Slavoj Žižek hosts
COMMUNISM, A NEW BEGINNING?
with Verso Books
at Cooper Union, New York
October 14th-16th 2011

In response to publication of The Idea of Communism, edited by Slavoj Žižek and Costas Douzinas, Verso Books, Slavoj Žižek and Cooper Union host "Communism, A New Beginning?" this weekend, October 14th to 16th.

A LIVE STREAM of "Communism, A New Beginning?" will be available from Friday, October 14th at 6pm EDT to Sunday, October 16th at 1pm EDT. Access the LIVE STREAM through Verso's Conference discussion page. You must log in to join the discussion and view the LIVE STREAM. Register now if you don't yet have an account.

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A new conference with leading thinkers to discuss the continued relevance of the communist idea.

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“The long night of the Left is coming to a close” wrote Slavoj Žižek and Costas Douzinas in their introduction to The Idea of Communism. The continuing economic crisis, the shift away from a unipolar world defined by American hegemony, and the ecological crisis mean that growing numbers of people are keen to explore an alternative, and to rediscover the idea of communism. With the advent of the Arab Awakening, millions have sought new ways to overcome corruption and dictatorship—and they’ve now been joined by the wave of occupations in the US, challenging runaway inequality and the power of corporations and the super-rich.

Responding to Alain Badiou’s proposition of the ‘communist hypothesis,’ the leading thinkers of the Left convened in London in 2009 to discuss the persistent notion that, in a truly emancipated society, all things should be owned in common. Now Slavoj Žižek is hosting a new discussion, at Cooper Union in New York City.

Organized with Verso Books, eight leading thinkers will be discussing 'Communism, A New Beginning? at Cooper Union on the weekend of October 14th-16th. Entrance is by ticket only, and all tickets are now sold out. Please register on the Verso website to watch the event LIVE on Verso's discussion page.

With great regret we have to announce that, due to illness, Alain Badiou will not be able to attend the conference this weekend. We are all extremely disappointed but we hope you'll join us in wishing Alain a swift recovery. He has prepared a text to be read by Bruno Bosteels—so he will still contribute to the conference, and we expect the conference to be an extraordinary event despite his absence.

PROGRAM

COMMUNISM, A NEW BEGINNING?

COOPER UNION, New York, NY October 14-16, 2011
Organizers: Slavoj Žižek and Alain Badiou

Session 1: Friday, Oct 14, 6:00 pm–9:00 pm EDT
Slavoj Žižek: Short Introductory Remarks
Frank Ruda: Remembering the Impossible: For a Meta-Critical Anamnesis of Communism
Alain Badiou: Politics and State, Mass Movement and Terror (read by Bruno Bosteels)

Session 2: Saturday, Oct 15, 10:00 am–1:00 pm EDT
Bruno Bosteels: On the Christian Question
Susan Buck-Morss: Communism and Ethics

Session 3: Saturday, Oct 15, 3:00 pm–6:00 pm EDT
Adrian Johnston: From Scientific Socialism to Socialist Science: Naturdialektik Then and Now
Étienne Balibar: Communism as Commitment, Imagination, and Politics

Session 4: Sunday, Oct 16, 10:00 am–1:00 pm EDT
Jodi Dean: Communist Desire
Slavoj Žižek: Conclusion: Freedom in the Clouds

The Real of Capital

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/my-advice-to-the-occupy-wall-street-protesters-20111012

“My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters

Hit bankers where it hurts,” Matt Taibbi

[….]

The essence of this particular sort of oligarchic power is its complexity and day-to-day invisibility: Its worst crimes, from bribery and insider trading and market manipulation, to backroom dominance of government and the usurping of the regulatory structure from within, simply can't be seen by the public or put on TV. There just isn't going to be an iconic "Running Girl" photo with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup or Bank of America – just 62 million Americans with zero or negative net worth, scratching their heads and wondering where the hell all their money went and why their votes seem to count less and less each and every year.

[….]

Sen. Bernie Sanders

http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/7855-six-demands-to-make-of-wall-street

[....]

The financial crisis and the jobs crisis have demonstrated to the American people that we now have a government that is of the 1 percent, by the 1 percent and for the 1 percent, as Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz eloquently articulated. The rest of the 99 percent are, more or less, on their own. We now have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major, advanced country on earth. The top one percent earn more income than the bottom 50 percent and the richest 400 Americans own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

[....]

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/553.php

What social organization can replace capitalism?

“There are truly difficult questions that confront us. We know what we do not want. But what do we want? What social organization can replace capitalism? What type of new leaders do we want?”

--Slavoj Žižek addressing the Occupy Wall St. gathering on Oct. 9

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/a-sunday-afternoon-occupying-wall-street.html#ixzz1abzHCcil

On Wall Street there are pagans worshiping blasphemous idols

decent audio of our man on Wall Street

http://www.mediacoop.ca/audio/%C5%BEi%C5%BEek-dont-be-afraid-really-want-what-you-desire/8370

Žižek: Don't be Afraid to Really Want What You Desire

Renowned theorist speaks at Occupy Wall Street

by TIM MCSORLEY

» Download file 'zicek_no_questions_copy.mp3' (16.2MB)

Slavoj Žižek, the theorist who has made a name for himself through animated, sometimes entertaining, always pertinent, cultural critiques, spoke at Occupy Wall Street last Sunday. He was enthusiastic and supportive, telling the several hundred listeners that he saw them as breaking through the lies and misrepresentations of current political leaders and mainstream media,

He was also cautionary, warning the protesters to be wary of false allies, and to not allow the occupation to simply become a "carnival" which, once it is done, we simply get together to laugh and reminisce about over beer in the future.

He also compares the movement to Looney Toons cartoons and tells jokes about communist Russia. Take a listen.