Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?
It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system - a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded. The book analyses the development and principal features of this capitalist realism as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, film (Children Of Men, Jason Bourne, Supernanny), fiction (Le Guin and Kafka), work and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience, is anything but realistic and asks how capitalism and its inconsistencies can be challenged. It is a sharp analysis of the post-ideological malaise that suggests that the economics and politics of free market neo-liberalism are givens rather than constructions.

New Edition includes:

  • Forward by Zoe Fisher, Mark’s wife, talking about Mark as a person
  • Introduction by Alex Niven, his friend and colleague, talking about the political significance of the book thirteen years after it was written
  • Afterword by Tariq Goddard, the original editor and publisher, describing the writing and editing of the book, its original reception, and Mark’s own view of it

"A quick and entertaining read." Socialist Standard

"A provocative and necessary read...for anyone wanting to talk seriously about the politics of education today. " Times Higher Educational Supplement

1112473996
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?
It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system - a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded. The book analyses the development and principal features of this capitalist realism as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, film (Children Of Men, Jason Bourne, Supernanny), fiction (Le Guin and Kafka), work and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience, is anything but realistic and asks how capitalism and its inconsistencies can be challenged. It is a sharp analysis of the post-ideological malaise that suggests that the economics and politics of free market neo-liberalism are givens rather than constructions.

New Edition includes:

  • Forward by Zoe Fisher, Mark’s wife, talking about Mark as a person
  • Introduction by Alex Niven, his friend and colleague, talking about the political significance of the book thirteen years after it was written
  • Afterword by Tariq Goddard, the original editor and publisher, describing the writing and editing of the book, its original reception, and Mark’s own view of it

"A quick and entertaining read." Socialist Standard

"A provocative and necessary read...for anyone wanting to talk seriously about the politics of education today. " Times Higher Educational Supplement

14.95 In Stock
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

by Mark Fisher
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

by Mark Fisher

Paperback(Revised)

$14.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system - a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded. The book analyses the development and principal features of this capitalist realism as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, film (Children Of Men, Jason Bourne, Supernanny), fiction (Le Guin and Kafka), work and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience, is anything but realistic and asks how capitalism and its inconsistencies can be challenged. It is a sharp analysis of the post-ideological malaise that suggests that the economics and politics of free market neo-liberalism are givens rather than constructions.

New Edition includes:

  • Forward by Zoe Fisher, Mark’s wife, talking about Mark as a person
  • Introduction by Alex Niven, his friend and colleague, talking about the political significance of the book thirteen years after it was written
  • Afterword by Tariq Goddard, the original editor and publisher, describing the writing and editing of the book, its original reception, and Mark’s own view of it

"A quick and entertaining read." Socialist Standard

"A provocative and necessary read...for anyone wanting to talk seriously about the politics of education today. " Times Higher Educational Supplement


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781803414300
Publisher: Collective Ink
Publication date: 12/15/2022
Edition description: Revised
Pages: 120
Sales rank: 32,394
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Mark Fisher is highly respected both as a music writer and a theorist. He writes regularly for The Wire, frieze, New Statesman, and Sight & Sound. He is a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths, University Of London, and maintains one of the most successful weblogs on cultural theory, k-punk (http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org)

Table of Contents

Foreword Zoe Fisher ix

Introduction Alex Niven xiii

1 It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism 1

2 What if you held a protest and everyone came? 12

3 Capitalism and the Real 16

4 Reflexive impotence, immobilization and liberal communism 21

5 October 6, 1979: 'Don't let yourself get attached to anything' 31

6 All that is solid melts into PR: market Stalinism and bureaucratic anti-production 39

7 '…if you can watch the overlap of one reality with another': capitalist realism as dreamwork and memory disorder 54

8 'There's no central exchange' 62

9 Marxist Supernanny 71

Afterword Tariq Goddard 82

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews