Global interest in the "debate of the century" between best-selling philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Jordan Peterson

"What produces more happiness, Marxism or capitalism?". With this question as a trigger, intellectuals Slavoj Žižek and Jordan Peterson (56) they confronted their ideas yesterday in Toronto, Canada, in front of an audience of millions of fans on the Internet.

The event, sold by advertisers as "the debate of the century"was eagerly awaited by the academic world, the two personalities are recognized globally for their controversial views on topical issues and be kind of rockstars university cloisters.

Žižek, Slovene Lacanian sociologist and psychobadyst specialized in the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, he became known to the general public for his histrionic style, his badysis of films and series, and his defense to the letter of communism.

In Argentina, the author of The sublime object of ideology He is highly studied in the faculties of social sciences and humanities. This is part of the theoretical framework that links Marxism to psychobadysis and has come to debate at the national level with the theorist and the political scientist. Ernesto Laclau, defender of Latin American populism.

Similarly, Peterson was a forum with its views contrary to feminism, badual diversity and marxism. Author of the bestseller Twelve rules for life: an antidote to chaos, he is often badociated with the movement alt-right and with the right conservatism that is booming around the world. His YouTube channel has nearly 2 million subscribers and each video exceeds one million visits.

The call to debate is born from a curious "accident" on Twitter. In 2017, Peterson began a discussion with a "bot" – an "automated" user – who repeated sentences from Žižek. The Canadian did not know that the Slovenian was lacking accounts on social networks.

This fact reached media coverage and Peterson invited Žižek to a televised debate. Slavoj agreed and the event took place finely on Good Friday, in the Sony Center of Toronto

The stadium was full and could also be followed online via streaming. That was the lure of intellectual struggle that in the past the tickets were selling fast. Peterson even stated that the ticket resale price was higher than that of the Maple Leafs, the local hockey team participating in the NHL tournament.

Although there were expectations in "the debate of the century", the trade press gave a negative badessment of the meeting. "He had less of a heavyweight boxing match than a WWE Grand Slam (fight), said the British newspaper The Guardian.

From "local", Peterson started the discussion by attacking the "Communist Manifesto"Of Carlos Marx and Federico Engels, although he did not question the fact that capitalism generates inequalities, the professor defended this economic system by affirming that"the rich enrich themselves, but the poor also enrich themselves"Marx thought the proletariat was good and the bourgeoisie was bad," he said.

Žižek, who generally denounces climate-related ills and climate cataclysms, pointed out that the current global market is not really free. He also touched on several issues, including President Donald Trump, the refugee crisis or the displacement of humanity to the Apocalypse. On happiness, he said: "Humans are very creative to sabotage the quest for happiness"

Nathan Robinson, one of the editors of the political badysis magazine Current affairs, He was one of the specialists who covered the debate in a special way. He did not have any appreciative comments for the intellectuals. He said that Peterson is "a toxic quack"and Žižek"it's a humiliating shame for the left"And condemned:" The small connection between what is happening here and everything that is considered rational thinking is impressive. "

according to The Guardianthe debate has not stirred much emotion: "The two men know that they are explicitly setbacks, they have no answer to the real problems we face: the environment and the rise of China as a prosperous capitalist state without democracy. or the future, that's why they retire. "