Heaven in Disorder - Slavoj Zizek
Published in 2021 by OR Books, New York, NY, and London, UK
240 pages
ISBN: 978-1-68219-283-2
Whether you love or loathe him, few can deny the cultural and intellectual impact that Slavoj Zizek has had on popularizing Lacan and Hegel and making them accessible to the average reader. Blending deep philosophical insights with crass humor, Zizek has continued to inspire and provoke audiences across the world. Zizek’s extraordinary literary output can often be divided into two main categories: 1) dense philosophical treatises and 2) short, punchy, and politically focused collections of essays.
In particular, over the past two years, Zizek has published several books through OR Books that can be considered the most easily accessible of his works, serving as a useful introduction for those who might feel otherwise overwhelmed by Zizek’s enormous bibliography. In these volumes (which include Pandemic! and Pandemic! 2), Zizek provides the reader with short and imminent accessible reflections on the current state of culture and politics. In the latest of these entries, titled Heaven in Disorder, Zizek continues to offer his quick-witted and often counter-intuitive perspective on contemporary socio-political issues.
Overview:
Written as a collection of 36 brief essays, Zizek offers his perspective on the rapidly rising crises that threaten the contemporary world as he advocates for international solidarity and a renewed urgency for Communism. Commenting on recent events such as the elections in Chile, the Palestinian crisis, Bolivian politics, Julian Assange’s unjust imprisonment, the parallels between Trump and Biden, the false charges of anti-Semistism against Corbyn, the role of Europe in the near future, the legacy of the Paris Commune, and the ideology of Rammstein, Zizek takes the reader through a rapid whirlwind of cultural and political analysis through his typical Hegelian/Lacanian/Marxist framework.
Following a quote from Mao Zedong -- “There is great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent,”-- Zizek contends that the current social and political unrest creates new opportunities for radical change. As Zizek writes,
When the existing social order is disintegrating, the ensuing chaos offers revolutionary forces a great chance to act decisively and take political power. Today, there certainly is great disorder under heaven, with the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming, signs of a new Cold War, and the eruption of popular protests and social antagonisms worldwide naming but a few of the crises that best us. But does this chaos still make the situation excellent, or is the danger of self-destruction too high? The difference between the situation that Mao had in mind and our own situation can be best rendered by a tiny terminological distinction. Mao speaks about disorder under heaven, wherein “heaven,” or the big Other in whatever form—the inexorable logic of historical processes, the laws of social developments—still exists and discreetly regulates social chaos. Today, we should talk about heaven itself as being in disorder.
Contrary to Mao’s description, Zizek argues that the current state of the world is less than ideal for a renewed revolutionary spirit to arise. As such, it will take an organized Left movement to seize the moment of current chaos and channel this discontent into a cogent political project.
Continuing a thread that he started during the Pandemic! series, Zizek argues that what is needed for our contemporary crises is a renewed form of communism. He is quick to clarify that he is uninterested in resuscitating the centralized, single-party, and authoritarian forms of communism of the 20th century. On the other hand, he is also not particularly fond of anarcho-communist communities that champion direct, participatory democracy for every local decision, which he believes still relies on the state apparatus for smooth functioning.
Rather, Zizek believes that we need a global coordination mechanism that organizes our health systems to avert an oncoming apocalypse. Avoiding both rational optimists who believe that everything will work out with recent innovations in technology and prophets of doom who believe that everything is lost and all we can do is sit back and watch as the world slowly burns, Zizek believes that the only other choice we have that enables us to think and act in such a time is Communism. This is not the romanticized revolutionary and authoritarian type of 20th-century Communism nor a horizontally egalitarian, democratically-organized, and ultimately inefficient grassroots community, but rather another alternative form of organizing society. However, this is never clearly defined. Zizek remains hopeful for change, even if he’s not certain how to get there. Ultimately for Zizek, Communism is not a contradiction-free solution; rather, it is a way of thinking about our problems and how to push for change amidst the chaos of our contemporary social and political order.
Commendations:
There are a few commendable points in Heaven in Disorder. First of all, it is a swift read, especially for a work by Zizek. As with his most recent politically-focused books, most chapters are only a handful of pages long, and they reference topical political issues of the past several months. While he of course references Hegel, Marx, and Freud often throughout the text, he doesn’t dive too deeply into the weeds of theory, only utilizing them for his own quick points before zooming off to the next topic. Due to this great sense of pacing, Zizek is imminently accessible here while gently introducing ideas from Lacan and Hegel without becoming too dense or jarring. As such, this book can be a great introduction to Zizek’s political thought (a Zizek-lite, if you will).
As always, Zizek brings a fresh, evocative, and unique perspective to contemporary political issues. I particularly enjoyed Zizek’s insistence on the need for new signifiers at the forefront of the political struggle (Chapter 6), especially in creative tension with his persistent identification with the signifier of “communism,” albeit one wholly divorced from its 20th-century implications (if indeed such a thing can be done). I do think that this one is more thorough and well-thought-out than A Left That Dares Speak its Name, and it brings some fresh and well-timed critiques to the table. Although he echoes many of the same ideas as his previous essay collections, Zizek begins to offer some deeper analysis in the latter portions of the book, which was satisfying to read. If you enjoy Zizek’s previous work and perspective, then you’ll undoubtedly enjoy this one as well.
I concur with Zizek’s analysis of Julian Assange’s mistreatment by the US, UK, and Australian governments, believing that it sets a negative precedent and serves as a threat to the freedom of the press. He also rightly returns to the attempted character assassination of Jeremy Corbyn, as false claims of anti-Semitism were spread by his enemies from both outside and inside his own party. This, along with the DNC’s coordinated campaign against the Bernie Sanders campaign in the US, shows how liberal, centrist Democrats and moderate members of the Labour Party utilize narratives to smother any perceived threat to the neoliberal status quo. As a fan of the musical genre of metal, I also particularly enjoyed Zizek’s foray into the ideological subversion within the lyrics and performances of Rammenstein. He dedicates two entire chapters to their songs and over-the-top concerts, pointing out the existentialist implications of their lyrics and subversion of fascism in their fetishization of uniforms and coordinated body movements. In usual fashion, Zizek has a penchant for taking pieces of pop culture, mining them for nuggets of ideological insight, and extending them to the current world issues we currently face.
I also resonate with Zizek’s insistence that the monumental issues that threaten our future cannot be solved without the international coordination of resources dedicated to the common good. He is not the most hopeful that this can happen, as our current political and social order is almost wholly dictated by the forces of financialized global capital. He proposes a type of wartime Communism, utilizing the current disorder to organize and mobilize the state and popular masses to coordinate against the forces of capitalism. What this looks like exactly is not clearly articulated. He is not advocating for the overthrow of the current system, but he’s also doubtful about attempts to reform it through democratic means. Rather, instead of proposing a correct or salable solution, Zizek provokes us to interrogate our own assumptions about the world around us and ask the right kinds of questions. As such, while it is impossible to agree with Zizek on everything, his work best serves as an engaging and creative springboard for self-assessment, reflection, and the refinement of one’s own ideas.
Critique:
There are a few weaknesses to this offering from Zizek. While he offers commentary on current events, Zizek does not offer too much new theoretical insight here. While this is fine if you just want to read Zizek’s opinion on the news, if you want a more in-depth analysis, then you will need to look at his other offerings. There are some interesting tidbits of philosophical analysis scattered throughout this volume, but several pieces seem to be hastily put together, scattershot in thought, and superficial in analysis. If you’re an avid reader of Zizek (especially his most recent work, such as the Pandemic! series and A Left That Dares Speak its Name), then you will already be familiar with many of Zizek’s jokes and references. As always, Zizek’s penchant for self-quoting and repeating himself nearly verbatim shows up in this volume as well, although far less pronounced than in previous recent works.
Additionally, since it is a collection of previously published essays written during the throes of the pandemic, some of his observations are a bit dated, especially when it comes to American politics, international COVID responses, and the centrality of Europe as a site for radical progressive change (rather, it seems that Europe is a hotbed for a resurgence of fascism). Just like in his Pandemic! series, most of Zizek’s sources are URLs, since he seems to have a proclivity for independent news sources and uncritically accepting news articles as fact. Zizek, repeating his mantra from the Pandemic! series, argues that there will be no “return to normal” after the pandemic and that we have turned from a society of fear to one of depression in the wake of the virus. While I agree that we live in a different era, I think he underestimated the flexibility of neoliberalism and the threat of the far right in voicing the discontent of the populace. There are indeed pockets of resistance in the wake of these multifaceted crises (namely, the wave of labor strikes that we are currently witnessing across various service, media, and automotive sectors across the country), I am fearful that this momentum will lose steam and be swallowed up by neoliberal reforms and increasing right-wing extremism.
Zizek has always been one to reverse the famous phrase by Marx --“The philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways. The point, however, is to change it”-- by saying that philosophers have tried to change the world, and the point now is to stop acting and start thinking. Yet, I fear that Zizek’s commitment to writing a prodigious amount of content ultimately leads to some hasty conclusions and analyses on hot-button issues. While I think that this volume contains some deeper-level analysis and is much more nuanced than his earlier collections of essays, it is still a far cry from the rich and thought-provoking philosophical perspectives that he built his reputation upon. I continue to defend Zizek against those who claim he is an outright charlatan and fraud, but some of his essays work to give his enemies more ammunition to use against him. To be fair, I think this volume is much more tame and less reactionary than some of his other works, so it is encouraging to see this progression as he attempts to fine-tune the balance between accessibility and lucid analysis.
Despite these weaknesses, even if Zizek might not be saying anything particularly new or novel, I cannot help but be delighted and fascinated at how he plays with concepts and current events, endlessly turning our common conceptions on their head. Assuredly, it doesn’t always work out well, but when it does, Zizek offers genuine insight and consistently subverts our expectations. It might not be the deepest analysis of current events, but it sure is an entertaining and galvanizing ride.
Conclusion:
Overall, Heaven in Disorder is a thought-provoking and accessible, if uneven, collection of Zizek’s early post-pandemic thought. While it's not essential reading -- especially for those who are already well versed in Zizek’s thought -- Heaven in Disorder could serve as an imminently useful introduction to Zizek’s work and philosophy. His writing is relatively straightforward and doesn’t get too lost in the weeds of theory, which makes this a great primer for those who are interested in Zizek’s political project, as well as how a disjointed and fragmented Left can organize to respond to the crises that we currently face. Whether you find him to be a genius or a charlatan (or somewhere in between), his work is still well worth reading and considering, especially in disordered times such as these.