Philosopher, cultural critic, and agent provocateur Slavoj �i�ek constructs a fascinating new framework to look
at the forces of violence in our world.
Using history, philosophy, books, movies, Lacanian psychiatry, and jokes, Slavoj �i�ek examines the ways we perceive
and misperceive violence. Drawing from his unique cultural vision, �i�ek brings new light to the Paris riots of
2005; he questions the permissiveness of violence in philanthropy; in daring terms, he reflects on the powerful
image and determination of contemporary terrorists.
Violence, �i�ek states, takes three forms--subjective (crime, terror), objective (racism, hate-speech, discrimination),
and systemic (the catastrophic effects of economic and political systems)--and often one form of violence blunts
our ability to see the others, raising complicated questions.
Does the advent of capitalism and, indeed, civilization cause more violence than it prevents? Is there violence
in the simple idea of "the neighbour"? And could the appropriate form of action against violence today
simply be to contemplate, to think?
Beginning with these and other equally contemplative questions, �i�ek discusses the inherent violence of globalization,
capitalism, fundamentalism, and language, in a work that will confirm his standing as one of our most erudite and
incendiary modern thinkers.