Theology and Marxism in Eagleton and Žižek: A Conspiracy of Hope

249 Pages·2012·1.813 MB·English

by  Ola Sigurdson (auth.)

Theology and Marxism in Eagleton and Žižek

Theology and Marxism in
Eagleton and Žižek
A Conspiracy of Hope
Ola Sigurdson
THEOLOGY AND MARXISM IN EAGLETON AND ŽIŽEK
Copyright © Ola Sigurdson, 2012.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-34011-4
All rights reserved.
First published in 2012 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-34274-7 ISBN 978-1-137-10311-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137103116
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sigurdson, Ola, 1966–
Theology and Marxism in Eagleton and Žižek: a conspiracy of hope /
Ola Sigurdson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–230–34011–4
1. Philosophical theology. 2. Philosophy, Marxist. 3. Eagleton, Terry, 1943–
4. Žižek, Slavoj. I. Title.
BT40.S56 2012
261.2(cid:2)1—dc23 2011046766
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
D esign by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: May 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Johannes

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Ideology as Idolatry or Vice Versa 27
3 The Need for Faith 63
4 God, Evil, and Freedom 109
5 An Arrested Dialogue: Eagleton and Žižek 1 45
6 An Anatomy of Hope 163
Notes 205
Bibliography 231
I ndex of Names 2 41

Acknowledgments
This book has been written in an office with a view of Trinity Church
in Princeton, New Jersey, not far from the house where Thomas Mann
spent a productive couple of years between 1938 and 1941. It is thus
with some symbolic significance of place that I express my gratitude
to the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI) for their hospitality during
the academic year 2010–2011. Its director Willam Storrar, its asso-
ciate director Thomas J. Hastings, and its assistant Jeanie Mathew
have all been constantly at work during this year, creating the utmost
conditions for scholarly work in a multidisciplinary setting, and my
colleagues—and friends!—at CTI, Ann Astell, Brian Daley, and
Gijsbert van den Brink, have kept the spirit of discussion and debate
high. I thank them all.
I am grateful to The Birgit and Gad Rausing Foundation for
a start-up grant that made it possible to write the application to
the Swedish Research Council that eventually provided funding
for a three-year research project, the result of which is this book
and my sincere thanks. Many thanks also to the Swedish Fulbright
Commission for facilitating our entrance to the United States with a
visiting scholarship as well as the generous support of Riksbankens
Jubileumsfond that made the stay possible for our entire family.
The Wenner-Gren Foundation as well as Helge Ax:son Johnson’s
Foundation contributed kindly to the same aim.
My best ideas are usually, to begin with, the ideas of my friends, so
I thank Jayne Svenungsson, Stockholm, for suggesting that I should
read Žižek in the first place; although this project, it needs to be said,
is my own responsibility. Appreciated is also the helpful suggestions I
have received from the following friends and colleagues in earlier or
later stages of the process: Niels-Henrik Gregersen, Copenhagen, Eric
Gregory, Princeton, Jan-Olav Henriksen, Oslo, Werner G. Jeanrond,
Glasgow, Hans Joas, Berlin, Maria Johansen, Göteborg, Sven-Eric
Liedman, Göteborg, Charles T. Mathewes, Charlottesville, George