Slavoj Zizek’s most recent book Pandemic should definitely be read by anyone who feels exhausted by the current state of affairs and is trying to find an intellectual solace. With a psychedelic cover, the book is gripping, and urging and challenging the reader at the same time. This review is a work in progress and will develop with my further reading of Zizek. So please be ready for more readings on the writer.
The first chapter is aptly named ‘We are all in the same boast’, as Zizek is implying that all of us humankind are equally getting affected by this pandemic, without having any special status attached to any of us. The chapter starts by showing distrust in a country similar to China, where the state’s official ideology is supposed to be followed by all its citizens, and deters any kind of free speech. The killing of doctor and the whistle-blower Li Wenliang is also linked to this militant approach of the government. This could have been avoided had things been a little different.
A healthy society should have more than one voice, and it has been reiterated by this pandemic. He further points out that a strong State is required during the time of a pandemic, but only as strong so as to be able to administer orders like a large-scale quarantine. But too much control over rumours and news itself leads to distrust. However, in times of so much fake news on digital platforms and reliable news channels, it is difficult to trust and believe what is shown to us.
One can only have a little extra trust and sense of solidarity among each other, which I think is very important for India to take a lesson from. We need less of communalism and more solidarity in times of this crisis. Zizek makes a strong point in going to a new normal, where the usual market mechanisms will have to change and the government will have to come forward. I think he is pointing towards a welfare kind of a State in the face of this humanitarian crises.