Mark Fishers Capitalist Realism.
Widely recognized as Fisher’s most prolific work, ‘Capitalist Realism’ is an ideological framework for viewing capitalism and Fisher also focuses on Capitalist Realism’s effects on public thought, economics and politics:
“Capitalist realism as I understand it cannot be confined to art or to the quasi-propagandistic way in which advertising functions. It is more like a pervasive atmosphere, conditioning not only the production of culture but also the regulation of work and education, and acting as a kind of invisible barrier constraining thought and action.”
Effectively, and grossly simplified, Capitalist Realism is the idea, spread by capitalists, that any alternative is unrealistic. Fisher’s work highlights some areas of capitalism that Capitalist Realism has suppressed and modified- Anticapitalism, Economics, and Mental health are all topics I found interesting in the book.
One thing that is clear about Fisher’s writing, he does not hold back, one of my favorite thoughts from Capitalist Realism is about how Capitalism is capable of metabolizing and consuming anything it comes into contact with or simply, capitalism is by design incredible at defeating anti-capitalism- designed to sell our discontent to us as commodities. Nirvana and Wall-E, are used to show this- anticapitalist sentiments smoothly blended into merchandise, products, and commodities. This reminds me of the Che Guevara T-shirt trend. Another example of Capitalism consuming and becoming anti-capitalism. Fisher goes on to explain how Capitalism doesn’t consume just anti-capitalism, but of culture, economy, and the psyche, in my opinion, this book is a horror book more than a political book. A horror book we are living in.
Fisher further proves that capitalism is all-consuming with the 2008 economic crash. Political just as much as economic, the crash is used in Capitalist Realism to show that capitalism can explain away what could've finally been the straw that broke the camels back. These crashes are completely inherent to capital- a clear failure of the supposed rigidity and consistency of the economy yet these economic failures have become “just a part of life” as ideologues simply explain their way around. Capitalism consumes the population's opinion on capitalism in these ways to such an incredibly large extent that, as fisher says “It is harder to imagine the end of capitalism than the end of the world.”
Fisher turns a lot of presumptions about mental health on their heads as he states “capitalism has exacerbated mental health” and that capitalism is even a cause of some mental illness. He not only writes,
“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; and the task of repoliticizing mental illness is an urgent one if the left wants to challenge capitalist realism”
We have been taught to see mental health as just a natural difference in biology, about chemicals in our brains, in order to try and de-politicize the matter completely. This, in fisher’s view, portrays 2 benefits to capitalism. Firstly, It removes any opinion of class struggle or desire, and blames the mentally ill on simply biology, pushing, what Fisher calls “The reinforcement of capitalists drive towards atomistic individualization”. It singles people out for easier treatment and erodes a larger sense of societal solidarity. The second reason in which this treatment of mental health benefits capitalism is that it creates a market for pharmaceuticals, pills can be sold at a huge price if mental health is seen and portrayed as an individual difference in the brain and not a societal and political difference, this again benefits capitalism.
The rise of the radical right-wing in relation to capitalist realism. It is simple to blame the rise of far-right activists as a result of the neo-liberal hellscape we live in. The capitol rioters, Farage, Q-anon, etc. The left cannot dismiss these radicals as despicable as they might be, their rise shows criticism and unlike in 2008, they are less easy to track with their ironed out excuses. The rise of the far-right in many ways shows a crack in capitalist realism. This symbol shows that whether unimaginable, people are waking up to the faults of the liberal establishment. The left should not sit by but alter the post-liberalism future that the radical right is highlighting. Fisher writes:
“Capitalist realism can only be threatened if it is shown to be in some way inconsistent or untenable; if, that is to say, capitalism’s ostensible ‘realism’ turns out to be nothing of the sort.”
And this is where we stand now. Capitalism is not going anywhere, but the means by which capitalism controls and prevails( the means of capitalist realis) are being exposed. Leading to some post-liberal future, unimaginable and terrifying.
In my opinion, Fisher’s use of examples from daily life and popular culture makes a readable yet intricate and detailed diagnosis of our current predicament and shines a light on capitalist realism’s effect on other areas of life. An incredible, eye-opening, terrifying, and thought-provoking book from Mark Fisher, one which I thoroughly only enjoyed reading and thinking about- As much as its concepts shook me they will forever hold a place in my political thought.
