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RSA ANIMATE: First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

Royal Society of Arts · 1.9M views · 2010-07-28 · 10:57

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Overview

An RSA Animate adaptation of a Slavoj Zizek talk on charitable giving and ethical consumerism. It argues that buying products that bundle a charity donation can sustain the system that causes the problems.

On Hacker News

Frequently linked in threads on philanthropy, ethical consumption and billionaire giving as a short, approachable critique of charity.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2011–2022

Topics

Philosophy & ethicsMicroeconomics & behavioral economicsSocial issues & culture
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slavoj zizekconsumerismphilanthropycultural capitalismrsa animate

What people said

mmanfrin · 2015-04 · Strong recommendation

This charity-as-part-of-consumerism is the topic of Zizek's talk First as Tragedy, Then as Farce ; well worth a watch (10 minutes) and approachable by those without philosophical backgrounds: [VIDEO]

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rsj_hn · 2022-12 · Recommendation

Slavoj Zizek discusses this idea of "ethical consumerism" in a beautifully illustrated talk here: [VIDEO] Needless to say, the idea that you are "supporting" something by voluntary exchange (how do you know that they aren't supporting you ?) is a relatively recent development, and is of course completely unworkable. It's just another form of retail therapy.

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sithadmin · 2018-10 · Recommendation

>I know many people who buy into these 'good feelings' products. Good, quick talk by Zizek on this phenomenon: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Royal Society of Arts, played through YouTube.

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