Thinking Gaza: An Essay on Ferocity (Semiotext

by Franco "Bifo" Berardi

A call to imagine a less deadly future, written in the shadow of genocide and “ferocious optimism.”

After Gaza, it is time to recognize that the attempt to humanize history has failed, and that there will not be a second try. It is time to recognize that the experiment called “civilization” has failed… The abyss is wide open and we cannot help but see it. We must gaze into the abyss, we must gauge the breadth and depth of the abyss. We must draw a map of the abyss, while precipitously falling into it.

“Thinking Gaza” means recognizing the collapse of universal reason and democracy, the humanistic values that were the famed—and fragile—promise of modernity. But it also means searching for ways to escape the grim future awaiting those born in this disenchanted this century that promises to be the last, in which thought has lost all political power and the survival instinct struggles to withstand the ferocity of techno-military extermination machines. To the generation born in the twilight of Western civilization, we owe this last act of thinking, so as to imagine the desertion of our barbaric present, along pathways that have yet to be illuminated.

The latest essay by renowned Italian autonomist theorist Franco “Bifo” Berardi, Thinking Gaza is a reflection on the multivalent consequences—political, philosophical, civilizational—of the current genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. Bearing sober witness to the conditions on the ground in the Occupied Territories, while tracking the “ferocious optimism” that has replaced Enlightenment ideals, this book is addressed not only to activists but also to pacifist philosophers, historians, and theologians.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2026

About the author

Franco "Bifo" Berardi (born 2 November 1948 in Bologna, Italy) is an Italian Marxist theorist and activist in the autonomist tradition, whose work mainly focuses on the role of the media and information technology within post-industrial capitalism. Berardi has written over two dozen published books, as well as a more extensive number of essays and speeches.

Unlike orthodox Marxists, Berardi's autonomist theories draw on psychoanalysis, schizoanalysis and communication theory to show how subjectivity and desire are bound up with the functioning of the capitalism system, rather than portraying events such as the financial crisis of 2008 merely as an example of the inherently contradictory logic of capitalist accumulation. Thus, he argues against privileging labour in critique and says that "the solution to the economic difficulty of the situation cannot be solved with economic means: the solution is not economic." Human emotions and embodied communication becomes increasingly central to the production and consumption patterns that sustain capital flows in post-industrial society, and as such Berardi uses the concepts of "cognitariat" and "info labour" to analyze this psycho-social process. Among Berardi's other concerns are cultural representations and expectations about the future — from proto-Fascist Futurism to post-modern cyberpunk (1993). This represents a greater concern with ideas and cultural expectations than the determinist-materialist expression of a Marxism which is often confined to purely economic or systemic analysis.

(via Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Roan24 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a parody of leftist midwit takes on everything while also being a great example of western cultural chauvinism. Berardi disparages and dismisses Islam and Arab civilization (along with every other religion) in a matter I can only describe as Reddit atheist. All the book proved was how low the standards for theory are. The most egregious crime is Berardi using a tragedy to push his philistine antinatalism which takes up the last third of the book.
Conclusion.
GULAG.

[draxtor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly bleak, absolutely no hopeful thought offered, and yet very necessary because everything Berardi says here is utterly real.
No lie detected … unfortunately!
A lot of other books I have read recently, on Gaza, on Palestine, be they historical or focused on the current situation, they all (rightly so) point out the hypocrisy of the liberal establishment of the West, the obscene double standard of “my” country - Germany - in its implementation of the “Staatsräson”, every text I read suggests that we are facing the end of the rule based international order.
Berardi goes many steps further because for him the genocide in Gaza signals the end of civilisation. The end of humanity. For him it is pointless to continue.
And again: I feel him! Don’t get me wrong: I am not personally depressed at this moment in time. I was in my 20s so I know with certainty that now at age 56 I am doing ok. I get up in the morning, I enjoy working in the vegetable garden, I enjoy discovering new books, I am excited about my new musical project, I am happy my son is a total socialist and an all around good dude.
But then I hear children playing outside and my heart breaks because I know that children in Gaza are being murdered by technology that my taxes are funding.
And I go to the grocery store or take the train or wait at the busstop and overhear absolutely dumb and pointless conversations and I see people scrolling on their phones and laughing and there I feel as hopeless as Berardi expresses his state of mind in this book.
But who am I to judge my fellow sufferers from wanting to NOT look at the mayhem?
But then I must judge them, just like I judge myself!
I don't want to look for champagne in the fridge while the Titanic is heading straight towards the iceberg.
I appreciate that he focuses a lot on the soul and the psyche as he does in some of his other books I read of his.
Page 95: “For now it is not a question of political disintegration but rather of a psychic and cultural disintegration.”
Page 97: “My belief is that the Israeli soul has always been encumbered by the awareness of an original sin, of a founding colonialist violence. But the illusion of a peaceful future could exist and be passed down, perhaps, until October 7th. Today no one can believe it anymore, and what remains is not only the ferocity of Israel but also the deep weakness, the shame that cannot be removed forever from the conscience …”
He actually cites one of my favorite novels, “The Kindly Ones” by Jonathan Littel, which follows SS officers as they oversee incredible brutality on the Eastern Front, and Berardi draws the connection between the protagonist in the book who starts hallucinating among other things and young IDF soldiers committing unspeakable acts on a daily basis.
Again: the books ties the genocide in Gaza to the wider issue of global collapse of norms and culture and the rise of technology which is first and foremost used to control and exterminate.
He writes on page 124: “Israeli genocide is the symbol of contemporary hypercolonialist violence”.
He calls us (human beings) cognitively crippled, he calls us functionally unempathetic, and yes, this applies to all of us, desensitized by a livestreamed horrorshow!
“Humankind without humanity is the most horrific spectacle.” (Page 193)
I agree and it is easy for me to say that I also would follow Berardi’s advice for how to proceed in these endtimes, but then again, I am 56 years old, I already have an adult son.
What am I getting? The probably most controversial “take” of this great man who I admire so much!
But you have to read this book yourself to find out!
“Gaza is exposing the final truth of history: there is no way out from the infinite replication of the cycle of violence-revenge-violence.”
Yup: the exterminated have become the exterminators ….

[Narges Anzali]

jesus christ this was depressing. the first half is better than the second---his section on marxism is quite underdeveloped, and it seems as though he wants to eject depressive thoughts simply to eject them. quite disliked his characterization on why 'arab civilization' was doomed to fail.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very depressing, zero engagement with Palestinian thinkers, was ‘after’ added to the title? Does not appear on my cover

[Littlebob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was this written by the CIA? Conflates western enlightenment values with civilisation, which is a level of dumb eurocentrism which feels almost racist to read in 2026. The critique of enlightenment was already made by Adorno and Horckheimer after World War 2, this is just a less intelligent rehashing of this in the context of Gaza.

It's a quick read, so I would still recommend picking it up for free if you can. There are some interesting things in there amid the ocean of ramblings and more or less obvious claims. There's a beginning of a reflection on the new kind of technological total war we find ourselves in, which draws from Deleuze and Guattari, that would be worth pushing further.

His analysis of the actual genocide is lacking any real analysis of current Israeli society. For Berardi, the root cause is an unleashing of base instinct because of unhealed collective trauma from the holocaust. Maybe, but it completely ignores the cynical, "rational" reasons behind genocide, from the point of view of wanting to maintain your failing fascist ethno-state. The reason the genocide is being carried out, fundamentally, is that Israelis have realised they will never be able to contain the population they subjugated. The demographics are in the favour of the Palestinian population, and they will always resist occupation. Here, like in Auschwitz, genocide is not the opposite of reason. It's its twisted conclusion.

The anti natalist doomerism is wrong, but is at least provocative. The argument is basically that, with the end of marxist internationalism, which was the only humanitarian alternative to liberal enlightenment values, all that remains is nationalism and a return to the law of the strongest (what he calls "ferocity"). In doing so, he completely ignores the fact that the war in Gaza saw the first properly international leftist movement in decades. In Europe, supporting Israel has become politically unviable, something that a few years ago would be unthinkable. Dockers strikes forced Meloni and Macron to recognise the Palestinian state. These are not the end goal, but they are the proof that an international movement with the capacity of having influence exists.

