I am radically opposed to this. I don’t believe in this post-secular era. I think that the sacred which is returning today is part of our postmodern, individualist, hedonist universe. I mean, look at American TV preachers. They are pure creatures of modern performance. It’s ridiculous. Whatever it is, it’s not religion.
The na?ve critics of religion — Richard Dawkins, all of them, they are way too na?ve. They are not really describing what is happening here. It’s not authentic religion. It’s part of our consumerist culture. On the other hand, it’s clear that these type of religious revivals are a reaction to what we can call post-politics, the end of traditional politics. You no longer have communal meetings, you no longer have these elementary forms of authentic political life. And I think that religion is entering as an ersatz supplement for politics. And it’s really true, if we identify politics with antagonism, passionate taking sides, combative attitude and so on and so on.
What is “authentic religion,” exactly?
It’s not authentic in the sense of some higher value. It’s authentic in the simple sense that at its own level, it functions the way it says it functions. For example, authentic political struggle in Germany in the ’30s was Hitler, Communists, Social Democrats and so on and so on.
So authentic politics pays attention to the fundamentals, or to basic struggles, as opposed to bureaucratic details —
Yeah, but not in some deep mythical sense. For example, let’s go to fundamentalists. They’re not authentic, in the sense that they attack this modern permissive hedonist culture. It’s a big show, blah, blah. They reproduce in the most vulgar form [that which] they are attacking. Their religious show, it’s a mega ego-trip. It’s for me a form of public amusement. This is what makes this nonauthentic.
Do authentic politics always gravitate toward violence?
This is a very open, problematic question that always gets me into trouble. It is violent in the sense that yes, it’s basically a conflict — it’s a utopia to think that it can be resolved simply through argumentation, negotiations, and so on. It’s really a scene where similarly passionate people take sides. I don’t believe in some sort of simple ethics of communication. But this doesn’t mean we should slaughter each other.
We always identify violence with how things are when things change. Demonstrations, explosions, and so on. But we should also be very attentive to violence that goes on so that things can stay the way they are. Violence which is part of the normal healthy production of our societies. There is violence going on. So it’s a little bit false to see violence only when it explodes.
[We are speaking during a heat wave in Slovenia, and ?i?ek’s wife will not use air conditioning.]
I’m sorry, but you got me now in this heat-wave confused condition. My god, I hate heat so much. I like it cold. I’m thinking of moving somewhere, not even to Canada, but Alaska, or, I don’t know, Iceland, northern Norway, whatever.
It gets pretty hot in Alaska, actually.
But not Sarah Palin country. More to the north.
Well, there’s this ideal of the philosopher in the wilderness, right? On the edges of civilization, looking in.
No, no, no, I was always skeptical about this image. Although usually they were not so stupid. For example, Ralph Waldo Emerson, all those guys, you know? So-called American Transcendentalists. They were not just this Transcendental-peace-nature. They actively supported John Brown.
That’s true.
But generally, I think those that preach this live with nature and so on and so on — these are usually the dangerous, violent guys. I almost think — okay, this may almost sound racist — that civilizations which had this idea of calm inner lives, small rituals, and so on, are usually the most brutal civilizations. I love Japan. But what always disturbed me is some of the features in Japanese, and also in Chinese, everyday life, which is usually taken as their gentleness, and so on. Let’s take bonsai trees. How do you grow them? You underfeed and torture them terribly. For me, when you have this superficial gentleness, it’s just a screen, calm reflection. Look for extreme brutality beneath it.
You can see violence everywhere, though, can’t you?
It is everywhere. It is everywhere. The world is hell. My vision, basically, in religious terms — though I’m atheist, of course — is some kind of Protestant view of the fallen world. It’s all one big horror. I despise Leftists who think, you know, violence is just an effect of social alienation, blah, blah, blah; once we will get communism, people will live in harmony. No, human nature is absolutely evil and maybe with a better organization of society we could control it a little bit.
You’ve been more pessimistic in these conversations than I expected after reading “Trouble in Paradise.”
I don’t believe in progress. Let’s take the Marxist utopia at its most radical. Yes, we will somehow manage to overcome capitalism, there will be a new society of — of what? How do we know there will not be even some other type of greater horrors there, and so on? I absolutely try to disassociate social emancipation and so on, from any of these ideas, from some kind of harmonious society of collaboration, of peace, and so on and so on.
— DraftMikeForSpeaker (@SpeakerPompeo) October 13, 2015
On Tuesday, Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, who was elected in 2014, told a radio show that he was considering a bid as he travels his state during this week's congressional recess.
Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of Florida also remain in the race as original candidates running to replace resigning Speaker John Boehner — they were poised to face off against Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Like many others, Chaffetz has said he will exit the race if Ryan gets in.
But Ryan, the popular Wisconsin Republican, has shown no public signs of changing his mind, despite heavy pressure from party leaders and donors.
Some conservative media outlets and Tea Party-aligned groups have already written off Ryan as too centrist to lead today's increasingly conservative House GOP.