Slavoj Zizek - 1990 election debate in Slovenia - Second round [English subs]

Slavoj Zizek running for membership of the Presidency of Slovenia in 1990 as a representative of the Liberal Party in the first post-ww2 multiparty elections in Slovenia.
Zizek almost got elected by a margin less than 1 %.
This is a collection of statements made by Zizek during the debate. The full debate can be found here:
www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/30-le...
The first round of debate is here:
• Slavoj Zizek - 1990 el...
Topics:
- Comparing Slovenia in 1990 to other countries.
- Private vs public. Should Slovenia engage in capitalism.
- A new legal system and the question of ecology.
- The influence of Yugoslav People's Army on the state and economy.
- Declaration of independence and taking chances.
- Cutting off institutions of the old Communist system in a soft way, and introducing a normal state apparatus.
Some history can be found here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Sl...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Sl...
Zizek is speaking in his native tongue, that is Slovenian. I tried to translate the talk as best I could, but at times the tempo is too fast, so the translation may miss something.
Anyway, this is a remarkable debate, I think. I wanted to translate everything, but I don't have the time to do it, and I think that the people of the world may find the full debate confusing. On the other hand, Zizek is always clear ;)
PS: please ignore grammatical errors, English is my second language...

[@nobodyreally11]

Hi to all. This video excerpt contains all Žižek's statements from the debate, but it is not the whole debate so the spirit of it may be somewhat missing. I tried to translate Žižek's statements in such a way as to be accurate without giving false impression. I may have failed in some place, those who can understand Slovenian will tell if that is so (see comments). Please consider this video as an intriguing historical thing, and not as contemporary political statement (by anyone). Thanks!

[@444ous]

Hvala za to =)

[@nightoftheworld]

Thanks for posting, the world needs more Zizek history

[@ISmellAnIdea]

Genialno! A lahko objaviš posnetek cele debate? :)

[@alisafaei2585]

Thank you... I needed to see this

[@alisafaei2585]

What happened to the election though?

[@iman0orujov]

psychotherapist: liberal zizek is not real he can't hurt you liberal zizek:

[@guyincognito5663]

Ok that’s a fucking killer.

[@cillianclarke8987]

I haven't actually laughed at a KZbin comment in so long

[@realsocratease]

Look, I know that liberal Zizek does not exist and cannot hurt me, but nevertheless I am concerned that liberal Zizek does not know this, and therefore I am still afraid.

[@Painfoot]

Correction: psychoanalyst

[@nightoftheworld]

@@realsocratease lol yes-but does the chicken know!

[@oanonimogreg6487]

So weird to see Zizek speaking in his native language and being a liberal.

[@molnet999]

tbh he sounds more like a social democrat: "the market is a great servant but a horrible master" - swedish former social democrat party leader and former prime minister göran persson. mainly because he seems to have moral issues with how the market functions or at least rhetorics that sound leftist when he talks of the market, but he doesn't actually want to limit it that much. social democrats (of today) could be considered a type of liberal, i guess.

[@adorno_gang37]

nowadays he is a liberal in English instead of Slovenian

[@mauri-47]

thought he was still speaking in english xD

[@spacefertilizer]

@@molnet999 at this time he was involved in the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS), which was mostly a Social Liberal party and would be seen as centre/centre-left.

[@molnet999]

@@spacefertilizer sounds a lot like the swedish socialdemokraterna of the 90's imho

[@akiravelicka8363]

sometimes i forget that zizek is actually slovenian and not just a guy that speaks english in a very weird way

[@freddychopin]

Therapist: "Liberal Zizek isn't real, he can't hurt you." Liberal Zizek:

[@nobodyreally11]

The first speaker, Mr Peter Novak, died at the age of 85 a week ago. He was a mechanical engineer, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Ljubljana. He was a proponent and contributor to renewable energy sources and efficient energy use. After hearing about his recent death I decided to mention it here. He stayed true to his profession throughout his life.

[@andyzhang7890]

Holy shit.... surreal seeing this man wearing anything other than a stained T-shirt

[@saurabhbaral1851]

so you want me to believe that this person who doesn't even take his fingers near his nose is Zizek?

[@dannya1854]

Watch him in modern interviews where he's speaking in only Slovenian, he also does a lot less ticks, his ticks seem to be present when he's out of his comfort zone and trying to speak English in front of a large amount of people.

[@naranjolopezdaviddaniel7529]

Wow. Zizek looks so different here. He is "well dressed", doesn´t touch his nose, speaks clear(probably cause it is his native language) and is much more articulated. For a moment i thought i was looking at a different person.

[@ID1visor]

Yeah, from what I can tell, he only has trouble with English it seems.

[@bigfatpandalaktana2747]

He only does that when he speaks English, he's perfectly fine with speaking on Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian and German.

[@roy_for_real2674]

He didn't really have ticks here.

[@bigfatpandalaktana2747]

@@roy_for_real2674 yeah.. cuz he's speaking on Slovenian

[@wariofat]

@@bigfatpandalaktana2747 And French.

[@jamalcalypse]

""[Zizek] has the greatest IQ among us, but he talked more than half our round table" I love how consistent Zizek is, taking up the majority of the discussion since 1990

[@bulletproofblouse]

...and a steadfast refusal to change his hair style or dress sense. If it works it works, anything else iszh pure ideology.

[@bigpoppa192]

Amongus

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

I'm glad that sentence is included in this video, Zizek mentioned it before. And he said that after the cameras were turned off, everyone on that table turned to that guy who said "Zizek has the greatest IQ among us" and told him he is an idiot and "how can you say that?" quite funny, but I can't remember at what talk he mentioned this episode

[@bigpoppa192]

At which point does he say it?

