Between these two ineffective alternatives, what is there? Zizek’s suggestion is characteristically dense and un-useful:

"What is needed instead is the act proper: a symbolic intervention capable of undermining the big Other (the hegemonic social link), of re-arranging its coordinates."

What can we salvage from this expression? Well, we can say that the “act proper” will not be co-optable, like the 2003 anti-war marches. Also, it won’t be sideline-able, like the Battle of Seattle style, or French Banlieu (even more disorganized and principle-less!) riots. It will have to “symbolically undermine” the current circulation of power and authority. What might count as this? What might be empirically effective at re-arranging the logical structure of power?

Zizek’s mistake here is the standard philosopher activist’s mistake – and one I am constantly guilty of. This idea that there is some perfect intervention, some lever in the machine which a very smart person can find, and then be able to make a big difference with a small amount of activity. This is probably just false – in fact, power is incredibly good at adapting to the different ways it is distorted. And actions which throw it into turmoil are not easy. That said, I can think of a few examples which might count as “undermining the big other” in Zizek’s sense.