Q&A: Peterson vs. Žižek – A Debate That Isn’t Really a Debate About Marxism and Postmodernism
Peterson vs. Žižek – A Debate That Isn’t Really a Debate About Marxism and Postmodernism
Question
I wanted to direct the Rabbi to a short segment from the much-publicized debate between Jordan Peterson (I saw that the Rabbi was referred to him in the past) and Slavoj Žižek. In this segment, Žižek raises the fact that Peterson often calls extreme politically correct activists “neo-Marxist postmodernists,” and asks him: where exactly are the Marxists in this politically correct crowd?
https://youtu.be/oDOSOQLLO-U
Parts of the internet where many of Žižek’s admirers hang out were in an uproar over this segment. They say that Žižek won the debate here. It seems to me that the issue under discussion—whether there is or is not a connection between Marxism and postmodernism, despite the obvious contradictions—is one of the Rabbi’s areas of interest. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Thank you very much,
Shai Landsman
Answer
The connection is close. See columns 178–184, especially the earlier ones.
Also see the following interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONYBq0GS_Ho&fbclid=IwAR16IzQNxQiZDLcFkHbZTDTkzTm0kbULInZ62K1SI57vz7herY7UKscjHDY