The New Materialism: Althusser

Alain Badiou and Slavoj Zizek have become two of the dominant voices in contemporary philosophy and critical theory. In this book, Geoff Pfeifer offers an in-depth look at their respective views. Using Louis Althussers materialism as a starting point-which, as Pfeifer shows, was built partially as a response to the Marxism of the Parti Communiste Français and partially in dialogue with other philosophical movements and intellectual currents of its times-the book looks at the differing ways in which both Badious and Zizeks work attempt to respond to issues that arise within the Althusserian edifice. Pfeifer argues here that, ultimately, Zizeks materialism succeeds in responding to these issues in ways that Badious does not. In building this argument, Pfeifer engages not only with the work of Althusser, Badiou, and Zizek and their intellectual backgrounds, but also with much of the contemporary scholarship surrounding these thinkers. As such, Pfeifers book is an important addition to the ongoing debates within contemporary critical theory.