Capitalism differs from fascism in requiring no propaganda or subjectively assumed belief
Evidence
It seems that the cinema audience is itself the object of this satire, which prompted some right wing observers to recoil in disgust, condemning Disney/Pixar for attacking its own audience. But this kind of irony feeds rather than challenges capitalist realism. A film like Wall-E exemplifies what Robert Pfaller has called ‘interpassivity’: the film performs our anti-capitalism for us, allowing us to continue to consume with impunity. The role of capitalist ideology is not to make an explicit case for something in the way that propaganda does, but to conceal the fact that the operations of capital do not depend on any sort of subjectively assumed belief. It is impossible to conceive of fascism or Stalinism without propaganda – but capitalism can proceed perfectly well, in some ways better, without anyone making a case for it. — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 29
Categorization
- XREF: Directly extends chapter 3’s claim that gangster rap forms a feedback circuit with late capitalism that mythologizes the real. — connects to: Capitalism is an infinitely plastic system that dismantles all transcendent codes; Capital’s center is missing yet still posited as a responsible agent — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 138; Capitalism functions without anyone believing in it, unlike fascism — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 29 (+6 more)
- DEFINE: Introduces and explains Pfaller’s concept of ‘interpassivity’ as the performance of feeling for us.
Related
- Capitalism functions without anyone believing in it, unlike fascism (similarity 0.88)
- Capitalism functions on performed belief rather than sincere conviction (similarity 0.86)
- Capitalism cannot function without its ideological disguises and myths (similarity 0.83)
- Capitalist ideology works by concealment, not persuasion, and needs no advocates (similarity 0.82)
- Corporate anti-capitalism strengthens capitalist realism rather than challenging it. (similarity 0.81)
- Corporate anti-capitalist satire reinforces rather than undermines capitalist realism (similarity 0.81)
- Anti-capitalist messages on screen can end up reinforcing capitalist realism (similarity 0.78)
- Capitalist realism reflects social decomposition, not just individual persuasion. (similarity 0.78)
- Capitalist realism is belief in capital’s invincibility, not belief in its merits (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Capitalist ideology works by concealment, not persuasion, and needs no advocates
#corroborates(0.88) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 580 - Horkheimer’s fascism theory generalized beyond orthodox communist capitalism-as-agent doctrine.
#qualifies(0.70) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1070