The Figure of Adorno in the Utopian Politics of Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek

Ed Graham

The Figure of Adorno in the Utopian Politics of Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek

Ed Graham

Abstract

Incorporating a diverse and eclectic range of theory and cultural forms, both Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek have persistently foregrounded Marxist questions of ideology, totality and utopia at points where they seem unfashionable and outmoded. As a phrase attributable to both thinkers, Jameson and Žižek share a commitment to writing in and against a time where it has become “easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Broadly speaking, in terms of a shared politics, both advocate seeing the system whole and keeping open the possibility of an “outside” to capitalism... There are, however, some significant differences between Jameson and Žižek that should not be overlooked.

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