num_pages: 400
description: Contemporary life is defined by excess. There must always be more there is never enough. We need a surplus to what we need to be able to truly enjoy what we have. Slavoj iek's guide to surplus (and why it's enjoyable) begins by arguing that what is surplus to our needs is by its very nature unsubstantial and unnecessary. But perversely without this surplus we wouldn't be able to enjoy what is substantial and necessary. Indeed without the surplus we wouldn't be able to identify what was the perfect amount.Is there any escape from the vicious cycle of surplus enjoyment or are we forever doomed to simply want more? Engaging with everything from The Joker film to pop songs and Thomas Aquinas to the history of pandemics iek argues that recognising the society of enjoyment we live in for what it is can provide an explanation for the political impasses in which we find ourselves today. And if we begin even a little bit to recognise that the nuggets of 'enjoyment' we find in excess are as flimsy and futile might we find a way out?
language: English
title: Surplus-Enjoyment: A Guide For The Non-Perplexed
publisher: Bloomsbury Academic