[@davyroger3773]

@@LibertarianLeninistRants Yeah Immediately thought of that too , wish they caught that on camera lmao

[@ali848trans]

The longest stretch of time where Zizek doesn't say "and so on"

[@Maynard0504]

5:09 prophetic words

[@tugger]

exactly this. he confronted reality

[@vidjenko8349]

Wow he almost looks sane

[@MrSMITCHERS]

@myles 9 What both of you should ask yourselves is who is truly sane? *sniff *sniff And so on

[@Ahmadbeik99]

Take you jordan peterskunk away from here

[@nightoftheworld]

Amazing to hear Z speak about the need to stop philosophizing and to act, different times then.. now we must go _“back from Marx to Hegel”_

[@horatiuscocles8052]

different times different needs

[@nightoftheworld]

@@horatiuscocles8052 Yes totally. Zizek, _Signs from the Future:_ “[W]hat Marx conceived as Communism remained an idealized image of capitalism, capitalism without capitalism, i.e., expanded self-reproduction without profit and exploitation. This is why we should return from Marx to Hegel, to Hegel’s “tragic” vision of the social process where no hidden teleology is guiding us, where every intervention is a jump into the unknown, where the result always thwarts our expectations. All we can be certain of is that the existing system cannot reproduce itself indefinitely: whatever will come after will not be “our future.” A new Middle East war or an economic chaos or an unheard-of environmental catastrophe can swiftly change the basic coordinates of our predicament. We should fully assume this openness, guiding ourselves on nothing more than ambiguous signs from the future.”

[@arfn1973]

@@nightoftheworld Do you know what "[Letter]" Mean in a text? I can't found it on the internet.

[@afkaqualls]

Of course, then he goes on Big Think, and the like, stating we shouldn't act, just think. 🤔

[@octopusexperiment1931]

@@afkaqualls I find these programs such as big think to be full of motivated critique of progressivism. Although what Zizek and a few others has said on their platform was interesting, I feel that overall the platform is often a politically motivated tool of American right wing activism. I dont know why zizek went on there but I find it a little disappointing.

[@SloveneAnon]

Also seeing Zupančič in a socialist party and Żižek in a liberal one is pretty insane lmao

[@psychopathmedia]

What's funnier is that "socialist" and "liberal" are near-synonyms in US American politics

[@manuelmanzanero5057]

​@@psychopathmediaWhat's even funnier is that in US politics the labels socialist and liberal are often equated with the Democratic Party. Outside the United States, that makes as little sense as identifying Muhammad with a Honolulu-born Aztec Buddhist.

[@senglomein5766]

Žižek looking like he hosts a 1970s _"variety show"_ wearing that Burnt Sienna sports-coat and slick haircut. Though its hard to say who really steals the show: Slavoj or that stunning Emerald Green Round Table straight out of Stanley Kubrick movie set.

[@nightoftheworld]

5:11 prophetic.. “In 5 or 6 years ecology will be the main problem. At that time all our problems that currently seem fateful will look ridiculous. I think there will be a re-orientation, not strictly economic, but also spiritual, to say it bombastically.”

[@zzzzzaaaa9999]

I'm also amazed how many things he got right.

[@MonoFrutti]

@@zzzzzaaaa9999 He is talking about spirituality and ecology because one third of his liberal party were batshit loonies, hysterical because of the Chernobyl disaster and searching for lost science in the form of sacred geometry and crystal magic.

[@Humanophage]

Really, in 5 or 6 years? It's 30 years, and everyone is still ignoring it.

[@hetmanjz]

@@MonoFrutti "Hysterical because of the Chernobyl disaster"? Cognizant of the catastrophic impacts of nuclear technologies, you mean?

[@waltercapa5265]

@@Humanophage He said main problem, not main priority.

[@conancat]

I love that Dr Zizek has been advocating for prioritazing ecology in politics since 1990, even when he was a liberal

[@pcpirat635]

2:20 - 2:37 Exactly what happened in Croatia. Thousands of hotels, motels and resorts on the coast, and hundreds of factories and industry were given to incompetent people close to the former regime. 30 years later that property is in ruins and it hinders the development of the growing towns, but local government can’t buy back those properties because either they lack the necessary funds or the price of the property set by the current owner is unreasonably high.

[@jopl4593]

Slovenia ended up doing exactly that as well. Still causing problems till this day.

[@lalibelalumumba7623]

@@jopl4593 Yes, Zizek was able to see the future economical problems but the others werent. And they were the ones to achieve power Exactly this thing happened not only to Slovenia or Croatia but to almost any former eastern-block-state except Belarus (which is an authoritarian sh1thole today - it doesnt help you if you get decent healthcare if you get detained for telling a wrong joke)

[@HorukAI]

It's called the first accumulation of capital, and it's never a nice process...

[@lalibelalumumba7623]

@@HorukAI no its not only ordinary accumulation but western-style privatized accumulation which isnt structured and regulated by a liberal state as seen in france, germany or belgium. in the now-capitalist, former realsocialist states there are very strong connections between capital class and political power that are against the ideas of the "normal" liberal capitalist model. it is kind of an oligarchy - and i think it would be empirically provable that the situation for wage-dependant people in such oligarchies is way worse than in "normal" capitalist states which (at least in the imperialist countries of central europe) can fall back on traditions of labor unions.

[@HorukAI]

@@lalibelalumumba7623 In Germany which wasn't liberal state when it formed, the cards were already given to aristocracy. France after Napoleonic wars was so much despotic that it led to June revolution, early capitalism in general was in fact the (Marxist) exploatation of labour, with 14 hours shifts etc.. of course you could always have slaves in your oversees colonies rather then paying wages.. that was "structured and regulated" accumulation of capital in those countries and it wasn't a nice process

[@eterista3868]

Holy shit, to see Žižek predicting shift in ecological issues politics (also his estimate of 6 years in 1990 was a little off, more like 15 years) and also the better way for re-privatization in post-communist countries for bigger wealth accumulation and less bankruptcy of companies the same way China did in 90s and 00s (although less democratically as it could be)... I know he's not the only one who was talking about these issues, there were others even in 80s, but to see he was also visionary politician is kinda interesting.

[@roderbergis4038]

the power of marx and hegel :)

[@ianhomerpura8937]

15 years is 2005. A year after Slovenia joined the EU.

[@lameduck3105]

Zizek's warning about an upcoming ecological crisis is prophetic. This was in 1990, long before the dangers of global warming was a mainstream topic. I find it hard to wrap my head around just how amazingly he dissects and prophecise about future problems. Slovenia missed out on having a president that is one of the smartest guys on the planet.

[@martinn.6082]

To be fair, there were other ecological disasters happening, such as acidic rain, forest death or the holes on the ozone layer.

[@mossad_agent946]

how many scenarios did they warn about, that eventually didn't happen? Perhaps there is another agenda.

[@SandymoorFerrariClub]

@@mossad_agent946 If by 'they' you mean news media, then the answer is lots of different scenarios. If by 'they' you mean 'the general consensus of the scientific community during the late 20th century', then it was pretty much just ozone holes, lead in petrol and global warming. The ozone hole issue was solved by stopping widespread use of CFCs. The lead in petrol issue was solved by banning sale of leaded petrol. The global warming issue is ongoing, and much less likely to be resolved because people in many richer nations have got so used to being physically weak that they have to drive cars everywhere and overheat their houses.

[@snesjkksdnuesjjsj]

@@mossad_agent946trump losing

[@davyroger3773]

Wow pure charisma, he still has some of it now while old and sniffling

[@MrIvanisawesome]

I envy how sober and calm the Slovene politicians were... I remember the bombastic nationalism I heard as a young kid from both Croatia and Serbia which were in stark contrast to this round table discussion.

[@lukalisjak2106]

Don't worry, they caught up eventually. You should hear them now.

[@TheSpiritOfTheTimes]

@@lukalisjak2106 A obstaja kje celotna debata Gabrijelčič?

[@stipepoljak1985]

Daj mojne srat

[@jopl4593]

@@lukalisjak2106 #skreganarod

[@introsense4495]

@senay yasar we don't speak the same language and we have different culture, please stop being an ignorant w*sterner f*ck you

[@jesselopes5196]

To think, if he had been successful, Zizek probably would've worn a TIE at some point

[@LazarusWilhelm]

This looks like the opposite of contemporary debates where the opposing perspectives strawman each other and see each other as idiots so treat each other as strawmans, in this debate they are listening carefully and obviously respect each other as smart people of importance. There isn't even a need for a mediator.

[@N0el5]

Comparing this to modern political debates is a joke. Its sad how same people who led our country through independence became so divided, unprofessional and corrupt.

[@lasseb5612]

Also you shall not forget that this was probably one of the very first real political debates in tv ever in the country

[@Bos_Taurus]

1990 and ecology was allready a topic.

[@freezing5]

at least from 1970s! and then in the 80s we stopped returning glass bottles to shops. What's more, water in plastic bottles became a thing.

[@lamadebating2684]

He did not wipe his nose and pull his shirt once! He must have developed these ticks later! I wonder why!

[@tomsnow2872]

Most likely a brain aneurysm or it could be due to a severe stroke.

[@codyplatona6886]

Think it's much more pronounced when he's speaking English

[@maartenschumacher]

Might be a result of Lacanian psychoanalysis which encourages the subject to "Enjoy your symptom"

[@jesselopes5196]

Politicians cannot have ticks - but philosophers must, so that the vulgar will have something to notice

[@toximan2008]

English is probably like his 3rd or 4th language... just assuming that he's uncomfortable speaking English, and the tics are a symptom of that. Not to take anything away from him, of course. I couldn't imagine trying to articulate my thoughts from my native tongue several languages over to the same extent. Must be stressful.

[@rumblejungle5590]

He was already doing "the and so on" thing back then.

[@aleksandarmarkovic221]

He probably got it from speaking Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian, as that’s a very common saying in both languages

[@GyitMulhaneski-GloriousYears]

JORDAN'S ALIIIIIIIVE!

[@Naeinsengimnida]

​@@aleksandarmarkovic221 It's funny how normal this is for us...i tako dalje. Ahahahah

[@simplemusic3579]

@@Naeinsengimnida i tak dalej... In Poland.

[@DeathToMockingBirds]

This sort of political debate badly needs to come back in fashion.

[@Bizarro69]

To what end

[@domo2685]

This is still in fashion in kosovo and many states i believe

[@randomserb761]

@@domo2685 LMAO Kosovo is a genocidal imperialist mafia-state, you've really picked a good one to look up to

[@claracastilhooliveira3793]

Their debate format is much better than what we have in Brazil.

[@Kitsune-kun663]

political debates have become PR spectacles. We barely discuss Policy anymore.

[@jamesgreenldn]

Unfortunately it's the same PR spectacle everywhere today

[@allanisystrauss8914]

Considerando que o último aí foi eleito sem mesmo ir à maioria dos debates, bom.... é, realmente n dá pra discordar

[@adrianolima6142]

Não houve nenhum debate em que a V.Ex.a compareceu. Tava dodói.

[@oanonimogreg6487]

Pelo menos não é entediante. Quero ver como vai ser ano que vem com essa criatura na presidência participando dos debates já que não vai ter outra facada.

[@otorinolaringologija6227]

Party Žižek was representing The Association of Socialist Youth of Slovenia (abbreviation of ZSMS) was a political organization of young people in Slovenia, which was active from the post-war years until the 1990s when alongside other political entities was transformed into the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) .

[@user-je1mu5rb5w]

it's weird that he doesn't honk nose

[@johnq.public8593]

I've been looking for this footage with subs for years now, thank you so much mr nobody

[@robrick9361]

That's an imposter, the real Slavoj Zizek couldn't go that long without touching his nose.

[@bygmesterfinnegan6938]

its a tick he does when under stress, speaking other languages etc

[@matjazmazi8405]

@@bygmesterfinnegan6938 vsako ta drugo se zlaže, vsako tretjo pa izmisli .....

[@hightreason]

it's chilling to think of the horrific events that followed this discussion

[@KungKras]

what horrific events?

[@MrVictorPhineas]

@@KungKras the break of Yugoslavia and its wars for independence between the ex-Yugoslav states?

[@hightreason]

@@KungKras 10 days war following slovenia's independence, but more significantly the bosnian genocide. not associated with this discussion but followed directly from the political turmoil that this discussion was a part of

[@KungKras]

@@hightreason Ah right. I always mix up Slovenia with Slovakia, which was part of Austria-Hungary. And them talking about Austria made me mix them up again.

[@davd1986]

@@MrVictorPhineas Aided by the United States, Germany and other powerful Western countries. The United States pushed Milošević in the 1980's, then in the 90's, when he wasn't useful anymore, they went after hi,.

[@thoughtsurferzone5012]

Even in his native tongue, he sounds like a drunken poet. 😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@uhhidkmyusername7932]

Today Slovenia has higher HDI than all of the countries mentioned (even Austria) so Slovenia did benefit ALOT from independence

[@psychopathmedia]

They benefited from joining the EU

[@uhhidkmyusername7932]

@@psychopathmedia that wasn’t the main point. Even before EU Slovenia was the richest and most developed Slavic country. EU didn’t have much of impact

[@tomgu2285]

Most of them moving to Germany and serbs and muslim bosniak immagrating to Slovenia lmao.

[@peterhandke3936]

​@@uhhidkmyusername7932 Slovenia benefited from the work they did in new circumstances. Independence also did hurt our economy a lot. Luckily we somehow reorganised it to Western markets. But loss of YU market was the biggest blow of the 90's for sure. IF we could somehow succeeded to have both EU and YU markets, we'd be 50% better in numbers today.

[@uhhidkmyusername7932]

@@peterhandke3936 that somehow couldn’t never be achieved tho

[@phd_angel4192]

So, he's a neo-liberal Stalinist and so on and so on, huh?...

[@he1ar1]

no the opposite. The hardcore anarcho-capitalist neo-liberals of 1990 were the same people who were in 1980 neo-Stalinists. This group championed Brezhnev and were against the kind of liberal Lenin revisionism that Zizek is talking about.

[@bruzm.1737]

I've never seen him wearing Coats, Jackets, or even a shirt!

[@GyitMulhaneski-GloriousYears]

Wow. Topless Zizek? Which one was that?

[@GrandmasterDinnerRoll]

@@GyitMulhaneski-GloriousYears in my dreams ;)

[@GyitMulhaneski-GloriousYears]

@@GrandmasterDinnerRoll 😄😅😮😦😟😩😮😒😆😄

[@lukalisjak2106]

Hvala za to objavo! Fascinantno.

[@charlesdarwin7253]

"Mister Zizek, your 2 minutes are up, you have to stop talking now and let the dummy next to you answer a totally unrelated question" ... If this was an American debate.

[@cunjoz]

so civilized

[@nikitalukashkin1573]

Change your prfp, ur from the schizoid server

[@cow_tools_]

I'm so impressed at how intelligent and collegial this presidential debate is! All of them today should be like this, but the Media Class forces them to be shitshows.

[@timothyoswaldtei3047]

Thank you for adding quick political context for this video instead of dragging it into a frustrating cartoon

[@wawawawawaaaw3090]

The Churchill line Zizek quoted would later be said by Jordan Peterson in the twos debate

[@andreimoga7813]

well well well how the turntables

[@lameduck3105]

"If capitalism is ripe with problems, communism is twice as ripe with problems as that"

[@Chakotay2222]

amazing in old days we had round tables and people wore civilized

[@Goran-Edgar.Bojovic]

In translation from Slovenian to English one must be very careful in fully grasping what professor Žižek did say (and in what manner he said it) in his native Slovenian from 10:35 to 10:50. Professor Žižek never said "(we should) drop the phrase 'politics is the art of the impossible' ". The only proper translation (of this segment) is as follows: "We must stop hesitating - the art is the politics of the impossible and so on... - and [we must] take some decisive action, be it constitutional or legal one". Of course, professor Žižek makes a slip of the tongue while saying "the art is the politics of the impossible" (he, vice versa, intended to point out that "the politics is the art of the impossible") but he never said the phrase "the politics is the art of the impossible" should be dropped. Here professor Žižek refers to the old (Communist) saying "the politics is the art of the possible" and he reverses the saying (thus making it his motto) into "the politics is the art of the impossible". This is the precise translation and the context of this very segment. Thank you.

[@nobodyreally11]

Hi. I think you are right. I understood it differently at first, but after reading your explanation it seems he does in fact imply not to drop the term "politics is the art of impossible"...

[@Goran-Edgar.Bojovic]

@@nobodyreally11 Hello to you, too! Thank you immensely for responding properly and timely. In the segment I pointed out professor Žižek spoke in a bit of confusing manner but we must translate it the way it was said and give an explanation afterwards or in a sort of a footnote as I did. Your translation from Slovenian to English is excellent and praiseworthy. Way to go and kindest regards from Čačak!

