14:00
Birkbeck
April 1
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
The Left, especially the liberal one, all too often displays intellectual laziness: when a new terrifying phenomenon appears, instead of analyzing it closely with an open mind, they quickly paste on it their old label for a truly bad thing, “Fascism.” But is Trumpian populism really just a new form of Fascism? Since I am not able to propose a new adequate term, I decided to strategically opt for “liberal Fascism,” a name which at least evokes the contradictory nature of Trumpian populism. The new populist Right treats Communism and corporate capitalism as the same – but the true identity of the opposites resides elsewhere. 8 or so years ago I was criticized for saying that Trump is a pure liberal – how could I ignore that Trump is a dictatorial Fascist? My critics missed the point: perhaps the best characterization of Trump is that he IS liberal, namely a liberal Fascist, the ultimate proof that liberalism and Fascism work together, that they are the two sides of the same point. Trump is not just authoritarian, his dream is also to allow the market to function freely at its most destructive, from brutal profiteering to dismissing all ethical limitations in public media (against sexism and racism) as a form of Socialism.
LITERATURE: Slavoj Zizek's texts will be emailed to the list of attendees on Friday 28 March.
The masterclass will take place at Birkbeck campus. It will consist of two in-person seminars with Professor Zizek. The first teaching session will be chaired by the BIH Co-Director Prof Esther Leslie and the second one by Emer Prof Maria Aristodemou.
Tickets can be purchased separately for each of the two sessions which will run from 14:00-16:00 (GMT) on both days. Each session costs £25 but there is also a combined ticket available to attend both days at £40.
Discounted tickets are available to Birkbeck students and staff, who will be required to show their Birkbeck ID at the registration desk.
For those unable to attend in person, we have released tickets for virtual streaming (£15 for each session or £20 for both days).
Disclaimer: Please note that this masterclass is not designed as an online seminar and therefore virtual attendees will not be able to interact with Slavoj Zizek, Esther Leslie and Maria Aristodemou through the chat/mic functions.