Capitalist realism is a pervasive atmosphere that constrains thinking itself, not just culture

Evidence

‘Capitalist realism’ is not an original coinage. It was used as far back as the 1960s by a group of German Pop artists and by Michael Schudson in his 1984 book Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion, both of whom were making parodic references to socialist realism. What is new about my use of the term is the more expansive – even exorbitant – meaning that I ascribe to it. 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. — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 35

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces and sharpens the book’s central concept, distinguishing Fisher’s expansive use from its 1960s art-world coinage.
• XREF: Names Schudson’s Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion — connects to any curated sources on advertising history or propaganda. — connects to: Capitalist realism restricts the horizon of what is politically possible — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 410; Capitalist realism makes alternatives to capitalism unthinkable — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 8; Capitalist realism defines politically possible options, which diverge from physical realities (+3 more)

Related

• Capitalist realism restricts the horizon of what is politically possible (similarity 0.86)
• Capitalist realism is the belief that capitalism is the only viable game in town (similarity 0.86)
• Capitalist realism reflects social decomposition, not just individual persuasion. (similarity 0.83)
• Capitalist realism’s own totality makes small alternative experiments disproportionately powerful. (similarity 0.83)
• Capitalist realism subordinates people to a reality that is infinitely plastic rather than solid. (similarity 0.83)
• Capitalist realism defines politically possible options, which diverge from physical realities (similarity 0.82)
• Capitalist realism falls only to internal inconsistency, not moral critique (similarity 0.82)
• Realism is naturalized ideology, and today’s realistic was yesterday’s impossible (similarity 0.81)
• Capitalism’s supposed pragmatism masks credulous fantasies of its own exceptional survival (similarity 0.81)
• Capitalist realism makes a coherent alternative to capitalism unimaginable. (similarity 0.81)
• Capitalist realism makes alternatives to capitalism unthinkable (similarity 0.81)
• Capitalism remains imaginable even in imagined apocalypse. (similarity 0.80)
• Capitalist realism defines political possibility against physical possibility (similarity 0.80)
• Capitalist realism is belief in capital’s invincibility, not belief in its merits (similarity 0.80)
• A work faithfully depicting capitalist realism may thereby reinforce it (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Capitalist realism restricts the horizon of what is politically possible #expands (0.92) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 410
• Capitalist realism makes alternatives to capitalism unthinkable #expands (0.90) — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 8
• Capitalist realism defines politically possible options, which diverge from physical realities #expands (0.80)