{"product_id":"first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce-9781786635938","title":"First as Tragedy, Then as Farce","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe leading philosopher of our time tracks the demise of liberalism through landmark events of the 21st century--from 9\/11 to the farce of the financial meltdown\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBillions of dollars were hastily poured into the global banking system in a frantic attempt at financial stabilization. So why has it not been possible to bring the same forces to bear in addressing world poverty and environmental crisis? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this take-no-prisoners analysis, Slavoj Zizek frames the moral failures of the modern world in terms of the epoch-making events of the first decade of this century. What he finds is the old one-two punch of history: the jab of tragedy, the right hook of farce. In the attacks of 9\/11 and the global credit crunch, liberalism dies twice: as a political doctrine and as an economic theory. The election of Donald Trump only confirms the bankruptcy of a liberal order on its last legs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFirst as Tragedy, Then as Farce\u003c\/i\u003e is a call for the Left to reinvent itself in the light of our desperate historical situation. The time for liberal, moralistic blackmail is over.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSlavoj \u003cb\u003eZizek\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. He is a professor at the European Graduate School, International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck College, University of London, and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His books include\u003ci\u003e Living in the End Times, Less Than Nothing, In Defense of Lost Causes, \u003c\/i\u003efour volumes of the \u003ci\u003eEssential Zizek\u003c\/i\u003e, and many more.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50676679606546,"sku":"9781786635938","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4bb29123-7129-4d8b-979d-5c62cedd0332.jpg?v=1733886443","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce-9781786635938","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}