[@nightoftheworld]

Thank you for expanding on this interpretation, very helpful. I have an alternate perspective on his slip of tongue though: _“the art is the politics of the impossible.”_ I read that not as a slip but as a Zizek short circuit-as saying _art,_ through its very existence/externality, is political praxis. In-that art looks _beyond_ the letter of the Law toward the Spirit, inhabiting the political dimension of something like science fiction. _“Art is the politics of the impossible”_ because it transcends Zizek’s “Huntington’s disease of today’s global capitalism.” etc., and attempts to intervene, to engage in “new ways of dreaming” (Ben Burgis/acid communism).

[@Goran-Edgar.Bojovic]

@@nightoftheworld Hello to you and thank you for thanking me! Of course, I totally understand your position and stance regarding the slip of the tongue professor Žižek made in the very heat of the debate I have already referred to. If we take it as a given that "art is the politics of the impossible" it would imply that there are (at least) two distinct politics: (1) the politics of the possible and (2) the politics of the impossible, with "art" belonging the the latter (i. e. register (2) ). As much as it can be hard to grasp or almost 'impossible' to attain, the meaning of "art" in proposition "Politics is the art of the impossible" simply means that "art" is synonymous with "skill" or "artistry" or "activity" (without any "cultural" undertones: the emphasis is on the "activity" based on coordinates that have nothing to do with quest for what is "really possible" being enounced by advocates of status quo). On the other hand, the (intended) meaning of "art" in proposition "The art is the politics of the impossible" [that's exactly what professor Žižek said in Slovenian in the midst of discussion dealing with specific topic that was permeated by "raw politics" of the concrete period of time in Slovenian recent history] would fall (more or less) into "cultural" realm. That's why I kindly tried to contextualize these memorable moments (lasting just fifteen precious seconds), pointing to recurring theme within professor Žižek's later oeuvre in extenso (written predominantly in English, while professor Žižek's writings and books before 1989 [the year when professor Žižek's book "The Sublime Object of Ideology" was published in English] were predominantly written in Serbian and Croatian, apart from his native Slovenian). I do fully support your intervention in terms of ascribing the quality of being "impossible" to politics while defining "art", but in that case the term "politics" would lose its yearned all-pervasive (yet never experienced) sharpness in vivo (the very sharpness professor Žižek evokes in that concrete 1990 discussion by contrasting his (view of) politics ["Politics is the art of the impossible"] to predominant Communist (view of) politics [via then almost self-evident truth pronounced by then-Communist bureaucrats in the form of "Politics is the art of the possible", while the scope and the content of that "the possible" is strictly defined by those "in the know", i. e. Communists themselves]), thus becoming synonymous with mere "technique", "execution" or "performance". In addition to that, if "art is the politics of the impossible", what (if any) then would be "the politics of the possible"? Please, forgive me for being so extensive. Thank you.

[@daMacadamBlob]

His Slovene sounds like Ancient Greek. The true Diogenes

[@vershimberisha1100]

Slovenia had a lot of luck that it was not attacked so bloodly like Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Zizek was also at that time Gully aware of the Serbian hegemonial claim and articulated the Slovenian position in a very brave way! Respect!

[@MarcelRecasens]

So was Zizek clearly in favour of the independence of Slovenia?

[@LewdConnoisseur]

​​@@MarcelRecasens I think he was indifferent towards the whole Yugoslav breaking apart. But he knew that it was an inevitability that countries like Slovenia wanted to be independent.

[@peterhandke3936]

@@MarcelRecasens not necessarily. But we were all pro independence after Belgrade stormed protests in MArch of 91 in cooperation with the federal army. That was the breaking point, when we saw we can't save Yugoslavia. Serbs went totally the other way compared to what we wanted to, there was almost no point in talks any more. Before this event we wanted confederation by big majority.

[@MarcelRecasens]

@@peterhandke3936 Thank you, this information has a lot of value to me

[@Omidion]

You think it was luck that it was not attacked ? Meaning Croatia was just unlucky ? You think geopolitics and civil wars are things of chance and luck ? :D No action/reaction, choices made and consequences received ?

[@nashenas1950]

Its incredibly fascinating how their situation and concerns was exactly like the Iran nowadays, It's as if Im watching a debate of Iranian revolutionaries talking about how to fix our broken country.

[@saimbhat6243]

​@@dejuren1367 It will prosper without sanctions. Iranian regime is anything but corrupt.

[@viliussmproductions]

The same was the case in my country. Not all the reforms were perfect, but I assure you, going all the way and having a good example to follow pays off. Lithuania was a poor ex-soviet state in 1990. Slovenia was also, I would imagine, not doing too amazing. And now in certain aspects, our countries are surpassing the likes of Portugal and Italy. So have hope.

[@nashenas1950]

@@viliussmproductions Our struggle for liberty and prosperity still continues, thanks mate❤

[@tomaszrogalka4420]

The man at 3:30 can easily take a role as The Dark Prince a son of Satan without further characterisation.

[@SloveneAnon]

He was a poet and his last name Zlobec literally means Evil.

[@horoyoisawa3239]

I don't understand any Slovenian, so this translation is very helpful to me. Thx:)

[@I_can_do_20_push-ups]

It’s interesting how different his positions are regarding economics compared to how he discusses these issues now

[@mirzaardi3274]

and he was from Liberal Party as well

[@MonoFrutti]

@@mirzaardi3274 And that liberal party was in power for 12 years after that. They could control the privatisation in a way that workers would buy out the companies but instead they opted for a national bourgeoisie instead that got something for nothing and couldn't even run the companies. The official data of Bank of Slovenia shows that a good chunk of foreign investments comes from tax havens like Luxembourg - go figure who that really is.

