A while back (2009 or 2010) my then boyfriend showed me a video in which Slavoj Žižek was explaining, in his famously slushy-scattered demeanor, the different ways that capitalism sustains itself and how it‘s indebted even (or especially) in those places that seem to support system critical views. I remember distinctly being both amused by Žižek‘s line of arguments, and startled at the same time. Because it was one of the first times I realized the system’s sheer and utter subliminal power and, thus, the invincibility of something that feels so damaging, so antagonistic to all I ever believed desirable about a meaningful human life on earth.
Here, capitalism seemed so similar to trauma in its quality to uphold—within oneself as well as collectively—the belief that, once it’s installed, there is no world without it.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to to fear with grace to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.