The dates are by now well-rehearsed. 31 December: China informs the World Health Organisation that cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause have been detected in Wuhan. 20 January: human-to-human transmission is confirmed. 24 January: scientists publish an article in the Lancet noting the coronavirus’s “pandemic potential”. 9 March: Italy imposes a national quarantine and enters lockdown. To this list of key moments, we can now add 24 March: Slavoj Žižek’s publisher announces that he has written a book about coronavirus.
That’s roughly 100 days between the outbreak of Covid-19 and Žižek firing up the presses. It’s an impressive feat, and for a prolific philosopher-provocateur known for his use of humour, feels like it was designed to be the punchline to a gag: what reproduces itself more quickly, the coronavirus or the commentary?
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