The Universal Exception [Hardcover]

The most formidably brilliant exponent of psychoanalysis, indeed of cultural theory in general, to have emerged from europe in some decades. - ?Terry Eagleton
'One of the most innovative and exciting contemporary thinkers of the left.' TLS
The Universal Exception is the second volume of the collected key writings of Slavoj Zizek - one of the most provocative and inspiring writers on culture at work today. Collecting together a broad selection of Zizek's major writings on politics, The Universal Exception showcases Zizek's formidable range of interests and his style. The book includes his writings on such right-wing icons as Ayn Rand and Leni Riefenstahl; his take on the logic of capitalism and the condition of contemporary radical politics; and his views on major current global issues and events, including the Iraq war. Together with Interrogating the Real, the first volume of Zizek's selected writings, this collection offers a superb introduction to the work of this prolific, controversial and vastly entertaining cultural commentator.

AcknowledgmentsEditors' Introduction: Slavoj Zizek's Third Way

Section I. The Absent Second Way1. Eastern European Liberalism and Its Discontents2. Why We All Love to Hate Haider3. Heiner M?ller Out of Joint

Section II. Really Existing Socialism4. Why are Laibach and the Neue Slowenische Kunst not Fascists?5. The Fetish of the Party6. Georg Luk?cs as the Philosopher of Leninism7. Prolegomena to a Theory of Kolkhoz Musicals8. Attempts to Escape the Logic of Capitalism

Section III. Really Existing Capitalism9. Multiculturalism, or, The Cultural Logic of Multinational Capitalism10. A Leftist Plea for 'Eurocentrism'11. A Plea for 'Passive Aggressivity'12. The Three Faces of Bill Gates13. The Prospects of Radical Politics Today

Section IV. What is (Not) To Be Done16. Against the Double Blackmail17. Welcome to the Desert of the Real18. Thl³r