Revolution at the Gates by Slavoj Zizek

Revolution at the Gates by Slavoj Zizek

The idea of a Lenin renaissance might well provoke an outburst of sarcastic laughter. Marx is OK, but Lenin? Doesn't he stand for the big catastrophe which left its mark on the entire twentieth century? Lenin, however, deserves more profound consideration than this, and his writings of 1917 are testament to a formidable political figure, revealing as they do his ability to grasp the significance of an extraordinary moment in history. Everything is here, from Lenin-the-ingenious-revolutionary strategist to Lenin-of-the-enacted-utopia. To use Kierkegaard's phrase, what we can glimpse in these writings is Lenin-in-becoming: not yet Lenin-the-Soviet-institution, but Lenin thrown into an open, contingent situation. In Revolution at the Gates, Slavoj Zizek locates the 1917 writings in their historical context, while his extensive Afterword tackles the key question of whether Lenin can be reinvented in our era of 'cultural capitalism,' Zizek is convinced that, whatever the discussion-the forthcoming crisis of capitalism, the possibility of a redeeming violence, the falsity of liberal tolerance-Lenin's time has come again.

A return to Marx may be acceptable today.. But a repetition of Lenin? ... Perhaps Zizek's return to Lenin is merely tactical, figurative even. He can't be serious, can he? ... Zizek claims that Lenin's act, 'his choice', continues to speak to thos of us on the left today. Faced with our current conceptual deadlock, we must have the courage, the nerve to risk isolation, self-annihilation even, in order to offer a real alternative to the false oppositions recuperated by and churned out for our consumption by the image industry of late capitalism ... The postmodernists and liberal multiculturists, today's Bernateins and Kautskys-our contemporary Plekhanovs and Martovs, beware! * Bad Subjects *
Zizek's prose style has a rebellious and highly compelling side that brushes up against the most critical intellectual trends of our day like cultural studies, contemporary feminism, postcolonialism, and postmodernism. * Ha’aretz *

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by the alias Lenin (1870-1924), was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He played a leading role in the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781859846612
ISBN 10	1859846610
Title	Revolution at the Gates
Author	Slavoj Zizek
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Verso Books
Year published	2002-08-17
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable