Zizek and Communist Strategy

Chris McMillan currently works at Brunel University in London, having been formerly based at Massey University in New Zealand. He has previously published in the International Journal of Zizek Studies, as well as acting as a guest editor.

AUTHOR APPROVED Zizek's communism: revolutionary terror or Utopian jouissance? Communist, conservative, anti-semantic: Slavoj Zizek's work attracts a lot of labels, most of them pejorative. Countering this, Chris McMillan identifies Zizek's unique and productive contribution to social and political theory, constructing his work as a response to the deadlock imposed by global capitalism. He takes issue with the critical positioning of Zizek's output as 'good theory, bad politics' and argues instead that Zizek's politics provide a reading of global capitalism that reinvents political subversion. Highlighting the political consequences of Zizek's fundamental concepts (the Lacanian Real, universality, and the communist hypothesis), McMillan suggests that Zizek's turn to Communism represents the ultimate significance of his work for the 21st century. Key Features: *summarises key applications of psychoanalytic theory to politics and shared social life *produces a sustained reading of Zizek's understanding of the economy and capitalism *considers the specific value of Zizek's work as a form of political action *responds to Zizek's recent reference to the communist hypothesis and 'egalitarian justice' Chris McMillan currently works at Brunel University. He has been a guest editor for the /International Journal of Zizek Studies/.

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Marxism after the Discursive Turn; 3. Jouissance and Politics; 4. Universality and the Trauma of the Real; 5. Zizek's Capitalism: What can Sexual Difference tell us about new forms of Apartheid?; 6. Zizek's Realpolitics; 7. The Communist Hypothesis: Zizekian Utopia or Utopia Fantasy?; 8. Conclusion; 9. References.