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couuboy's review
5.0
I read and then re-read this book over three days and then the next day I woke up tossing and turning from a dream wherein I felt like I was closing in on some grand understanding of the concrete/redemptive blueprint that Mark Fisher set forth in this book. When I had eventually properly awakened, I realised that (at least I’d like to I think) I actually did have a semi-comprehensible idea of what I think Fisher was attempting to convey, which solidified my opinion that this book is a dynamic piece of art as much as it is a book of accessible critical theory.
Within his cultural and systematic diagnoses Fisher synthesises absurdly quotable prose with apposite quotes, references and engaging anecdotes to create hope and spur the internalisation that an alternative is possible. While ultimately his remedy follows pretty closely from Deleuze and Guattari’s (i.e. desire as a synthetic process) and can roughly (which is to say, shouldn’t, but for the sake of this review's context I shall) be distilled into the quote, “emancipatory politics must always destroy the appearance of a ‘natural order’, must reveal what is presented as necessary and inevitable to be a mere contingency, just as it must make what was previously deemed to be impossible seem attainable.”
What the rest of this book does is provide cultural, economic, social, etc, touchstones for how pervasive and infectious the anaesthetised narratives set up by capitalism reach and just why they succeed. At the closing of this short book Fisher lets us loose with more than enough tools for us, firstly, to understand the world we currently live in and, secondly, to construct a better alternative.
Within his cultural and systematic diagnoses Fisher synthesises absurdly quotable prose with apposite quotes, references and engaging anecdotes to create hope and spur the internalisation that an alternative is possible. While ultimately his remedy follows pretty closely from Deleuze and Guattari’s (i.e. desire as a synthetic process) and can roughly (which is to say, shouldn’t, but for the sake of this review's context I shall) be distilled into the quote, “emancipatory politics must always destroy the appearance of a ‘natural order’, must reveal what is presented as necessary and inevitable to be a mere contingency, just as it must make what was previously deemed to be impossible seem attainable.”
What the rest of this book does is provide cultural, economic, social, etc, touchstones for how pervasive and infectious the anaesthetised narratives set up by capitalism reach and just why they succeed. At the closing of this short book Fisher lets us loose with more than enough tools for us, firstly, to understand the world we currently live in and, secondly, to construct a better alternative.
youngthespian42's review
3.0
This book has some good ideas that aren’t totally fleshed out. The book is British politics focused which was fun to learn some political struggles across the pond in the ‘00s. Audio narrated by Russel Brand who I know has a decisive voice and personality.
preciousmist's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Informative, concise (perhaps too much at times), although general. I found it mostly acessible, and unlike most leftist literature, rather hopeful.
gboye's review
4.0
Thought-provoking and short read with some effective and unexpected media references. I like the premise. I added so much to my reading list based on the author’s many, many references to other scholars. Sometimes felt a bit convoluted. I wish there was more space for in-depth examples like the one on mental health, which was really interesting (short version: capitalist realism wants to define mental illness as an individual chemical imbalance - not also an endemic, societal problem related to failed social and economic structures).
matissrv's review
5.0
Īsa, pārskatāma, lielākoties ātri uztverama, lasiet! Lielisks teorijas kripatu apvienojums ar daudz piemēriem no dzīves un kultūras.
kennnedyexe's review
5.0
accessible, witty, thoughtful, although frustrating. it hurts. but it feels so so so essential. so needed. the snowball just keeps getting bigger