The Pandemic - A New Feudal Howlscape

The fellas are back—and are accompanied by a new member. We dive into two recent articles from the Philosophical Salon. The first is by Fabio Vighi, who charges Žižek with capitulating too easily to new forms of social domination with his acceptance of lockdowns. Vighi argues that we now live “in a neo-feudal inferno where our Lords enslave us in order to protect us, and protect us in order to enslave us.” In his response, Žižek charges Vighi with missing the crucial lesson that the “brutal reality of the pandemic [is] a contingent event,” not some mega-plot knowingly developed and orchestrated by the establishment. The argument laid out by Vighi is, Žižek argues, dangerously close to a paranoid conspiracy theory. Following Žižek, we discuss how Vighi’s position is maintained by the fantasy of a consistent ordering of the antagonism at the heart of the social and the symbolic order.

Yes, we’re back. Thanks to all our listeners, new and old, and our patrons who have stuck with us during our hiatus. More to come!

Episode reading:

Vighi: SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK, EMERGENCY CAPITALISM, AND THE CAPITULATION OF THE LEFT ; Žižek: LES NON-DUPES ERRENT