ŽIŽEK Interview: The Guardian, 9 August, 2008

Interview by Rosanna Greenstreet
The full interview is available online at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/09/slavoj.zizek

What follows are some of the (complete) questions and some of the (complete) replies:

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

ŽIŽEK: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the twice-deposed president of Haiti. He is a model of what can be done for the people even in a desperate situation.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

ŽIŽEK: Indifference to the plights of others.

Aside from a property, what's the most expensive thing you've bought?

ŽIŽEK: The new German edition of the collected works of Hegel.

What is your most treasured possession?

ŽIŽEK: See the previous answer.

Who or what is the love of your life?

ŽIŽEK: Philosophy. I secretly think reality exists so we can speculate about it.

Which living person do you most despise, and why?

ŽIŽEK: Medical doctors who assist torturers.

What has been your biggest disappointment?

ŽIŽEK: What Alain Badiou calls the 'obscure disaster' of the 20th century: the catastrophic failure of communism.

Tell us a secret.

ŽIŽEK: Communism will win.