Srecko Horvat is a famous Croatian philosopher, writer and political activist. The German weekly Der Freitag called him “one of the most exciting voices of his generation”, and described him as “the fiery voice of resistance on the post-Yugoslav scene”. His articles have been published in respected media such as The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Der Spiegel, Jacobin, Newsweek and The New York Times.
When replying to the question related to the Vis-based School of Social Autonomy, Horvat says that the idea is to create space and time for both contemplation and practice, while the emphasis is on education and self-education, completely different from the prevailing model of education.
In its question, CdM recalls that Horvat held a nigh of solidarity with the people of Palestine. When asked Horvat to comment on the role of activists, media and the so-called international community which has allowed the genocide in Palestine, he explains that “Palestine is for our generation what Vietnam was for generations in the second half of the last century. It is a radical cut, a point from which there is no going back, either the genocide will be stopped and the war machine dismantled, or everything will be allowed after this point. The so-called ‘international order’, whatever that means, ‘legal institutions’, whatever that means, can’t or don’t want to rush into a new world war anyway”.
Horvat says he thinks “all the worst about the German Greens. I think Joschka Fischer once said that there was no such thing as a green foreign policy, only a German foreign policy. And the German Greens are the best followers of that idea, when you listen to the speeches of Annalene Baerbock it is hard to escape the impression that it is a war party. Of course, when you put the war party and Germany in the same sentence, it’s impossible to escape the specters of the past and possibly an even darker future. And the climate crisis is connected to that”.
Discussing the left and the way in which it deals with this, Horvat asks – What left? “Some support nuclear energy, some don’t, some support NATO, some don’t, some use Google, some don’t. On a number of issues, as well as on the issues of Ukraine or Palestine, there are cuts and splits. But I’m afraid it’s necessary. And necessary isn’t that bad. But as Walter Benjamin once said, every fascism is the result of a failed revolution. So, while this search and disunity of the left continues, fascism returns to the big door while capitalism privatizes and drains all remaining resources, literally sucking our future.”
“There is no room for hope, not because it is not human to hope, it is okay when someone hopes for something well. But hope is not enough to change the world or everyday relations of inequality and injustice, we need determination and organization, as well as the transformation of ourselves through the process of changing the world. If you really need a better term, Terry Eagleton invented it – ‘hope without optimism’”, Horvat concludes.
