Žižek on Havel Bio

8/12/2019 iek on Havel Bio

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Slavoj iek: Attempts to Escape the Logic of CapitalismVaclav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts by John Keane.Bloomsbury, 532 pp.

Vaclav Havel's life would seem o be an unrivalled success s ory! he "hilosopher#Kin$, a

man who combines poli ical power wi h a $lobal moral au hori y comparable only o haof he "ope, he %alai &ama or elson (andela. )nd *us as a he end of a fairy alewhen he hero is rewarded for all his sufferin$ by marryin$ he princess, he is married oa beau iful movie ac ress. +hy, hen, has John Keane chosen as he sub i le of his

bio$raphy ') "oli ical ra$edy in -i )c s'/0n he -even ies, when Havel was s ill a rela ively un1nown ech dissiden wri er,Keane played a crucial role in ma1in$ him 1nown in he +es ! he or$anised he

publica ion of Havel's poli ical e s and became a friend. He also did much o resusci a eHavel's no ion of 'civil socie y' as he si e of resis ance o &a e -ocialis re$imes. %espi ehis personal connec ion, Keane's boo1 is far from ha$io$raphy # he $ives us he 'realHavel' wi h all his wea1nesses and idiosyncrasies. He divides his &ife in o si s a$es! he

early s uden years under he - alinis re$ime4 he playwri$h and essayis of he -i ies4he defea of he las $rea a emp a 'socialism wi h a human face' in he "ra$ue -prin$of 6784 he years of dissidence and arres which culmina ed in Havel's emer$ence as heleadin$ spo1esman for har er 994 he Velve :evolu ion4 and finally he "residency.)lon$ he way, we $e an abundance of 'endearin$ foibles', which far from arnishin$Havel's heroic ima$e, seem somehow o ma1e his achievemen all he more palpable. His

paren s were rich 'cul ural capi alis s', owners of he famous Barrandov cinema s udios;'bour$eois ori$ins'i$h ies, he was

ru hless in es ablishin$ himself as echoslova1ia's mos impor an dissiden # when a po en ial rival emer$ed, doub ful rumours would s ar o circula e abou he rival's lin1swi h he secre police. )s "residen he uses a child's scoo er o oom alon$ he corridorsof he hu$e "residen ial palace.he source of Havel's ra$edy, however, is no he ension be ween he public fi$ure andhe 'real person', no even his $radual loss of charisma in recen years. -uch hin$scharac erise every successful poli ical career ;wi h he e cep ion of hose ouched by he$race of prema ure demise


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ou come, he ' ru h', of Havel he heroic dissiden / o pu i in He$el's erms! how doeshe e hically impeccable 'noble consciousness' impercep ibly pass in o he servile 'baseconsciousness'/ =f course, for a '"os #(odern' hird +ay democra immersed in ew)$e ideolo$y, here is no ension! Havel is simply followin$ his des iny, and is deservin$of praise for no shir1in$ poli ical power. Bu here is no escape from he conclusion ha

his life has descended from he sublime o he ridiculous.:arely has one individual played so many differen par s. he coc1y youn$ s uden in heearly Aif ies, member of a closed circle which holds passiona e poli ical discussions andsomehow survives he wors years of he - alinis error. he (odernis playwri$h andcri ical essayis s ru$$lin$ o asser himself in he mild haw of he la e Aif ies and -i ies.he firs encoun er wi h His ory # in he "ra$ue -prin$ # which is also Havel's firs bi$disappoin men . he lon$ ordeal of he -even ies and mos of he >i$h ies, when he isransformed from a cri ical playwri$h in o a 1ey poli ical fi$ure. he miracle of heVelve :evolu ion, wi h Havel emer$in$ as a s1ilful poli ician ne$o ia in$ he ransfer of

power and endin$ up as "residen . Ainally, here is Havel in he ine ies, he man who presided over he disin e$ra ion of echoslova1ia and who is now he proponen of he

