Slavoj Žižek - What the hell is Laibach all about? lyrics

The big question that everyone is asking herself or himself, à propos of Laibach of course, is: Are they taking themselves serious or is it meant in an ironic way? Well, I think, of course, this is the wrong alternative. Because the automatic a**umption of this question is that if your attitude towards a certain social system/system of social values/et cetera is ironic, then you are subversive. If you take it serious you are a conformist, et cetera. I think that the whole point, the basic underlying premiss of Laibachs strategy is that (not only for Slovenia, but, lets say, generally for so called „late capitalism“) the system itself has at its inherent condition of functioning that its own ideology must not be taken seriously. In other words: Cynicism as today's prevailing mode of ideology means that it is the positive condition of the functioning of the system that its own ideology must, by its own subject, not be taken seriously. An ideal subject today is the one who has ironic distance towards the system, et cetera, et cetera. And the reverse of this is that the only way, I would even say, to be really subversive is not to develop critical potentials, ironic distance, but precisely to take the system more seriously then it takes itself seriously. And I think that this is maybe one of the keys to Laibachs strategy. For example for the American public lets recall a typical town at the south of United States in the twenties: We have the official white loyant order, rule, et cetera. On the other hand we have the nightly dark side of it: Klu Klux Klan, beatings of the blacks, et cetera. Now my point is here double. First: The transgression. There is nothing subversive in the transgression of the system, this nightly suspension of the rule of the law and order. Lynchings, beatings of the blacks are transgressions of the system, but transgressions which are an inherent party of the system. If you would ask an ideal subject of the united states of the small southern town: “Where is your real identity?" You can break the official public law, you will still be considered as one of us. If you don't solidarize with the Klu Klux Klan you are excluded. So in other words: Not only does every system include its own inherent transgression, but identifying with this transgression, which must remain unspoken/concealed, is the real form of conformism. And this transgression must remain hidden/unspoken. Of course this goes for the United States. Here in so called “real socialism” we had other forms of this hidden transgressions. And my point is that what Laibach is doing is precisely bringing to the light of the day this inherent transgression, which precisely in order for the system to reproduce itself must remain hidden.