And What of the Left? Žižek’s Refusal of the Current Leftist Parable Introduction to Special Issue of Žižek and the Left

Abstract

Recent events concerning Žižek at the Left Forum in New York have revealed much about the state of the Left. It appears that the Left is weaker than ever before and Žižek’s appeal to return to radical roots, yet also break some Leftist taboos, situates the liberal Left as anxious, insecure and reactionary. It also appears that Žižek is deliberately and steadily undertaking what many have accused him of failing to attain – of not going far enough. Here, Žižek is breaking away from being the poster boy for the liberal Left and refining his commitment to communism through critiquing postmodern representations concerning tolerance, hyper-relativism and culturation.