Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism? : Five Interventions in the (Mis)Use of a Notion

Totalitarianism, as an ideological notion, has always had a precise strategic function: to guarantee the liberal-democratic hegemony by dismissing the Leftist critique of liberal democracy as the obverse, the twin, of the Rightist Fascist dictatorships. Instead of providing yet another systematic exposition of the history of this notion, Žižek’s new book addresses totalitarianism in a Wittgensteinian way, as a cobweb of family resemblances. In so doing it reveals the prevalence of the consensus-view of totalitarianism, in which it is invariably defined by one of the following four things: the holocaust as the ultimate, diabolical evil; the Stalinist gulag as the alleged truth of the Socialist revolutionary project; the recent wave of ethnic and religious fundamentalisms to be fought through multiculturalist tolerance; or the deconstructionist idea that the ultimate root of totalitarianism is the ontological closure of thought, the denial of the irreducible gap in human existence. Žižek concludes that the devil lies not so much in the detail of what constitutes totalitarianism but in what enables the very designation totalitarian, the liberal-democratic consensus itself. In Some Circles, A Nod Towards Totalitarianism Is Enough To Dismiss Any Critique Of The Status Quo. Such Is The Insidiousness Of The Neo-liberal Ideology, Argues Slavoj Zizek. Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism? Turns A Specious Rhetorical Strategy On Its Head To Identify A Network Of Family Resemblances Between Totalitarianism And Modern Liberal Democracy. Zizek Argues That Totalitarianism Is Invariably Defined In Terms Of Four Things: The Holocaust As The Ultimate, Diabolical Evil; The Stalinist Gulag As The Alleged Truth Of The Socialist Revolutionary Project; Ethnic And Religious Fundamentalisms, Which Are To Be Fought Through Multiculturalist Tolerance; And The Deconstructionist Idea That The Ultimate Root Of Totalitarianism Is The Ontological Closure Of Thought. Zizek Concludes That The Devil Lies Not So Much In The Detail But In What Enables The Very Designation Totalitarian: The Liberal-democratic Consensus Itself. -- Publisher Description. Totalitarianism has always had a precise strategic function: to guarantee the liberal democratic hegemony by dismissing the Leftist critique of liberal democracy as the two-faced twin of Right-wing dictatorships. This title looks at totalitarianism in a way that Wittgenstein would approve of - finding it a cobweb of family resemblances.