Slavoj Žižek: belief

Transcript context

…Yes. I met years ago, in Frankfurt Book Fair, one high guy from Chinese Academy of Sciences, and he gave me, printed in English, the short program, programmatic note. And it says — it shocked me, literally — “The goal of biogenetics in China is to regulate physical and psychic health of the Chinese nation.” They are directly doing it. What I only don’t like is, don’t just evoke China as this ultimate horror. We are basically doing the same, I think. Let me now get to my theory of you. There’s an old interview I read with you, and I found this passage quite striking — and sympathetic, I should add. “The movies I watch are often old Stalinist movies. The songs that I listen to are old Communist songs . . . I fully admit it, but it is also my pleasure.” Now, also, you’re from Slovenia, you’re from the Balkans. That part of the world has not developed ideally. There are far-right parties in many places. There’s been war. The Balkans are still a disappointment. So there’s a negative outlook on the world you’re from, and I view your attachment to the Communist label as a kind of nostalgia, like the old Stalinist songs, which you don’t actually think are better than Beethoven. But it’s something like the old East German women who love their Spreewald pickles, the old cars, the Trabis. And the Communist label, for you — it’s like your Spreewald pickles. It’s like the Trabi. Why not just cast it aside and live free? Why be so tied to your own nostalgia? That’s my question.…

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