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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
informative
medium-paced
Fine piece of theory, reasonably accessible. Read the first chapter and you’ll be fine.
There’s some real pernicious desires for a patriarch, reifying the nuclear family, scarcity logics, and a huge focus on academia in Britain that may or may not be useful. Also, I personally think there’s not a lot of hope here, and it ends with a sigh.
This is what people reference when they say “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” and putting that quote in greater context isn’t necessary.
There’s some real pernicious desires for a patriarch, reifying the nuclear family, scarcity logics, and a huge focus on academia in Britain that may or may not be useful. Also, I personally think there’s not a lot of hope here, and it ends with a sigh.
This is what people reference when they say “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” and putting that quote in greater context isn’t necessary.
Belachelijk interessant maar heb het gevoel dat ik niet alles alles even goed heb begrepen. De hoofdstukken over onderwijs in laat kapitalisme spraken me het meeste aan omdat ik uiteraard zelf student ben. Anyways zeker een om op terug te komen later.
Solidaire groetjes
Solidaire groetjes
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A lot of what is written here is not too ground-shaking, but it's really good to have all these realizations that have pretty much turned into common knowledge or granted facts about the world all collected in one place, I think. They're also strung together in a way that makes you realise new things and perspectives about stuff you already knew. And there are, of course, things I wasn't familiar with at all, like the whole part about Lacan. That was a bit hard to get through. I liked it though, it's very short (which means that I probably would have appreciated it if he dug a bit deeper into certain assertions and stuff) but very dense in information. And also very bleak and depressing. So it took me a good while to finish it. All in all, I think it's one of those books everybody should read. It's accessible but not dumbed-down. Even though I found it a bit lacking in the "here's the actual alternatives" department. I guess he didn't really have the answers for that, but hey, who does? It's tough stuff.
The Wikipedia article for this book introduced me to the term "Capitalist Realism", and honestly just read that article, don't bother with this book.
The idea that "People think there is no possible alternative to capitalism" is very interesting to me, since it hadn't occured to me before. And yes this book talks about this a little, but it then uses lots of sociology terms and jargon that I didn't understand. Perhaps I am not the intended audience. It seemed to get a little too abstract.
The idea that "People think there is no possible alternative to capitalism" is very interesting to me, since it hadn't occured to me before. And yes this book talks about this a little, but it then uses lots of sociology terms and jargon that I didn't understand. Perhaps I am not the intended audience. It seemed to get a little too abstract.
Not really sure what to rate this as it seems wrong to 'rate' theory when I'm not an academic or an expert on any of the issues written about. I do think it's a good, quick read with a lot of interesting points that I've not come across before, even though I was familiar with the broad scope off the message. I think my only complaint would be that you'd have to come into the book already having an understanding of many of the topics that are covered; be it ideologies such as neoliberalism and neoconservativism, or pop culture references such as the thing. I particularly liked the bits on neolibaral bureaucracy and immobilisers/Liberal communists
A very well reasoned, if abstract deconstruction and analysis of the now, with some guidance as to how to escape it. A short, required reading.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
really good book I enjoyed the first chapters and the part that talks about how neoliberalism and neoconservatism work together
only critique is he seemed to have some strange views on things like Stalin and at one point said “Instead of gestural, spectacular politics around (noble) causes like Palestine, it’s time for that teaching unions got far more immanent, and take the opportunity opened up by the crisis to begin to rid public services of business ontology.” which seems … odd? to me
he also spends quite a lot of time fleshing out ideas from films which make up the book which isn’t a bad thing per se but it does mean that it can sometimes drag on a bit, which is impressive since its only 81 pages.
overall though this is a really enjoyable and eye opening book as to how capitalist realism manifests itself in peoples psyche and its very readable, anyone could read this in one or two sittings.
only critique is he seemed to have some strange views on things like Stalin and at one point said “Instead of gestural, spectacular politics around (noble) causes like Palestine, it’s time for that teaching unions got far more immanent, and take the opportunity opened up by the crisis to begin to rid public services of business ontology.” which seems … odd? to me
he also spends quite a lot of time fleshing out ideas from films which make up the book which isn’t a bad thing per se but it does mean that it can sometimes drag on a bit, which is impressive since its only 81 pages.
overall though this is a really enjoyable and eye opening book as to how capitalist realism manifests itself in peoples psyche and its very readable, anyone could read this in one or two sittings.