We are all afraid that new dangers pose a threat to our hard-won freedoms so what deserves
attention is precisely the notion of freedom. The concept of freedom is deceptively simple.
We think we understand it but the moment we try and define it we encounter contradictions. In
this new philosophical exploration Slavoj Zizek argues that the experience of true radical
freedom is transient and fragile. Countering the idea of libertarian individualism Zizek draws
on philosophers Hegel Kierkegaard and Heidegger as well as the work of Kandinsky and Agatha
Christie to examine the many facets of freedom and what we can learn from each of them. Today
with the latest advances in digital control our social activity can be controlled and
regulated to such a degree that the liberal notion of a free individual becomes obsolete and
even meaningless. How will we be obliged to reinvent (or limit) the contours of our freedom?
Tracing its connection to everything from capitalism and war to the state and environmental
breakdown Zizek takes us on an illuminating and entertaining journey that shows how a deeper
understanding of freedom can offer hope in dark times.