[@GayTier1Operator]

i don’t think his positions have changed actually. it just seems that way bc he was arguing against the orthodoxy of the communist party. any criticism of it will look like it comes more to the right

[@I_can_do_20_push-ups]

@@MonoFrutti interesting. I didn’t know that. I might be missing the broader context of what was happening in Slovenia/Yugoslavia at that time. Then as in now he certainly seems anti-AES, so I can understand if what arguments he made and how were influenced by where and when he was.

[@randomserb761]

@@GayTier1Operator He was a rightist, plain and simple. He helped destroy my homeland. Now he's a left-opportunist hiding behind revolutionary slogans like so many before him.

[@borisalarcon7504]

2:10 Yes we have. Libertarian communism as in Spain, 1936-1939, when workers socialized the land and the industry and produced more excedent than feudal landlords, private or state capitalism

[@caspermccormack4798]

Well said

[@mateokarlvonpavlovic8295]

@@caspermccormack4798 lol you are a communist.

[@lyricalmike7162]

You know absolutely nothing about the Second Spanish Republic, that regime of murderers and rapists who went out of their violently persecute their Church and mass rape holy sisters.

[@lohanjiebert]

Missing the historical context here. Yugoslavia ALREADY tried a syndicalist model, very different from the Soviet model which was common amongst all former Eastern Bloc states. Workers did have a right to assemble in their workplace and decide democratically about next turns independently of the state's executive orders, although this system came with it's economical disadvantages, which would be too long to cover for a YT comment, but it welcomed sluggish economical stagnation due to the way hierarchical systems established in these workplaces favoring their employees over efficiency, to keep it short. Fast forward from the Informburo period of the 50s to 1988: Yugoslavia is bankrupt. The very own nation that it's first leadership croned as a product of Brotherhood and Unity collapsed under it's own internal contradictions and societal questions that were never adressed. One may ask: Why didn't they just reform their already existing syndicalist ways? A-> They were forced to privatise en-masse, mostly due to the WHO in order to receive bailouts for their bankruptcy, on the other hand because of the diminishing trust of the public in the federal government. "Why trust the same guys that brought us our own (financial) doom?"

[@bobobobodoboli4905]

Oh wow. Zizek was a modern liberal 30 years ago

[@waitingformyman9317]

Still is

[@ianhomerpura8937]

The thing he said about "nationalization before privatization" is something to ponder about. China did the exact same thing, and now their state corporations are large enough to counter the bids by Western corporations for large public works projects around the world.

[@manuelmanzanero5057]

Just like Orbán.

[@tebanll]

This is amazing! Seeing him without tics and sniffing, and with a jacket! I have a question, how do you say "and so on and so on" in Slovenian?

[@nobodyreally11]

"In tako naprej in tako naprej." Or perhaps "In tako dalje in tako dalje."

[@susolkin]

14:59

[@travisbickle3835]

No sniffs, OMG no sniffs

[@frankmaitland1254]

Always suffering that post nasal drip

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

*Zizek before coke*

[@SloveneAnon]

Wished we got to see more Oman-Žižek interactions in this video, I wonder what the old farmer thought of him?

[@joeltupacmendoza5471]

Gran aporte! Thank you very much.

[@GoatMee]

Principles of professionalism taking over the principles of confidentiality ... we're still dreaming this dream today.

[@sebastian.2.311]

Thanks

[@salsaordie]

Lol “I have been punished”

[@mluna69]

Hvala lepa. Thank you. Pogrešam doma.

[@spitefulsteroid2553]

Pogrešaš dom

[@matjazmazi8405]

@@spitefulsteroid2553 ona pogreša doma - vprašanje pa KAJ !...

[@yj_chew]

the hairstyles though

[@rustyshackleford4801]

And so on and so on

[@GyitMulhaneski-GloriousYears]

This video undermined slightly by him looking very much like young Brian Blessed c.1974 in the thumbnail 😃

[@Thot_Patrol_USA]

he’s not touching his nose?

[@Omidion]

Aaaaaaa i thought something was off, didn't see it until i read this comment :D

[@BojanBojovic]

As always, Žižek was spot on with his evaluations.

[@sammyttheg412]

It's not that these types aren't good at diagnosing problems it's just their intended solutions are diaasterious

[@Johnconno]

That's Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

[@hectorhernandez7299]

Zizek the liberal

[@GayTier1Operator]

this is incredible

[@evermay1582]

in tako naprej in tako naprej

[@freeman8914]

A total cut with the intelligence services of the current state apparatus is still an urgent need of pretty much every sovereign nation today...

[@user-zo4wp4lg8i]

From 1989 to 1991 I was working through student's organization. In these 2 years I I earned enough money to buy a 60m2 flat in the center of Ljubljana (price was 48.000DM). Ante, you were my father. And then it all went to hell for YU.

[@jackiecooper9439]

After watching insane Indian MSM "debates" it is utterly mindblowing to watch this.

[@mareksicinski3726]

it is a bit becuase people are scared and unused to being heard or in a position where they can say what they want, as well as the tense and important historical nature of the situation

[@charb0rre]

It's weird seeing him without the sniffing, the my god and the so on

[@guilhermealvares7551]

Just to remind you, "liberal" in his sense and language in time wasn't liberal as much as you think, liberal had another meaning back then after the war.

[@randomserb761]

It didn't. It meant "capitalist-imperialist crony", just like it does today. Žižek fucked the people of Yugoslavia over.

[@manuelmanzanero5057]

"Liberal" is a word born in Spain in opposition to "absolutista" (the defenders of the Ancien régime), later extended to the parties that represented the political "left" in the bipartisan systems of most European countries during the 19th century (opposed to the "right" represented by conservative or reactionary parties). It is a word usurped by the English-speaking world, which identified it with the supporters of "free trade" (they call that "classical liberalism" or Manchester liberalism, when it is neither classical nor Manchester-born) in the face of state intervention, and today they basically use it to qualify (os disqualify) American Democrats.

