Acclaimed, adrenalin-fuelled manifesto for universal values by the renowned philosopher.

In this combative major work, philosophical sharpshooter Slavoj Zizek looks for the kernel of truth in the totalitarian politics of the past. Examining Heidegger’s seduction by fascism and Foucault’s flirtation with the Iranian Revolution, he suggests that these were the ‘right steps in the wrong direction’. On the revolutionary terror of Robespierre, Mao and the Bolsheviks, Zizek argues that while these struggles ended in historic failure and horror, there was a valuable core of idealism lost beneath the bloodshed. A redemptive vision has been obscured by the soft, decentralized politics of the liberal–democratic consensus. Faced with the coming ecological crisis, Zizek argues the case for revolutionary terror and the dictatorship of the proletariat. A return to past ideals is needed despite the risks. In the words of Samuel Beckett: ‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’

“Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is a master of the counterintuitive observation.”—New Yorker

“The giant of Ljubljana provides the best intellectual high science since Anti-Oedipus.”—The Village Voice

“Žižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative.”—Guardian

“Žižek is one of the few living writers to combine theoretical rigor with compulsive readability.”—Publishers Weekly