Capitalist Realism

Is There No Alternative?

By: Mark Fisher

Narrated by: Tom Lawrence

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

©2022 Mark Fisher (P)2023 Repeater Books

Mind-blowing

The casual style of writing juxtaposes the hard hitting and extremely sharp analysis in a beautiful way. To express complex ideas clear and engaging in this way is a feat.

Enlightening book

Very unique perspective on capitalism, and a very appealing narrative. Highly recommended reading and hearing.

My Generation

This book was enjoyable, enlightening, and saddening all at the same time. I am late to the topic, but his words were very much a mirror of what my simple mind has been thinking. I sincerely wish that I had discovered him before his passing.

Dense but, excellent.

While the book can be a little heady, you may have to look up some definitions of words and it's content being very dense; it's an incredible Book about giving words to a concept that's hard to Define and may be undefined before this.

The dark side of capitalism - that we already can feel

Excellent book describing the pitfalls and distractions of capitalism, to keep the middle class consuming, searching for gratification and not interfering with the way the world works - and so much more than that - and breaking it down for us, that this man made, relatively recent program for western society WAS man made and is not, in fact, “natural.”