Slavoj Zizek's "THE PARALLAX OF LACK AND SURPLUS IN POLITICS" (LACK V, 2025)

About this Video

• Video Title: Slavoj Žižek's "THE PARALLAX OF LACK AND SURPLUS IN POLITICS" (LACK V, 2025)
• Channel: Todd McGowan
• Speakers: Todd McGowan, Slavoj Žižek
• Duration: 01:28:56

Introduction

This video features a lecture by Slavoj Žižek at the Lack V conference in 2025. Žižek's talk centers on the paradoxical relationship between lack and surplus in politics, drawing upon concepts from quantum mechanics, Hegelian philosophy, and psychoanalysis to analyze contemporary political phenomena, particularly the rise of Trumpian populism.

Key Takeaways

• Žižek's application of quantum mechanics to history: Žižek argues that history isn't a linear progression but a series of contingent collapses of superposed possibilities, with all potential outcomes echoing in the final result. He uses the double-slit experiment as an analogy.
• The role of threat in seemingly peaceful political transitions: Žižek contends that successful peaceful negotiations (like those in South Africa and the American Civil Rights Movement) often rely on underlying threats of violence.
• The paradoxical relationship between lack and excess in capitalism: Žižek asserts that capitalism's excess of wealth paradoxically creates a lack, particularly of resources needed for survival. This imbalance, he argues, is inherent to the system.
• Žižek's critique of "liberal fascism": Žižek critiques the tendency to label new political phenomena as simply "fascist," arguing for a more nuanced understanding. He proposes "liberal fascism" to describe Trump's approach, characterized by a professed desire to reduce the state while simultaneously strengthening it.
• The significance of shame (or its absence) in contemporary politics: Žižek highlights the growing "shamelessness" in politics, where previously unimaginable actions are openly performed without consequence. He contrasts this with the potential for shame to act as a constraint on excessive desire.