Slavoj Žižek: "Freedom: A Disease Without Cure" 

On January 15th, the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek joined Merion West editor-in-chief Erich J. Prince to discuss the former's latest book Freedom: A Disease Without Cure, which was released with Bloomsbury Academic in October of last year. Having earned doctorates at both the University of Ljubljana and the University of Paris VIII, Professor Žižek has since been affiliated with various universities, including the University of London, New York University, and his alma mater, the University of Ljubljana. He has published dozens of books and, through his frequent media appearances, has become perhaps the world's most recognizable living philosopher. Professor Žižek is an expert, in particular, on the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Jacques Lacan and is a contributing editor at Compact. In their wide-ranging conversation, Professor Žižek and Mr. Prince discuss key themes from Freedom; why the book has, in Professor Žižek's words, left some readers "unsatisfied"; the 1991 Michael Tolkin film The Rapture; contemporary American politics, including former President Donald Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders; virtual reality; the ongoing conflict in the Middle East; and policies such as universal basic income.