'communism' (supposedly it isn't the 'old school communism' of the USSR, and yet every idea he describes is almost word-for-word what is written in Marx and Lenin's manifestos). Easy to read, but even then really not worth the bother
lucasmillan's review against another edition
4.0
This book feels like reading Zizek's Twitter feed. Not very rigorous, but often interesting (and sometimes already dated) ramblings about our lives under the Covid-19 pandemic. It won't deviate too much from what you can already absorb from the general progressive discourse, but it helps to condense advocate for some ideas in a helpful way. Also, Zizek's prose is always amusing to say the least.