From Capitalist Realism to Acid Communism: A Brief History of Mark Fisher's Concepts

In this episode, Adam takes us through Mark Fisher's concept of
Capitalist Realism, and how the concept developed across Fisher's
theoretical writings. Adam focuses on how the notion is deployed
in his 2009 book Capitalist Realism, and how it is reformulated
in his Introduction to the unfinished Acid Communism text. Adam
takes us through the aspects of melancholia and depressive
psychology in Capitalist Realism, its psychological and social
mechanisms, and how the question of the geopolitics of Capitalist
Realism and neoliberalism shifted in Fisher's analysis from a
Cold War East-West focus to one that centres the imperialist
destruction of communism in Latin America. Reflecting on
contemporary social movements such as anti-raids groups and
school strikes, Fisher's optimism for a post-capitalist desire is
illustrated through the reframing of Capitalist Realism in Acid
Communism, a project which reaffirms that all consciousness is
malleable and the site of an active struggle, a struggle haunted
by the spectre of a world that could be free.

Transcript:
https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.com/2022/07/17/transcript-from-capitalist-realism-to-acid-communism/


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Happy Hour at Hippel's (Adam’s blog):
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​Revolting Bodies (Will's Blog):
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​Split Infinities (Craig’s Substack):
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​Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and
https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/