eBook, 81 pages
English language
Published Dec. 15, 2009 by Zero Books.
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? explores Fisher's concept of "capitalist realism," which he takes to describe "the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it."The book investigates what Fisher describes as the widespread effects of neoliberal ideology on popular culture, work, education, and mental health in contemporary society. Capitalist Realism was an unexpected success and has influenced a range of writers.The subtitle refers to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's pro-market slogan "There is no alternative".
This is the second book of Mark Fisher's that I've read (the other being "The Weird and the Eerie") where I have the feeling of the words washing over me, but just no idea of what's going on. I'll probably give it a re-read at some point, especially as it's so short, just to see what all the fuss is about, but I'm afraid this read pretty much made no impression.
A scathing indictment of capitalism, by (successfully) putting the blame for several contemporary social ilks on it.
My only criticism is that while it makes a strong case both for capitalist realism existing as an ideology and it being a problem, the book does not make the case for any alternatives. It does contain some actionable suggestions for how to fight capitalism. But it falls short of providing a systemic alternative. As such, while it successfully argues that capitalist realism is a problem, it doesn't fully prove that it's wrong.
Nevertheless, a good read and well argued.
No society survives effects of its material existence on social, economic, political, cultural and personal lives. K-Punk knows like nobody else how to describe the burden of the consumerist society on its every member, from the moment of their waking up to the second of their going to sleep. The ubiquitous presence of market demands, propaganda of individualist existence, and economic hardship which, for most people, leaves no space and time for analysis and introspection, is conveyed in his usual, rare eloquence, and even rarer emotional intelligence.