full in e$ra ion of he ech :epublic in o +es ern economic and mili ary s ruc ures.Havel himself has been shoc1ed by he swif ness of he ransforma ion # a V camerafamously cau$h his loo1 of disbelief as he sa down o his firs official dinner as"residen .Keane hi$hli$h s he limi a ions of Havel's poli ical pro*ec , and he Havel he describes issome imes remar1ably naive, as when, in January 66 , he $ree ed hancellor Kohl wi hhe words! '+hy don' we wor1 o$e her o dissolve all poli ical par ies/ +hy don' we seup *us one bi$ par y, he "ar y of >urope/' here is a nice symme ry in he wo Vaclavswho have domina ed ech poli ics in he pas decade! he charisma ic "hilosopher#Kin$,he head of a democra ic monarchy, findin$ an appropria e double in Vaclav Klaus, his"rime (inis er, he cold echnocra ic advoca e of full mar1e liberalism who dismissesany al1 of solidari y and communi y.0n 69C, "aul herou visi ed Vie nam, af er he peace a$reemen and he wi hdrawal ofhe @- )rmy, bu before he ommunis a1eover. He wri es abou i in The Great

Railway Bazaar . ) couple of hundred @- soldiers were s ill here # deser ers, officiallyand le$ally non#e is en , livin$ in slum shac1s wi h heir Vie namese wives, earnin$ alivin$ by smu$$lin$ or o her crimes. 0n herou 's hands, hese individuals becomerepresen a ive of Vie nam's place in $lobal power poli ics. Arom hem, we $raduallyunravel he comple o ali y of Vie namese socie y. +hen Keane is a his bes , hedisplays he same abili y o e rac from small de ails he $lobal con e of wha was$oin$ on in echoslova1ia. he wea1es passa$es in he boo1 are hose which a emp odeal more concep ually wi h he na ure of ' o ali arian' re$imes or he social implica ionsof modern echnolo$y. 0ns ead of an accoun of he inner an a$onisms of ommunisre$imes, we $e he s andard liberal clichDs abou ' o ali arian con rol'.owards he end of his boo1, Keane ouches on he old idea of he 'Kin$'s wo Bodies'and poin s o he eEuivalen impor ance of he &eader's body in ommunis re$imes. )'pre#modern' poli ical order, he wri es, relies on havin$ such sacred bodies, while hedemocra ic sys em, in which he place of power is supposedly emp y, is open ocompe i ive s ru$$le. Bu his con ras fails o $rasp he in ricacies of ' o ali arianism'. 0 is


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no ha Keane is oo direc ly an i# ommunis , bu ha his liberal#democra ic s ance preven s him from seein$ he horrifyin$ parado of he '- alinis &eader'.&enin's firs ma*or s ro1e, which he suffered in (ay 622, lef his ri$h side vir ually

paralysed and for a while deprived him of speech. He realised ha his ac ive poli ical lifewas over and as1ed - alin for some poison so ha he could 1ill himself4 - alin oo1 he

ma er o he "oli buro, which vo ed a$ains &enin's wish. &enin assumed ha because hewas no lon$er of any use o he revolu ionary s ru$$le, dea h was he only op ion #'calmly en*oyin$ old a$e' was ou of he Eues ion. he idea of his funeral as a $rea s a eeven he found repulsive. his was no modes y! he was simply indifferen o he fa e ofhis body, re$ardin$ i as an ins rumen o be ru hlessly e ploi ed and discarded when nolon$er useful.+i h - alinism, however, he body of he &eader became 'ob*ec ively beau iful'. 0n '=nhe "roblem of he Beau iful in -ovie )r ', an essay from 65 , he -ovie cri ic

edoshivin wro e! ')mid all he beau iful ma erial of life, he firs place should beoccupied by ima$es of our $rea leaders . . . he sublime beau y of he leaders . . . is he

basis for he coincidin$ of he Fbeau ifulF and he F rueF in he ar of socialis realism.'

his has no hin$ o do wi h he &eader's physical a ribu es and every hin$ o do wi habs rac ideals. he &eader in fac is li1e he &ady in cour ly love poe ry # cold, dis anced,inhuman. Bo h he &eninis and he - alinis &eader are horou$hly aliena ed, bu inopposi e ways! he &eninis &eader displays radical self#ins rumen alisa ion on behalf ofhe :evolu ion, while in he case of he - alinis &eader, he 'real person' is rea ed as anappendi o he fe ishised and celebra ed public ima$e. o wonder he official pho os ofhe - alinis era were so of en re ouched, and wi h a clumsiness so obvious i almosseemed in en ional. 0 si$nalled ha he 'real person' wi h all his idiosyncrasies had beenreplaced by a wooden effi$y. =ne rumour circula in$ abou Kim 0l Gon$ is ha heac ually died in a car crash a couple of years a$o and a double has a1en his place for rare

