A.C. Grayling galaxial bore and philosopher has a pop at cultural critics in the shape of wild person of the left Slavoj Zizek. Who are the happiest people on earth? Grayling asks, painters the rich, the recluse and critics " the cultural critics, as they are called, the self-selected radical quasi-philosophers (usually trained as sociologists or literary theorists) who enjoy the unaccountable, responsibility-free luxury of being able to criticise everything and everyone, to sneer and accuse, to blame and complain, to analyse, anatomise, judge and condemn, without fear of being asked to do better themselves." So there.
Grayling's target is Zizek's latest book 'Violence' in which the author essentially argues that the capitalist system is inherently violent (uncontroversial enough) but that the appropriate response to it is ... inaction a fairly controversail idea and one with which Grayling takes exception to. Grayling does quote the famous dictum on Marx's tomb against this recipe for inactivity which seems conclusive enough, but given the 'action' of the unions (especially in France) and the Labour party in Britain - maybe a period of inaction from them would be helpful.
It's true that the retort given by the right, "Well what you going to do about it." is infuriating and "Nothing." would be a disarming reply but Zizek'll have to do better than this. In any case, why didn't he follow his own maxim and not bother with his book. Though, perhaps he did and this was a different one.
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