[@leonardotavaresdardenne9955]

@@randomserb761 could you elaborate?

[@mareksicinski3726]

@@randomserb761 looks like we have a lover of Milosevic?

[@randomserb761]

@@mareksicinski3726 Excuse me? Stating that separatists like Žižek helped tear socialist Yugoslavia apart, an objective fact, means I'm a "lover of Milošević"? No idea how you got there.

[@fabo747]

žižek predicted ecological crisis but missed with balkan wars :(

[@AlexanderWatersEconomist]

So this is what a political talk show would look like in a socialist state. Absolutely wonderful to hear such a serious and thoughtful debate happening in the public square of state television. It is an unforgivable tragedy that this society was lost forever, thanks to the capitalist counter revolutionaries and those who stood by and watched as they turned the whole of Eastern Europe into a right wing basket case and a colony for Franco-German capital. Whatever the shortcomings and mistakes made under socialism the society that replaced it is inferior in every respect except consumerist escapism. Instead of a socialist society of real egalitarianism and democratic participation as shown in this debate you have the freedom to become morbidly obese from all the fast food franchises and the freedom to fill your soul with junk American entertainment, the freedom to die from overwork at 50 making profits for some billionaire oligarch. I know which one I would have chosen.

[@degla232]

ye the previous debates were held on Barren island(Goli otok). LMAO

[@ivan6847]

if only zizek knew what would happen just a year later

[@anneallison6402]

what happened?

[@ganglandsublimity]

@@anneallison6402 10 day war i believe

[@Pedro14ceara]

@@anneallison6402 the fall of the Soviet Union

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@anneallison6402 the secession of Slovenia fron Yugoslavia, sparking off the chain of events that will lead to the Yugoslav Wars of Independence and the death of hundreds of thousands of people.

[@sh0werp0wer]

Now I want to know what the hell went down at Jewish schools in Slovenia, lol.

[@lukalisjak2106]

That guy was by far the oldest, he was already 70 at the time: "it's like a Jewish school" must have been an idiom in pre-1945 Slovenia, I've never heard it before. It seems to mean sth like "everyone's talking over one another" or "past one another" -- he was bitching about the format of the discussion before getting to the point.

[@Xavyer13]

Qué lindo debate

[@dariusnikbin1695]

"He has the greatest IQ amongst us, I am sure of that..." kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHjJf5h_h7Zma5I (15:04) The respectful bespectacled one is a good judge of Zizek's character... DCN

[@elenakusevska6266]

My god, the level of nationalism in the early 90s was... disgraceful. Even slavoj zizek's mind was poisoned, to use a literal translation. It was like this in Macedonia too. I don't think a purge happened in any of the countries that broke out of yugoslavia. It was just a restructuring with the same players in place, plus a few crazy nationalists. People that control the higher structures of power in society are not that easy to get rid of because they have a lot of personal capital (social, cultural, political...)

[@draskog1204]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@frankhong6313]

The smartest guy in Slovenia

[@matjazmazi8405]

he he ...

[@michelesantolini4342]

They are all polite and they all make some sense even the most opposite proposal, maybe that's why Slovenia made so much progress since then

[@DzorDzi83]

Different times, back then politics was more powerful than economics..., TV format was different, almost boring compared to modern day spectacle shouting and primitivism. Even other interlocutors were sort of educated elite. Others were for example Matevž Krivic, who is even now human wrights attorney, Dr. Dušan Plut who was prominent back then and helped formed the green component modern The Left party in today Slovene parliament. They guy with a strong black beard was dr Cirili Zlobec a poet. Some of them went completly to the right ,Jordan Peterson like, for example good professor Zupančič, Rupel has always been an idiot, but back then he was at least restrained and had to obey conventions of decency. Now he is a supporter of Janez Janša. Even Janez Janša was more of a liberal back then now he is far right. In short as Varoufakis has said, nowday politicians are only idiots, because iditots are all that remain. Smart people don't want trouble and work somwhere else. Slovenia was different, because our communists have reorientated themselves as progressive and communist opposition was nationalistic. Whereas in other socilaist federative republics, communists found new form of survival - inationalism.

[@psychopathmedia]

@@DzorDzi83 I prefer the "boring" days of TV. Even back when I actually watched TV, I'd stick mostly to stuff like CSPAN which is the actual news (meetings/debates similar to the ones here) rather than the sensationalism of major news networks

[@domenicgalata1470]

I have only admittedly heard Zizek speak, and not had a chance to read any of the mountain of books he has written. I love that his near rabid passion for the topics he discusses comes through in both English and Slovenian. And if anyone can recommend a place to start to dig in to the written work of Dr. Zizek, I would greatly appreciate it ( I’ve especially enjoyed his talks on the media/ arts Sphere for a starting point for recommendations) Thanks in advance.

[@nightoftheworld]

_The Parallax View_ or _The Sublime Object of Ideology_ are top choices

[@domenicgalata1470]

@night of the world Thank you for those recommendations.

[@nightoftheworld]

@@domenicgalata1470 yes, funny that you capitalized Sphere. Makes me think of his books even more..

[@GayTier1Operator]

many people will say sublime object but it is tough to get through. like a thief in broad daylight is very good

[@nightoftheworld]

Chronology of Z’s books-the summaries in here might help you narrow down the list: www.lacan.com/zizekchro2.htm

[@T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G.]

before cia kgb forced him to adopt tics and waste the time of intelligentsia

[@tilenHD]

what does kgb have to do with slovenia? you american or something not everything slavic is russia

[@T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G.]