public appearances, so ha he crowds can ca ch a $limpse of he ob*ec of heir worship.his is he ul ima e confirma ion ha he 'real personali y' of he - alinis leader ishorou$hly irrelevan . Havel of course is he inverse of ha ! while he - alinis &eader isreduced o a ri ualis ically praised effi$y, Havel's charisma is ha of a 'real person'. he

parado is ha a $enuine 'cul of personali y' can hrive only in a democracy.Havel's essay on ' he "ower of he "owerless', wri en in 698, was percep ive ine plainin$ how &a e -ocialism opera ed a he domes ic, day# o#day level. +ha wasimpor an was no ha he people deep down believed in he rulin$ ideolo$y, bu ha heyfollowed he e ernal ri uals and prac ices by means of which his ideolo$y acEuiredma erial e is ence. Havel's e ample is he $reen$rocer, a modes man profoundlyindifferen o official ideolo$y. He *us mechanically follows he rules! on s a e holidays,he decora es he window of his shop wi h official slo$ans such as '&on$ &ive -ocialism '+hen here are mass $a herin$s he a1es par affec lessly. )l hou$h he priva elycomplains abou he corrup ion and incompe ence of ' hose in power', he a1es comfor in

pieces of fol1 wisdom ;'power corrup s' e c


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followed he -ovie in erven ion of 678, he ech re$ime made sure ha , in one way orano her, he ma*ori y of people were somehow morally discredi ed, compelled o viola eheir own moral s andards. +hen an individual was blac1mailed in o si$nin$ a pe i iona$ains a dissiden ;Havel, for e amplevald 0l*en1ov ; 62C#96< and)le1sei &osev ; 863# 688


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democracy ;as (a Hor1heimer e plici ly did in some of his la e wri in$s


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problem of combinin$ a re*ec ion of ' o ali arianism' wi h he need o offer cri ical insi$hin o +es ern democracy. His solu ion was o follow Heide$$er and o see in heechnolo$ical hubris of capi alism, i s mad dance of self#enhancin$ produc ivi y, hee pression of a more fundamen al ranscenden al#on olo$ical principle # 'will o power','ins rumen al reason' # eEually eviden in he ommunis a emp o overcome capi alism.

his was he ar$umen of )dorno's and Hor1heimer's Dialectic of nlighten!ent , whichfirs en$ineered he fa eful shif from concre e socio#poli ical analysis o philosophico#an hropolo$ical $eneralisa ion, by means of which 'ins rumen al reason' is no lon$er$rounded in concre e capi alis social rela ions, bu is ins ead posi ed as heir Euasi#ranscenden al 'founda ion'. he momen ha Havel endorsed Heide$$er's recourse oEuasi#an hropolo$ical or philosophical principle, - alinism los i s specifici y, i s specific

"olitical dynamic, and urned in o *us ano her e ample of his principle ;as e emplified by Heide$$er's remar1, in his #ntrod$ction to %eta"hysics , ha , in he lon$ run, :ussianommunism and )mericanism were 'me aphysically one and he same'


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e pec a ions which, amon$ o her hin$s, facili a ed he failure of ommunism i self.+ha an i# ommunis dissiden s such as Havel overloo1, hen, is ha he very spacefrom which hey cri icised and denounced error and misery was opened and sus ained byommunism's a emp o escape he lo$ic of capi alism. his e plains Havel's con inuin$insis ence ha capi alism in i s radi ional, bru al form canno mee he hi$h e pec a ions

of his an i# ommunis s ru$$le # he need for au hen ic human solidari y e c. his is, inurn, why VIclav Klaus, Havel's pra$ma ic double, has dismissed Havel as a 'socialis '.>ven he mos ' o ali arian' - alinis ideolo$y is radically ambi$uous. +hile he universeof - alinis poli ics was undoub edly one of hypocrisy and arbi rary error, in he la ehir ies he $rea -ovie films ;say, he ?or1y rilo$y< epi omised au hen ic solidari y foraudiences across >urope. 0n one memorable film abou he ivil +ar, a mo her wi h ayoun$ son is e posed as a coun er#revolu ionary spy. ) $roup of Bolshevi1s pu her onrial and a he very be$innin$ of he rial, an old Bolshevi1 demands ha he sen ence besevere, bu *us . )f er she confesses her crime, he cour ;an informal collec ive ofBolshevi1 soldiers< rules ha she was seduced in o enemy ac ivi y by her difficul socialcircums ances4 she is herefore sen enced o be fully in e$ra ed in o he new socialis

