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Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?…
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Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (Zero Books) (edition 2009)

by Mark Fisher (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,2453215,424 (4)9
Interesting set of articles on leftist perspectives of culture. Academic discussions that I feel I have not read enough to appreciate fully, but still approachable enough to get the gist. ( )
  TegarSault | Jul 16, 2020 |
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surprisingly one of the more digestible leftist philosophy reads, although i would eschew from calling it "plain language." gotta love zizek recommending this book in his philosopher circle jerk as if he isnt the most quoted theorist in it. ( )
  clams64 | Jan 10, 2024 |
One wonders, on a meta-philosophical/political level, whether depressed tracts like these, where allusions and metaphors that are meant to carry great theoretical weight are sourced in mere cultural artifacts like Supernanny and Heat and The Godfather etc. etc., simply carry out the reflexive impotence and interpassivity and depressive hedonia that Fisher rallies against. Ok, so I’ve spent a couple of hours re-reading this and I feel like having a cry and then a wank and then after all of that maybe another cry - is that all the Post-left postmodern blah blah theorists have to offer? Is this praxis? Is it so tyrannical and Kafkaesque that schools in England have internal controls/Maoist-esque self-criticism so as to lessen the frequency of OFSTED inspections? In a fight against climate catastrophe, or whatever great Capital-instigated crisis you want to point at, am I just meant to rethink the concept of general will? Get rid of bureaucracy? Come come, Mr Fisher, this is weak - leftist populism, maybe a few instances of surrealism’s most essential and despicable act (look to the second manifesto, bang bang), wouldn’t that do the trick? Or must we just endorse a Žižekian quietism, think through things and stand around until we see the light at the end of the tunnel (and being perceptive intellectuals, recognise that it is a train hurtling toward us)? Little works like this seem to only really have a call to action toward paralysis in their affective impact, and are quickly sucked up, “reterritorialised” if you want to be pedantic, by the very structure of Capital itself. I’m rambling. I still like Mark. Rest in Peace Champ. ( )
  theoaustin | Dec 26, 2023 |
With the amount of references to Zizek, from concepts to ideas, you're left wondering why you didn't read a Zizek book instead of this, since it's seemingly the only person who the writer thinks knows what's going on. Got a good chuckle of the criticism of commodification of culture and disparaging of capitalist influence from a guy who drops media references constantly. Just like Zizek tries to justify being captured by the boobtube as if he's doing important research. The book also forgets to answer the question it poses. ( )
  A.Godhelm | Oct 20, 2023 |
Capitalist Realism is a powerhouse of a book that effectively dissects, (in its very few pages) the pervasive idea that not only is Neo Liberal Capitalism the best, it is in fact the only possible option for organizing a society. Fisher has an enormous talent for condensing complexities into wonderfully pithy sentences. Below are a couple that really stuck out to me:

“What needs to be kept in mind is both that capitalism is a hyper abstract impersonal structure and that it would be nothing without our cooperation.”

“A moral critique of Capitalism, emphasizing he way in which it leads to suffering, only reinforces capitalist realism. Poverty, famine, and war, can be presented as an inevitable part of reality, while the hope that these forms of suffering could be eliminated, easily painted as utopianism.”

