A Review of the Research on the “New Communism” Wave of Thought The Rise and Development of “Neo-communism” Thought: Alain Badiou, Zizek And Other Theorists

Author Dr. Tan Guijuan
Source: New Horizons Issue 4, 2017

In the second half of 2008, a serious financial and economic crisis broke out in the capitalist world. The huge impact and influence of the crisis on the whole world reflected the crisis of the capitalist system itself, exposed the bankruptcy of neo-liberalism as an ideology, and triggered a mass movement against capitalism on an unprecedented scale. Under these circumstances, the economic crisis developed into a political crisis, and the population gradually alienated itself from the capitalist ideology. At the same time, the population was programmed to be excluded from economic activities and political participation, and the sense of resistance, revolt and liberation increased.

The return of history has led to a new wave of interest in radical thought and politics, but the question is, where does the mass struggle against capitalism go? This calls for the search for new forms of society as an alternative to capitalism. Against this background, the idea of “communism” with its own great potential and attraction re-energized the enthusiasm of the left-wing intellectuals. In this context, the left-wing radical intellectuals held many gatherings to continuously discuss the concept of “communism”. In 2008 one of the most influential radical left-wing intellectuals of our time, the French philosopher Alain Badiou, published his book The Communist Hypothesis, which attempts to bring the political focus of today back to the subject of communism and declares that “the word ‘communism’ can and must regain its positive value “. [1]

This has led to extensive debate in Western theoretical circles. In response to this event, at the initiative of Zizek, in March 2009, the leading political philosophers of the Western left, represented by Badiou, Zizek, Michael Hardt of Duke University, the Italian Marxist Tony Negri, the Italian philosopher Garni Vattimo, the University of Bologna professor and ex-Marxist Alessandro Russo, and the poetics professor Judith Barsow, who works for the Institute of European Studies, as well as Albert Toscano, a lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths College, London, the literary critic Terry Eagleton, and Cornell Professor Judith Balsor, along with Albert Toscano, lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths College, London, literary critic Terry Eagleton, and Bruno Postill of Cornell University, organized an international conference on the theme of “The Idea of Communism” for more than 1,000 people at the School of Humanities, Birkbeck College, London, England, An international conference on the theme “The Concept of Communism” was organized at the School of Humanities, Birkbeck College, London, England, with more than 1,000 participants.

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