collec ive, o be au$h o wri e and read and o acEuire a proper educa ion, while her son,who is unwell, is o be $iven proper medical care. he surprised woman burs s oucryin$, unable o unders and he cour 's benevolence, and he old Bolshevi1 nods! 'Ges,his is a severe, bu *us sen ence ' o ma er how manipula ive such scenes were, noma er how far hey were from he reali y of 'revolu ionary *us ice', hey none heless borewi ness o a new sense of *us ice4 and as such, $ave viewers new e hical s andards a$ainswhich reali y could be measured.Havel seems now o be blind o he fac ha his own opposi ion o ommunism wasrendered possible by he u opian dimension $enera ed and sus ained by ommunisre$imes. -o we $e he ra$i#comic indi$ni y which is his recen essay in he &ew 'or(

Review of Boo(s on 'Kosovo and he >nd of he a ion#- a e'. 0n i , he ries o say ha he a o bombin$ of Gu$oslavia placed human ri$h s above he ri$h s of he s a e, ha he a o alliance's a ac1 on he Aederal :epublic of Gu$oslavia wi hou a direc manda efrom he @ was no an irresponsible ac of a$$ression, or of disrespec for in erna ionallaw. 0 was, on he con rary, accordin$ o Havel, promp ed by respec for he law, for alaw ha ran1s hi$her han he law which pro ec s he soverei$n y of s a es. he alliancehas ac ed ou of respec for human ri$h s, as bo h conscience and in erna ional rea iesdic a e.Havel fur her invo1es his 'hi$her law' when he claims ha 'human ri$h s, humanfreedoms . . . and human di$ni y have heir deepes roo s somewhere ou side he

percep ible world . . . while he s a e is a human crea ion, human bein$s are he crea ionof ?od.' He seems o be sayin$ ha a o forces were allowed o viola e in erna ional law

because hey ac ed as direc ins rumen s of he 'hi$her law' of ?od # a clear#cu case ofreli$ious fundamen alism. Havel's s a emen is a $ood e ample of wha @lrich Bec1, inan ar icle in Die S)dde$tsche *eit$ng las )pril, called 'mili aris ic humanism' or even'mili aris ic pacifism'. he problem wi h his approach is no ha i is inheren lycon radic ory, an =rwellian 'peace is war.' or is he a o in erven ion bes me wi h he

pacifis #liberal ar$umen ha 'more bombs and 1illin$ never brin$ peace' ;i $oes wi housayin$ ha his is wron$


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de ermined by $eopoli ical and economic in eres s. he main problem wi h Havel'sar$umen is ha in erven ion is presen ed as havin$ been under a1en for he sa1e of hevic ims of ha red and violence # ha is, *us ified by a depoli icised appeal o universalhuman ri$h s.) repor by - even >rlan$er on he sufferin$ of he Kosovo )lbanians in a (ay edi ion of

he &ew 'or( Ti!es was en i led '0n =ne Kosovo +oman, an >mblem of -ufferin$'. hiswoman is from he ou se iden ified as a powerless vic im of circums ance, deprived of poli ical iden i y, reduced o bare sufferin$. )s such, she is beyond poli ical recrimina ion# an independen Kosovo is no on her a$enda, she *us wan s he horror over! %oes shefavour an independen Kosovo/ 'Gou 1now, 0 don' care if i 's his or ha ,' (eli said. '0

*us wan all his o end, and o feel $ood a$ain, o feel $ood in my place and my housewi h my friends and family.'Her suppor for he a o in erven ion is $rounded in her wishfor he horror o end! -he wan s a se lemen ha brin$s forei$ners here 'wi h some force

behind hem'. -he is indifferen as o who he forei$ners are. -he sympa hises wi h allsides! ' here is ra$edy enou$h for everyone,' she says. '0 feel sorry for he -erbs who've

been bombed and died, and 0 feel sorry for my own people. Bu maybe now here will be

