Whilst listening to yesterdays Radio 4 program, Thinking Allowed, presenter Laurie Taylor talked to philosopher Slavoj Žižek about his book Violence.

The premise of his book is that the subjective violence we see – violence with a clear identifiable agent – is only the tip of an iceberg made up of “systemic” violence, which is essentially the catastrophic consequence of the smooth functioning of our economic and political systems.

Speculators and CEO’s are completely abstract from the effects of their actions, which sweep through the world like an economic tsunami, forcing workers from their jobs into poverty.

Žižek’s most startling assertion is that the most violent thing we can do is doing nothing.

It’s time we considered how we live our lives and how we can improve not by charitable donation, which only assuages our consciences, now is the time for action against capitalisms senselessness.