Overall a good, readable, and only occasionally dense, book that encapsulates the contradictions and pitfalls of our current economic model.
( )
  Autolycus21 | Oct 10, 2023 |
Capitalist Realism was thought-provoking and somewhat deserved its status as a classic introduction to post-Marxism.
Fisher rightly highlights how capitalism portrays itself as having no alternative, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and terms this as inherently anti-utopian 'Capitalist Realism'. It doesn't matter that the rise of free markets means ever-increasing inequality, the demise of public education and healthcare, and growing disillusionment and apathy - all that matters is capitalism cannot be allowed to perish. Consequently, capitalism is not constrained by politics anymore - instead, political systems fight amongst themselves to carve a space within capitalism.
Fisher also highlights capitalist realism as encouraging interpassivity (or protesting capitalism through media consumption). He also tries to view mental health through the lens of his theory (coining a term called reflexive impotence). People recognise that capitalism is inherently flawed, but they also believe they can do nothing about it -leading to a lack of self-worth and depression. I somewhat disagree with this argument because not every mental health issue can be laid at capitalism's doorstep, but I digress.
It is frighteningly easy to get lost in the doom-and-gloom. Still, to Fisher's credit, he's not a (complete) doomer - he provides meaningful criticism, added on with a warning not to get too cynical about democracy and the State because what good has ever come of handing over the entire public sphere to the industry?
All in all, an eye-opening experience and one which I wish I had read much sooner. Must-read. ( )
  SidKhanooja | Sep 1, 2023 |
A lot of questionable logic and the typical blindness brought on by Marxist thinking, but also many solid observations and some interesting points. 3.5/5. ( )
  dcunning11235 | Aug 12, 2023 |
Yes. There are a lot of bad things about capitalism. Yes. Proponents of capitalism have managed to change the basis of the argument, so that most people think there is no alternative. Yes. Social ills previously blamed on society, i.e., capitalist society, are now blamed on individuals. But if you want to try to change these things, you DO NOT do it in a book that, while it is far from the worst offender, is so full of academic jargon and words that you have never seen and will likely never see again, that it is clear the author is just preaching to the converted, which is basically a waste of time. I came across references to this book in a couple of other works, and since it was available as an ebook on Hoopla, and because it was short, decided to read it. I don't regret it, but it could have been so much more effective. (It also suffers for an American reader, because it is so British.) ( )
  datrappert | Jun 22, 2023 |
Finalmente leggo Mark Fisher (noto che il libro è del 2009, in Italia tradotto dal 2018, Fisher è morto nel 2017, bisognava arrivarci prima). In un solido bagaglio di stampo economico e sociologico Fisher inietta, fin dalle prime righe di questo lavoro, riferimenti pop (soprattutto cinema, a volte musica, spesso - anche se meno pop - letteratura) che fungono, in quanto prodotto/sofferenza dello stesso realismo capitalista, da elementi sintetici, simbolici e di critica (consapevole/inconsapevole) naturale: su tutti spicca la lettura di Kurt Cobain - e mi fa piacere trovare qualcun altro che riconosce il valore del film Office Space di Mike Judge. Fisher descriveva quello che stava succedendo, con una lucidità che altri non hanno avuto (e penso che altri abbiano preso più di un'idea da qui, mi viene in mente Byung Chul-Han, che ho letto prima ma scrive - per lo meno le opere sulla società della performance - un po' dopo). Difficile non identificarsi con le sue riflessioni e sentirsi più che mai ingranaggi del sistema capitalistico. Letto forse un po' velocemente, rimedierò (a questo e al ritardo) approfondendo la sua bibliografia.

"Senza il nuovo, quanto può durare una cultura? Cosa succede se i giovani non sono più in grado di suscitare stupore?" ( )
  d.v. | May 16, 2023 |
“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism” (p. 1) - well, yes. Some days I think that capitalism will definitively end because capitalism will end the world.

Fisher, of course, argues that we can have a post-capitalist society, and we can help it along by accentuating its inner contradictions - how neoliberalism promised to get rid of bureaucracies, but did the opposite. How capitalism can’t deal with climate change because it depends on endless economic growth.

To me personally, the call for a repoliticizing of mental illness was the most interesting, like, it shouldn’t just be something pharmaceutical companies can sell you pills for, but you continue to be on your own. “If it is true, for instance, that depression is constituted by low serotonin levels, what still needs to be explained is why particular individuals have low levels of serotonin. This requires a social and political explanation.” (p. 37).

The book is really short. It assumed that the reader was already deep into both current (2008 financial crash) political debate, political theory and movie and literature. But I am here for the mix.
1 vote Silja_Camilla | May 2, 2023 |
Very dense book with lots of dense concepts packed in, not an easy weekend read, but very important concepts nonetheless. I think the author has a way of elegantly matching concepts up with frustrations people may notice in the current economic system very well. ( )
  nimishg | Apr 12, 2023 |
shows a good introduction to the pitfalls of modern day capitalism ( )
  thanowjdago | May 22, 2022 |
Very insightful and interesting. Too many references went over my head though; I hope a future more-informed me can come back to this book and get more out of it what is clearly an important work and analysis for the anti-capitalist left. ( )
  liberation999 | May 6, 2022 |
i liked the marks about the media. i don't think i got all of it nor agree with all of it, a bit too "writing about nothing" for my taste
  rottweilersmile | Feb 28, 2022 |
Das Buch (vielleicht auch besser "Heftchen") glänzt in meinen Augen durch zwei Dinge:
- seine vielfältigen Referenzen sowohl in die "Theoriewelt" der Philosophie und Gesellschaftsanalyse als auch in die Welt der Popkultur, inbesondere der Filme;
- es legt den Finger in viele Wunden, die der Kapitalismus aufreißt und offen bluten lässt, und die sonst eher selten betrachtet werden.
Insbesondere der Fokus auf Überwachung/Kontrolle und psychische Krankheiten ist gut gewählt. Fisher bleibt immer auf einer strukturellen Ebene und moralisiert nicht das Verhalten einzelner Akteure, auch das ist lobenswert.