Where I agree with him is that simple policy will not end the current paradigm. The whole book made me think of the Gramsci misquote you see everywhere online:
"The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters"
The difference is Gramsci never advocated defeatism. On the contrary, he called on us to join the war paradigm, to understand where we find ourselves in a war of position and when we are in a war of movement. Lula's victory in Brazil, by hijacking Meta's algorithm on WhatsApp and Instagram, shows the beginning of a way forward in terms of method.

So yeah, some interesting reflexions beginning from this book, but I wouldn't recommend buying something that openly advocates for defeatism in such a context. Even if there was no hope, which there is, It almost feels immoral to sell an idea like that for £15 in a leftist book shop.

[Neko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars due to some sections I didn’t enjoy/agree with, but I loved this. The content is depressing, but the end of humanity is a hopeful thought; to give the earth the ability to recover and prevent the constant evolution into cruelty that humans continues to repeat. On a personal scale I don’t believe the idea that memory is only cause for suffering, or that trauma can never be forgotten. But on a civilization wide scale, yes, I agree it is probably impossible to erase our collective and preconceived associations to violence.

[Jake Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

very few moments that i thought were legitimately a good explanation of the cause of the political landscape besides what was obvious

some of the ideation on what’s to come was good

mostly it just should’ve been half as long and stopped trying to make new words

but maybe i’m just dumb

will be going back to it’s bibliography at some point tho

[Will Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

So bleak, but fitting with regard to the state of humanity. Not to be too “I believe the children are the future,” but I wasn’t sold on the specific demographic projections that Bifo foreshadows, nor the severity of his antinatalism. Other than that, I think that he does an excellent job of defining the ferocity of the Zionist regime and situating it in the historical narrative of humankind.

[Chloe Mello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that the section on Marxism feels rushed and sparse, and the brief characterization of Arab countries besides Palestine lacks basically any nuance- HOWEVER despite those flaws this book effectively tackles and connects the biggest issues of humanity today. Its ability to address the genocide, alienation, AI, the cause and effect of all is impressive and efficient

[Max Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhhh 2.5 stars?

Usually semiotext(e) books hit me hard but this one def missed. Not really familiar with "Bifo's" other philosophical work. My take is that the Israel's genocide in Gaza is a distinct turning point in our collective human history that has moved us past the rationality of international law and order, that Zionism betrays the inherent radical nature of Jewish collective, and that AI has taken away the emotional toll violence inflicts on the perpetrators of violence. I think I've been knowing that tho.


Idk he makes these insanely bold claims and then just sort of moves on without expounding on them. Maybe something got lost in translation.

The essay about Marx and Darwin was probably the most enlightening to me.

Real "European try not to be Islamaphoic challenge: impossible" vibes too

[Liran Nadi Golan • לירן נדי גולן · Rating 0.5 out of 5]

How the actual f*** did this get published?

At best, Berardi’s Thinking Gaza is a facile misrepresentation of history, religion, and the work of many other writers. At worst, his writing descends into bigotry and conspiracy theory.

In the beginning, he portrays the whole millions of Israelis and Palestinians both as paper-thin cardboard cutouts of people, homogenous, and both capable only of reacting to the whims of history. This fits with his belief that people do not truly have willpower, and are confined by history. He conveys, also, a history riddled with holes, absent of any and all Mizrahi history.

It was painful whenever he talked about what he thinks Jewish faith is, or what he thinks the Jewish texts are trying to say. Almost every mention of Jewish faith was a misrepresentation of actual Jewish beliefs. If it benefits him to portray Jews as a people who have historically preferred and even loved to live in exile, he will portray historical Jews as such, ignoring thousands-of-years old and constant references in Judaism to Jerusalem, to a “next year in Jerusalem,” of synagogues built facing Jerusalem, and ignoring centuries of history of Jews from Russia and Yemen migrating to Jerusalem. If it benefits his argument to portray Jews as a violent people who believe God has allowed them to do anything they want, he will portray Jews and the Hebrew Bible as such, ignoring everything in the Torah that instructs Jews on morality (which is a very lot of Judaism).

