Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World by Slavoj Žižek

“Such a universal threat gives birth to global solidarity, our petty differences become insignificant, we all work together to find a solution-and here we are today, in real life. He also refers to Frederic Jameson (American philosopher and Marxist political theorist), who many years ago pointed at the utopian potential in the films about cosmic catastrophes such as asteroids that threaten the life on Earth or a virus that destroys the humankind: The world can no longer follow the same path, according to the philosopher: we need to pave the way for new, more radical changes. But there is a paradox here: coronavirus will also compel us to re-invent Communism based on trust in the people and in science,” said Slavoj Žižek on the 39th page of his new book. “Speculation is widespread that coronavirus may lead to the fall of Communist rule in China, in the same way, that, as Gorbachev himself admitted, the Chernobyl catastrophe was the event that triggered the end of Soviet Communism. Žižek hypothetically sets a though that another and much benevolent ideological virus might spread and hopefully infect all of us – the virus of thought of alternative society. A continuous spread of coronavirus, according to this famous philosopher, has launched a huge epidemic of ideological viruses that – as he noticed and cleverly described – were sitting idle in our societies: fake news, paranoid conspiracy theories, explosions of racism. And in order not to have the pandemic become a global nightmare and “the beginning of the end”, the world needs a new kind of what is called communism: although not the best, this could be the briefest summary of Žižek's book. Titled ‘Pandemic: Covid-19 Shakes the World’, the book by Slavoj Žižek could become a new platform – especially for the leftists, for a new reflection on alternative society – outside the nation-state the society that is achieved in the forms of global solidarity and cooperation. Slavoj Žižek, the world-renowned philosopher of Slavic origin, published a new book amid the pandemic. In the “new” and “unknown” (post)pandemic world, many philosophers focused on criticism over the abuse of power and authorities, which was followed by the restriction of citizens’ freedoms.

The new social lockdown and full change towards new practices in work, communication and life, in general, reminded the many of the dystopias from science-fiction literature and film, which changed overnight from the surreal to the real life that was deprived of ordinary routine.

Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World by Slavoj Žižek