Image from Open Democracy

In an interview published yesterday the famous philosopher, and Left Forum keynote speaker, Slavoj Zizek seriously (and not merely ironically, as he has done before) declared that if he was voting in the American elections he would vote for Trump. The victory of Trump, despite Trump being absolutely “disgusting”, according to Zizek would trigger a “big awakening”. It would cause a fundamental shock to the American political system and force realignments, the emergence of new political phenomenon.

His statement comes after a history of right-wing statements around the refugee crisis in Europe. Few American voters are likely to be swayed by a Slovenian philosopher known mostly among the far left. Yet this statement by Zizek must be repudiated by the left and challenged.

It`s motivated by a catastrophist, accelerationist attitude. Trump is a loaded, unknown package for the ruling class which is precisely what has made Markets and most sections of the US ruling elite fear him. Tossing him into the White House and letting him explode will hopefully rearrange the pieces in a terrain more favorable for the left.

Yet while we can do little to predict how the pieces will fall, we know that to intervene in a crisis the left must be organized, prepared and with support among the working class and oppressed. We can not in any way endorse the vile racism and sexism which divides us and weakens our struggle. We must always stand on the side of the oppressed, and we must be independent, fighting for a real left exit to the crisis. Even if Trump causes a catastrophe for the ruling class, it will also be a catastrophe for us if we have not laid the foundations for our own intervention. Sacrificing our independence to capitalist parties and even worse, endorsing their most racist wing, will do nothing to prepare us for the struggles or crisis ahead.