For Slavoj Žižek, subjective and objective violence are not opposite forces but are inextricably linked, with objective violence forming the invisible, underlying context that generates visible subjective violence. He argues that focusing exclusively on subjective violence, as the media and liberal discourse tend to do, obscures the deeper, more pervasive forms of objective violence that sustain the "normal" state of things.

Subjective Violence

• Visible and Agent-Driven: This is the direct, spectacular violence carried out by an identifiable individual or group, such as criminal acts, terrorism, riots, or war.
• Perceived as a Disruption: Subjective violence is perceived as an irrational disruption of the "normal" peaceful social order.
• A "Lure": Žižek argues that the shocking nature of subjective violence acts as a "lure" that prevents people from reflecting on its underlying causes, leading to a "fake sense of urgency" for immediate action over critical thought. 

Objective Violence

Objective violence is the less visible, inherent violence of the system itself, which seeps into the background of everyday life. It has two main forms: 

• Systemic Violence: This refers to the "often catastrophic consequences of the smooth functioning of our economic and political systems". It is anonymous and has no single identifiable perpetrator, as it is the very structure of the system (e.g., global poverty, exploitation inherent in frictionless capitalism, structural racism) that causes harm.
• Symbolic Violence: This form of violence is embedded in language and other symbolic systems, shaping how social reality is understood and excluding certain groups or perspectives. 

The Relationship

• Cause and Symptom: Subjective violence is a symptom or outburst caused by the underlying pressures of objective (systemic and symbolic) violence. The former cannot be understood without the latter.
• Misrecognition: Liberal discourse and the media misrecognize this relationship by treating subjective violence as an isolated problem, ignoring how the "peaceful" order they seek to defend is itself sustained by objective violence.
• The Brechtian Question: Žižek uses a paraphrased quote from Bertolt Brecht to illustrate this point: "What is the robbery of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?". This highlights the difference between an individual act that violates the law (subjective violence) and the "robbery" that takes place within the confines of the law through systemic exploitation (objective violence). 

Ultimately, for Žižek, the true task is to step back from the spectacle of subjective violence and engage in the critical thinking necessary to understand and challenge the invisible objective violence that enables it. 

Gemini