In chapter 9, he takes Jewish religious texts out of context to make his claim that the Jewish God is “a merciless god.” He later goes on in chapter 10 to portray the Christian God also as evil. I think everyone is entitled to their own religious belief, or lack there-of, and it is perfectly find for Berardi ti be atheist. However, being atheist does not give a person the right to drag everyone else’s religions through the mud, just because you don’t believe in it. Why does he have to build his political-philosophical arguments off of misinterpretations of other people’s faiths?

His portrayal of Muslims and Arabs is just as bad, and unsurprising racist. His section “Isaac and Ishmael” in Chapter 10 gives a racist portrayal of Arab people as a people destined to always be unhappy due to their very nature. As he says: “Only deep unhappiness, only deep self-hatred can explain the behavior of the Arabs since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.” “[….] only an unhappy people, suffocated by self-contempt, can behave in such a vile manner, bending down to kiss the hand of their oppressors.” “I would say, rather, that Arab (and Muslim) unhappiness is a constant due to an inverted perception of time: for Muslims, history can only be understood as a fall, as a departure from an imaginary perfection, so it can only get worse. Only the memory of a past (which is nonexistent) justifies belonging.”

Yeah, he’s that bad.

He misrepresents the beliefs of other writers he quotes. This was very frustrating for me, reading about his opinions on the Israeli peace activist Amos Oz. He takes a couple quotes from Amos Oz’s memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness out of context to support his ideas that the Jews didn’t belong there and shouldn’t have come, and tries to portray this as Amos Oz’s opinion at the time as well. Having read Amos’s memoir myself, I cannot convey how ridiculous and inaccurate this is. Berardi also uses quotes from Oz’s fiction novel Judas to try to represent Oz’s views— which is also inaccurate, as he is taking fictional characters that Amos Oz wrote (intentionally to be flawed characters) and trying to claim that these characters’ views must be resemblant to Amos Oz’s. That’s not how fiction works.

There are many times in this book when Berardi tries to talk about human nature and the nature of human history by quoting and referencing other pieces of literature. The problem is, he is quoting plays, fictional novels, and in one case a fictional movie. Yeah, he’s trying to use the actions of fictional characters as examples of what human nature is. I guess he couldn’t find enough real life examples to prove his points.

Berardi’s book often descends into conspiracy theory. He genuinely believes that we are at the end of civilization. He talks about how human civilization will be replaced by a world of automatons, that these automatons are “finally in a position to eliminate the chaotic factor in the only way possible: ending human society.” He believes, also, that ADHD and autism have been increasing as of late because they are ways in which humans are adapting to a world of machines. (I want to make this clear — diagnoses for ADHD and autism are increasing because we are learning to recognize them, not because the human race has been changed in some way.) You know those people that argue that the human race is doomed and, because all life is suffering, we should stop procreation to stop reproducing the human race, and let humanity die out? Yeah, Berardi unironically supports this view multiple times in his later chapters.

Is this book about “Thinking Gaza?” No. It’s about Franco Berardi using Gaza as an arguing point for his conspiracy theories about the end of human civilization.

[Miha · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Literally never felt more despondent and doomed in my entire life. Reading this actually felt like the psychological equivalent of self-immolation (#hotgirlsummer). But also IT MUST BE SAID and MUST BE READ.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of funny/goofy at times (I guess he is an old
Italian guy after all) and idk if I agree with it all but certainly should be an impetus to… thinking?

[Ben Trivas · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s like a 4.5/5 theres a few questionable phrases here and there but for the most part this is a must read

[Verdhan Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and depressing

[John · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Required reading. Delineates the problem of our world right now, examines what the immediate consequences of our actions are. What it lacks in hope, it makes up for in understanding.