Repetition, according to Hegel, plays a crucial role in history: when something happens just once, it may be dismissed as an accident, something that might have been avoided if the situation had been handled differently; but when the same event repeats itself, it is a sign that a deeper historical process is unfolding. When Napoleon lost at Leipzig in 1813, it looked like bad luck; when he lost again at Waterloo, it was clear that his time was over. The same holds for the continuing financial crisis. In September 2008, it was presented by some as an anomaly that could be corrected through better regulations etc; now that signs of a repeated financial meltdown are gathering it is clear that we are dealing with a structural phenomenon.
We are told again and again that we are living through a debt crisis, and that we all have to share the burden and tighten our belts. All, that is, except the (very) rich. The idea of taxing them more is taboo: if we did, the argument runs, the rich would have no incentive to invest, fewer jobs would be created and we would all suffer. The only way to save ourselves from hard times is for the poor to get poorer and the rich to get richer. What should the poor do? What can they do?
Shoplifters of the World Unite - Slavoj Žižek on the meaning of the riots (via rumagin)
This is an interesting article. Points to chew on in my unresolved quest to figure our what model of organization makes the most sense. I’m pretty well over the informal affinity group type of bullshit organizing anarchists tend to advocate and I’m frustrated by how unambituous most leftist projects are, but I’m still wary of Zizek’s enthusiasm for party building. It’s a bind… But somehow we need to get over the 20th century’s failures and traumas and find ways to be a real force again.
(via jenniferanne)
