Let's call the whole thing off

You say either and I say either,
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either Neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off.

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto,
Let's call the whole thing off

A review by Joshua Dorman of Slavoj Žižek's Living in the End Times claims that Žižek’s new book -

is sure to be an immediate success among the Žižekian types. It is classic Žižek: profound philosophical erudition, cerebral cultural analysis, and sardonic and (often) salacious humor. In Living in the End Times, Žižek argues that the global capitalist system is approaching an apocalyptic zero-point. For the first time, we have a serious philosophical analysis of the Sitz im Leben of the current global capitalistic system, its coming demise, and an analysis of (what Žižek calls) its "four riders of the apocalypse" — the ecological crisis, the biogenetic revolution, imbalances within the system itself (problems with intellectual property; forthcoming struggles over raw materials, food and water), and the explosive growth of social divisions – in light of Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

There is no denying that Žižek is the sexy philosopher in contemporary philosophy. He provides stunning socio-cultural analysis, while using movies, television shows, etc., to illustrate his deeply complex philosophical analyses. As someone who leans heavily on the philosophical and theological traditions, I must say that I am drawn toward (nearly) anyone who can work in the fields of Hegel, Marx, and Lacan, while also drawing from the wells of Tertullian, Augustine, Aquinas, John Howard Yoder, Rowan Williams, et al.

I'm underwhelmed by contemporary chiliasm and the sort of nonsense peddled by World Futures guru Ervin Laszlo (his Mayan Calendar 2012 endism is highlighted here and here) or the diarrhetic Mr Žižek. We can indeed deny Žižek's sexiness and question his "stunning socio-cultural analysis" or "deeply complex philosophical analyses", which - like writing from Laszlo and his followers - are often full of non sequiturs and utter absurdities that impress people with a taste for the portentious but underwhelm readers who have actually looked at the works being cited.

You say 'potato' and I - when it comes to nonsense such as claims that reincarnation, precognition and communication with the dead via valve radios are hard science - say 'barking dingbat'.