I selected at random media images of 13 influential figures from the world of 21st-century politics. This is a world in which the compulsion to communicate without pause makes itself distinctly felt, while at the same time generating a breakdown in the meaning of every concept. The pursuit of effectiveness turns into its own opposite, and politicians assiduously conceal their areas of not-knowing. I used the phrase “what is the word” as a direct reference to Samuel Beckett’s last work, written in response to his loss of consciousness and the resulting impairment of his ability to speak.