Letters from Tomis

Book Review

Žižek, Slavoj. The Sublime Object of Ideology. London: Verso, 1989. ISBN: 9780860919711.

Introduction

Slavoj Žižek’s The Sublime Object of Ideology (1989) is a landmark text that inaugurates a unique synthesis of Lacanian psychoanalysis, German idealism (especially Hegel), and Marxist theory. Published at the tail end of the Cold War and amid a growing crisis within Western Marxism, Žižek’s book aims not merely to resuscitate Marxist critique, but to re-found it on new psychoanalytic terrain. It is both a polemical intervention and a foundational theoretical contribution, marking Žižek’s emergence as a formidable intellectual figure on the global stage.

Structure and Themes

The book is organized into eleven chapters, each building toward Žižek’s core argument: that ideology cannot be properly theorized without the conceptual tools of Lacanian psychoanalysis—particularly the triad of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real. Rather than treating ideology as simply a matter of “false consciousness” or mystification, Žižek insists it is a profoundly structural phenomenon—one that shapes the subject at the level of desire and enjoyment (jouissance).

At the heart of his argument is the titular concept of the sublime object, which Žižek adapts from Kant and Lacan. This object functions simultaneously as a void in the symbolic order and as the fantasmatic support of ideology: that which appears to give coherence to the ideological edifice while masking its fundamental lack. Through this lens, Žižek revisits classic Marxist concerns—commodity fetishism, class struggle, and false consciousness—but reframes them as problems of subjectivation and the unconscious.

Key Contributions

1. Rehabilitation of Ideology Critique:

At a time when the concept of ideology had become suspect in many theoretical circles (due to poststructuralist and Foucauldian critiques), Žižek reinvigorates it by linking it to the psychoanalytic mechanisms of repression, disavowal, and fantasy. The famous formula—they know very well what they are doing, and yet they do it—exemplifies his claim that ideology today functions less through illusion and more through cynical disavowal.

2. Psychoanalytic Marxism:

Žižek builds on the Lacanian notion of the split subject and applies it to political theory. In doing so, he critiques both economistic Marxism and post-Althusserian structuralism for ignoring the libidinal dimensions of social life. His approach does not seek to replace class analysis, but to deepen it by exploring how subjects are emotionally and unconsciously bound to ideological formations.

3. Critique of Postmodernism:

Without naming it explicitly as his target throughout, Žižek implicitly critiques the postmodern tendency to dissolve the political into a play of signifiers or a series of fragmented identities. For Žižek, the “death of the subject” in postmodern theory forecloses the possibility of genuine political transformation. He seeks to restore the notion of the subject—not as a Cartesian ego but as a split, antagonistic structure central to ideological reproduction.

4. Return to Hegel:

One of the book’s most important interventions is the revaluation of Hegel. Where much of twentieth-century Marxism viewed Hegel as either a proto-totalitarian or an idealist to be inverted (following Marx’s famous dictum), Žižek argues that Hegel’s dialectic is far more radical and “materialist” than most assume—particularly in its account of negativity and contradiction. This claim would become a cornerstone of Žižek’s later project of a “materialist theology.”

Methodology and Style

Žižek’s methodology is deliberately interdisciplinary, drawing on Lacan, Hegel, Kant, Marx, and contemporary cultural theory. His writing oscillates between dense theoretical exegesis and sudden cultural detours—analyzing Hitchcock films, jokes, and popular culture as allegories of ideological dynamics. This hybrid style is at once exhilarating and frustrating: while it breaks from academic conventions in favor of a more performative style of critique, it can at times obscure rather than clarify his argument.

Despite these stylistic excesses, Žižek’s method is rigorously dialectical. He does not simply describe ideological structures but attempts to stage their internal contradictions and symptomatic points. His use of examples—such as the ideological function of toilets in different Western societies—serves to illuminate abstract theoretical points through concrete, often humorous illustrations.

Critical Evaluation

Strengths:

• Innovative Synthesis: The most enduring achievement of The Sublime Object of Ideology lies in its theoretical audacity. By crossing Lacanian psychoanalysis with Marxist ideology critique, Žižek opens new pathways for understanding the persistence and affective grip of ideology in late capitalism.

• Timely Intervention: Published in a moment of theoretical exhaustion on the Left, Žižek’s work reintroduced a radical and totalizing form of critique at a time when many intellectuals had abandoned such ambitions.

• Productive Provocation: The text provokes fruitful disagreement and invites rethinking of core theoretical assumptions in both Marxist and psychoanalytic traditions.

Limitations:

• Opaque Terminology: For readers not well-versed in Lacanian theory or Hegelian dialectics, the book can be forbiddingly dense. Žižek rarely pauses to explicate core psychoanalytic terms, making the work inaccessible to general readers or newcomers to theory.

• Underdetermined Political Praxis: While Žižek provides a compelling diagnosis of ideology’s functioning, the book is less clear on what this means for political action. His later work would begin to address this gap, but here the emphasis remains largely at the level of theory and critique.

• Elision of Race and Gender: Although Žižek briefly references issues of gender and sexuality, The Sublime Object of Ideology largely avoids sustained engagement with race, colonialism, and feminist critique—areas that have since proven vital to contemporary ideological analysis.

Legacy and Influence

The Sublime Object of Ideology was instrumental in popularizing Lacanian theory in Anglophone political discourse. It also laid the groundwork for Žižek’s subsequent explorations of Christianity, Stalinism, populism, and cinema. More broadly, it helped catalyze a broader “return to ideology” in the 1990s and 2000s, influencing figures in critical theory, cultural studies, and radical politics.

Žižek’s revival of Hegel and insistence on universalism over postmodern fragmentation continue to shape contemporary debates around identity, capitalism, and revolutionary strategy. Even critics of Žižek often find themselves indebted to the questions he raises and the frameworks he opens up.

Conclusion

The Sublime Object of Ideology remains a vital work of political theory and philosophy. Its idiosyncratic blend of Lacan, Marx, and Hegel offers a powerful framework for thinking ideology not as illusion or error, but as a deeply affective and structural component of subjectivity under capitalism. Though its difficulty and eccentric style may alienate some readers, those who persevere will find themselves rewarded with one of the most original re-articulations of ideology theory in the post-Cold War era. As the global Left grapples with the failures of neoliberalism and the return of authoritarian populism, Žižek’s early work remains as urgent and provocative as ever.