{"product_id":"zero-point-9781350537842","title":"Zero Point","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe essays in \u003ci\u003eZero Point\u003c\/i\u003e ask how we distinguish defeat from disaster, and how we confront despair without collapsing into it - questions never more pertinent than the current moment in the wake of electoral victories for authoritarian populists and unceasing news of violent atrocities.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The 'zero-point' of the title is ground level, rock bottom, the place to which one retreats and where one regroups. Taken from Vladimir Lenin's 1922 piece 'On Ascending a High Mountain, in which Lenin considers the complexities of how one 'retreats' while keeping faith in the cause, the central simile of the climber offers a blueprint for resilience, flexibility, and the persistence of hope. This is the revolutionary as living out the Beckettian motto: 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better.' In Zizek's hands, this becomes the formula for confronting the antagonisms of existing world order. With a particular focus on the Middle East -the point at which all our tensions threaten to explode - Zizek argues nothing can be addressed meaningfully without such a confrontation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe consequences of eschewing apolitical acts of solidarity and choosing to attempt to speak truth to power are reckoned with in the second half of \u003ci\u003eZero Point. \u003c\/i\u003eIn a unique piece assembled chronologically from unpublished writings, Zizek wrestles with the fallout from his controversial speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023 - a speech which saw him interrupted, condemned and accused of anti-Semitism. The reader bears witness as Zizek processes the criticism, evolves his thinking and explores the full ethical, political and personal ramifications of the question: When is the right time to speak?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Academic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/20\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781350537842\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 160\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.79h x 5.08w x 1.00d","brand":"Slavoj Zizek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45038200881333,"sku":"9781350537842","price":11.01,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_e954e0f6-3f63-40d4-b93f-1bf8f1e80bd3.jpg?v=1737475054","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/zero-point-9781350537842","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}