a conclusion, a se lemen for $ood. ha would be $rea .'(eli is he ideal sub*ec #vic im o whose aid a o comes runnin$! no a poli ical sub*ecwi h a clear a$enda, bu a sub*ec of helpless sufferin$, someone who sympa hises wi hall sufferin$ sides in he conflic , cau$h in he madness of a local clash ha can only bes opped by he in erven ion of a benevolen forei$n power.he ul ima e parado of he a o bombin$ of -erbia is no he one ha was re$ularlyrehearsed by +es ern opponen s of he war! ha by an a emp o s op e hnic cleansin$ inKosovo, a o ri$$ered cleansin$ on a lar$er scale and crea ed he very humani arianca as rophe i wan ed o preven . ) deeper parado involves he ideolo$y ofvic imisa ion! when a o in ervened o pro ec Kosovar vic ims, i ensured a ha sameime ha hey would re!ain vic ims, inhabi an s of a devas a ed coun ry wi h a passive

popula ion # hey were no encoura$ed o become an ac ive poli ico#mili ary forcecapable of defendin$ i self. Here we have he basic parado of vic imisa ion! he = her o

be pro ec ed is $ood insofar as i remains a vic im ;which is why we were bombardedwi h pic ures of helpless Kosovar mo hers, children and old people, ellin$ movin$ s oriesof heir sufferin$


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ie schean ressenti!ent and envy! i is he fa1e $es ure of disavowed poli ics, heassumin$ of a 'moral', depoli icised posi ion in order o ma1e a s ron$er poli ical case.his is a perver ed version of Havel's 'power of he powerless'! powerlessness can bemanipula ed as a s ra a$em in order o $ain more power, in e ac ly he same way haoday, in order for one's voice o $ain au hori y, one has o le$i imise oneself as bein$

some 1ind of ;po en ial or ac ual< vic im of power.he ul ima e cause of his moralis ic depoli icisa ion is he re rea of he (ar ishis orico#poli ical pro*ec . ) couple of decades a$o, people were s ill discussin$ he

poli ical fu ure of humani y # will capi alism prevail or will i be supplan ed byommunism or ano her form of ' o ali arianism'/ # while silen ly accep in$ ha ,somehow, social life would con inue. oday, we can easily ima$ine he e inc ion of hehuman race, bu i is impossible o ima$ine a radical chan$e of he social sys em # even iflife on ear h disappears, capi alism will somehow remain in ac . 0n his si ua ion,disappoin ed &ef is s, who are convinced ha radical chan$e of he e is in$ liberal#democra ic capi alis sys em is no lon$er possible, bu who are unable o renounce heir

passiona e a achmen o $lobal chan$e, inves heir e cess of poli ical ener$y in an

abs rac and e cessively ri$id moralisin$ s ance.) a recen mee in$ of he leaders of he +es ern powers dedica ed o he ' hird +ay',he 0 alian "rime (inis er (assimo d')lema said ha one should no be afraid of heword 'socialism'. lin on and, followin$ him, Blair and -chroeder, are supposed o have

burs ou lau$hin$. his says much abou he hird +ay, which is 'problema ic' no leas because i e poses he absence of a -econd +ay. he idea of a hird +ay emer$ed a hevery momen when, a leas in he +es , all o her al erna ives, from old#s yleconserva ivism o radical social democracy, crumbled in he face of he riumphanonslau$h of $lobal capi alism and i s no ion of liberal democracy. he rue messa$e ofhe no ion of he hird +ay is ha here is no -econd +ay, no al erna ive o $lobalcapi alism, so ha , in a 1ind of moc1in$ pseudo#He$elian ne$a ion of ne$a ion, he hird+ay brin$s us bac1 o he firs and only way. ?lobal capi alism wi h a human face.his, hen, is Havel's ra$edy! his au hen ic e hical s ance has become a moralisin$ idiomcynically appropria ed by he 1naves of capi alism. His heroic insis ence on doin$ heimpossible ;opposin$ he seemin$ly invincible ommunis re$ime< has ended up servin$hose who 'realis ically' ar$ue ha any real chan$e in oday's world is impossible. hisreversal is no a be rayal of his ori$inal e hical s ance, bu is inheren in i . he ul ima elesson of Havel's ra$edy is hus a cruel, bu ine orable one! he direc e hical founda ionof poli ics sooner or la er urns in o i s own comic carica ure, adop in$ he very cynicismi ori$inally opposed.

Slavoj Zizek 's The Tic(lish S$+,ect is published by Verso. He is senior researcher a he0ns i u e for -ocial - udies in &*ubl*ana.

Žižek on Havel Bio

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