@@tilenHD you don't have to be russian to work for kgb

[@herr_crustovsky]

why would someone be forced to adopt tics? How does that help anyone?

[@mexicotaco0913]

@@herr_crustovsky this is clearly a joke

[@sereysothe.a]

can any slovene present in that time expand on the context of this election? i know a bit about the dissolution of yugoslavia but for example what were the public perceptions of zizek and the other candidates?

[@leblubblab]

The overall theme was basically: How much new do we want and how much old should we retain? On the left, you had people who believed in liberal socialism and wanted to re-shape the old, so to say, while on the right, you had people who wanted European democracy and wanted to throw away the old. It all boils down to socialism vs. capitalism in the end. Regarding the elections: The former Communist Party came in first, followed by the former Socialist Youth Organization for which Žižek was speaking. Together with the former Socialist Worker's Association they were seen as political/ideological successors to Yugoslavia, and had the backing of people who favoured political continuity and had mad respect for socialist veterans like Ciril Ribičič (constitutional judge) and Milan Kučan (career party man). They & co. liberalized the old communist regime and paved the way to independence by standing up to Belgrade (an economically crumbling Yugoslavia was practically ruled by Serbia at that point, and dangerous nationalisms were brewing in the south). Kučan even went on to win our first presidential elections, which was a huge nod to our socialist past. But these former communists/socialist failed to win the parliamentary elections... DEMOS (Democratic Opposition of Slovenia) was a group of newly created political parties that came in 3rd - 7th in the polls and gathered enough popular support to form a coalition and take the reigns in parliament. They were all part of the 'Slovene Spring' - the political pluralization and democratization of our republic, and represented every aspect of our society that communism held back: religious people and farmers, students and younger generations in general, free thinkers and political dissidents, journalists and artists i.e. These gathered behind people like Jože Pučnik, Ivan Oman and ultimately, Janez Janša, who was one of the four journalists/whistle-blowers whom the Yugoslav army (again, practically led by Serbia) imprisoned, and by doing so, sparked widespread protests that ultimately led to Slovenia declaring independence. These people organized the defence of our country and led the war effort against Yugoslavia (Serbia) in the 10 day war. They were the fiercest proponents of independence and a European-styled democracy. Perhaps by coincidence, Žižek himself is actually a good representation of our society in 1990-1991. He fought for the democratization and liberalization of Yugoslavia and for human rights and freedoms, but in his heart he remained true to the ideals of communism (a strong social state, the emancipation of the working classes, etc.). He was well liked by the people on account of his fiery and controversial rhetoric, but was still 'only' a philosopher and an underdog in the game of politics. The people's champions were veteran politicians whom they knew and trusted. A misplaced trust, if you ask me... 30 years later, this left-right division is still plaguing our country. The old guard still holds sway in various sectors of the economy, especially construction, in the judiciary and the labour syndicates, national sports organizations and the state owned media. Ljubljana, the capital of our centralized state, is their fortress. And on the other side of the abyss you'll find right-wing parties born out of DEMOS who are waging an eternal war against the political left and are just as bad. Our country is little more than a source of plunder for both of them. We were supposed to be the Switzerland of the Balkans, but now we're more like that shithole on the edge of the EU. 25/06/2021, Statehood Day. Happy 30th birthday to Slovenia!

[@casperchristiansen2458]

@@leblubblab Just so I'm not outside of context, when you say "the old guard", are you referring to the current ruling coalition led by Janša or to something else? I like learning about foreign affairs and I want to make sure I'm not getting anything incorrect.

[@peterjerman7549]

@@casperchristiansen2458 He's referring to the post-communist establishment born out of nomenklatura.

[@matthorvat3675]

THANK YOOOU Also would it be possible for the full debate??

[@nobodyreally11]

Hi. Maybe I will try to translate the whole debate, but not soon. I don't think it is that interesting to the people of the world. I have some other videos of Zizek on the shelf that need subtitles first.

[@matthorvat3675]

@@nobodyreally11 well im slovenian, and i just wanna see zizek talk slovenian tbh hahah

[@nobodyreally11]

@@matthorvat3675 Oh ok, then you can try here: www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/30-let/koscki-sestavljanke/prve-demokraticne-in-najobseznejse-volitve-v-30-letih-parlamentarizma/519783 Second video from the top.

[@matthorvat3675]

@@nobodyreally11 hvala ti❤️❤️

[@briguy4781]

Wearing a shirt and jacket no less!

[@MrVictorPhineas]

Is the Janša he mentions around 13:00, the current prime minister?

[@Debre.]

I found this on Janez Janša's Wikipedia page: "The philosopher Slavoj Žižek, who at the time also worked as a columnist for Mladina, suggested that Janša was arrested because of his critical articles on the Yugoslav Army, and because the army wanted to prevent his election as president of the League of the Socialist Youth of Slovenia.[56] As a consequence of his arrest, he could not run for the position; nevertheless, the leadership of the organization decided to carry on with the elections despite Janša's arrest. In June 1988, Jožef Školč was elected as president of the League instead of Janša.[45]" In short, it seems certain that he was referring to the current PM, yes.

[@lukalisjak2106]

Yes :)

[@alejandrogutierrezbrigada2059]

Cuando Zizek usaba saco y camisa

[@ideologycrisis]

imagine what zizek was thinking when he sat around with a bunch of politicians who barely calculated their wages and rents correctly.

[@dima9171]

He uses the same intonation.

[@glassgraves]

Damn 30 seconds in and he hasn’t touched his nose.

[@miromiric5901]

And Zizek as always, dominatig discussion...:)))

[@donov25]

Well the video is edited to only feature the parts he's talking