Das Buch liest sich halbwegs anspruchsvoll - insbesondere weil die (zitierten) Gedanken meist nur recht kurz, dafür knackig formuliert sind -, setzt aber nicht übermäßig viele Voraussetzungen an das Vorwissen der Lesenden.
  Holunderkarpfen | Oct 3, 2021 |
Good, original perspectives. Difficult to tell if this is pessimism, realism, or optimism. ( )
  DouglasDuff | Jun 21, 2021 |
Pamphlets rule
  trotta | Mar 4, 2021 |
«Ci sono questi due giovani pesci che nuotano e incontrano un pesce più vecchio che nuota in senso contrario e fa loro un cenno, dicendo: “Salve ragazzi, com’è l’acqua?” e i due giovani pesci continuano a nuotare per un po’ e alla fine uno di loro guarda l’altro e fa: “Che diavolo è l’acqua?”»
David Foster Wallace

Ecco, il Realismo Capitalista a cui fa riferimento il titolo di questo saggio è la nostra acqua.
Si tratta del paradigma esistenziale dentro il quale siamo immersi, un paradigma così pervasivo che abbiamo iniziato a scambiarlo come lo stato reale delle cose. Un aforisma, forse apocrifo, attribuito a Slavoj Zizek dice è "è più facile immaginare la fine del mondo che la fine del capitalismo" e per la maggior parte delle persone è vero. Ciò che sembrava perfettamente ragionevole meno di 40 anni fa, i potenti mezzi dell'ideologia liberista lo hanno reso addirittura impensabile.
Mark Fisher, in questo breve panphlet ricostruisce i meccanismi del capitalismo e i loro effetti, non tanto a livello economico, ma soprattutto a livello cognitivo e mentale.
Per chiarezza, ricchezza espositiva e potenza della tesi, leggere questo libro è come prendere una bella boccata di aria fresca dopo un soggiorno nelle fogne.
( )
  JoeProtagoras | Jan 28, 2021 |
Super-rad, everybody read this please. ( )
  jakecasella | Sep 21, 2020 |
Interesting set of articles on leftist perspectives of culture. Academic discussions that I feel I have not read enough to appreciate fully, but still approachable enough to get the gist. ( )
  TegarSault | Jul 16, 2020 |
A very well reasoned, if abstract deconstruction and analysis of the now, with some guidance as to how to escape it. A short, required reading. ( )
  jtth | May 4, 2020 |
A fantastic outline on the evolution of capitalism since the 1970s and how the methods of anti-capitalism are outdated and in need of innovation. I might write a better review in the future but I recommend this book to everyone as it is so relevant to all of us. ( )
  Neal_Anderson | Mar 21, 2020 |
Full review on: https://chwiggys-world.de/2020/02/13/fishermark-capitalistrealism/

In the end, I wonder why so often I’m drawn to books on philosophy when reading them so often leaves me dissatisfied or angry, and exhausted at the lengthy sentences.

I don’t think I really would recommend this book to a general audience. A broad and deep knowledge of philosophy, which I do not possess is probably required to get the full extent of insight this short book provides. It draws references to other philosophers and pop culture again and again, and it does a disservice to not understand those references.

For a general audience, this book remains to conceptual to be of much value, and it stays too much in the description of the de facto world we live in instead of actually pointing to a liveable alternative except in the last few pages where Fisher points to actionable strategies in the fight against capital, but those are somewhat removed from the main thesis of this book.

Now I would cringe at the idea that a book needs to be actionable to be of value, but I think together with this and the hints of ableism and anxiety about change dispersed within, this book isn’t ready to be read by a general audience, it is more a working paper, for others to expand upon. Being well versed in anti-capitalist theory definitely improves this read. ( )
  chwiggy | Feb 12, 2020 |
"...but what of Really Existing Capitalism"? What indeed. The trenchant thin edge of the wedge.
  kencf0618 | Jun 25, 2019 |
A deeply depressing book about a system that all of us are born into and that slowly seeps into every facet of our lives, even the one's we think are free from its influence. Mark Fisher is good at pointing out the stupidity of the system and at highlighting how it effects the contemporary culture with some interesting pop examples. But Fisher could only be suggesting that any of us can do anything about it in jest. ( )
  sunil_kumar | Apr 1, 2019 |
A deeply depressing book about a system that all of us are born into and that slowly seeps into every facet of our lives, even the one's we think are free from its influence. Mark Fisher is good at pointing out the stupidity of the system and at highlighting how it effects the contemporary culture with some interesting pop examples. But Fisher could only be suggesting that any of us can do anything about it in jest. ( )
  sunil_kumar | Feb 12, 2019 |
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