A review by pascalthehoff
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by Mark Fisher

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

I always thought this book would be more of an entry point into anti-capitalist thinking. So for a long time I thought it would give me mostly superfluous knowledge, more suitable for people coming to the subject for the first time. But the opposite is true. 

 

In particular, it's much more focused on specific aspects of capitalist critique. For example, the way late capitalism shapes our culture and media consumption - and the way this landscape actively prevents us from moving towards a more effective, egalitarian system. 

 

Definitely a highly recommended book from the modern mainstream canon of anti-capitalist works, though not necessarily the beacon it is often hailed as. Also, its rather academic approach actually makes the issues more difficult to grasp than other works could probably manage. This gives it a certain advantage in depth and precision, but I don't think it makes up for the loss in accessibility for a work as broadly relevant as this.