Keep calm- and panic

The first book on the coronavirus crisis is here. Written by the maverick Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, it makes an urgent case for re-interpreting the world against the perspective of this unique pandemic. Mr Žižek often likes to invert Marx’s popular quote, “Philosophers have only interpreted the world in many ways; the point, however, is to change it!” into his own updated 21st century version: “We have tried to change the world too much in the 20th century; time has come to interpret it again.”

The book has been put together in a remarkably short period of time and the urgency is palpable. This is exactly the sort of crisis that the Slovenian intellectual has been talking aboutfor ages. The fact that the Žižekian intervention comes  during  the pandemic is most telling about the possible intent about the work — he is laying the ideological grounds for what needs to come next.

Long-time readers will be aware of the ideas on the table since Mr Žižek has dealt with them at length in previous works. The grand theme central to the book is of increased global solidarity. Mr Žižek has earlier made the case for new internationalism with ecological threats and refugee crises as the backdrop but here he uses Covid-19 as new ammo. Although he no longer speaks of Europe as the ideal model (he laments the state of affairs on that continent), the call for borderless solidarity remains stronger than ever. An understanding of where this urgency comes from can be developed from this line: “A common sooth now in circulation is that, since we are all now in this crisis together, we should forget about politics and just work in unison to save ourselves. This notion is false: True politics are needed now  —decisions about solidarity are eminently political.”

PANDEMIC! Covid-19 shakes the world
 

Author: Slavoj Žižek
 

Publisher: OR Books
 

Price: $3 (E-book)

 

Mr Žižek draws out his vision as a battle between barbarism with a human face (having to willingly let the elderly and sick die for the “greater good”) and that of a new communism where states take a more active role amid increased global strategising.  As far as the state’s role in crises is concerned, Mr Žižek here relies on an older argument he has made about climate change. Faced with the existential threat of ecological disaster, responsibility from states and corporations —agents that can actually mitigate the crisis — is deflected and imposed on individuals (don’t use plastic, recycle more, buy organic food and so on). He sees the same logic at play in the current crisis, with an overemphasis on individuals’ role and little discussion on how states are dealing with the pandemic.

The book’s most enjoyable bits, however, are when Mr Žižek deals with the psychological effects of the lockdown. Consider relatable lines like this: “Up until a week ago I was eagerly awaiting the end of the evening when I could escape into sleep and forget about the fears of daily life. Now it’s almost the opposite: I am afraid to fall asleep since nightmares haunt me and I find myself awoken in a panic.”
 

Mr Žižek is known for his extensive usage of analogies from across the world to explain concepts and he doesn't disappoint here. He talks about society’s reaction to the crisis by drawing parallels with Kluber-Kloss’s famous five stages of dealing with grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, acceptance.

Passages about collective panic are enlightening as well. Using the example of mass fear of a shortage of toilet paper across the western world, he argues that by panicking we trivialise the crisis. He points out that we tend to panic over precisely the most irrational and absurd things even in the face of a global epidemic. His solution: Develop a daily mundane routine as an act of defiance.

The more philosophical sections deal with the absurdities of this new reality. The virus that has bought the world to a standstill isn’t just invisible but is nature at its “stupidest”, he says. It is just a mass that reproduces mindlessly. More absurd for him is the false optimism that is being forced: We are told to calm down, that the situation will be normal soon but facts seem to point the other way. In response, he says: “We will have to change our entire stance to life, to our existence as living beings among other forms of life.”

Pandemic,  the royalties for which will be paid to Medecins Sans Frontieres, is short, interesting, provocative, and relatable but it ultimately feels unfinished. Don’t go expecting a new age Communist Manifesto.