There are tacit ontologies we take on board as a matter of course. Much as per Zizek’s critique of Starbucks: do not worry, you can save the starving African children by purchasing this latte. Otherwise we are only victims of a horrible world, rather than possible victors. This is, in the worst case, simply known as ‘being realistic.’ But we need to valorize it. If we are increasingly driven to adopt the ideals of the brutal survivor in the post apocalypse, what might that say about the economic and spiritual realities we’re currently navigating? It idealizes the brutal individual, because this is what we are forced to become. The brutal dystopia as a cultural concept in entertainment serves to justify our increasing alienation, and increasingly competitive economic context. Maybe let them replace discussion, if you can’t find anyone else to talk about the book with.

My intention is for these notes to help you get more out of it, though it’s also a nice, straightforward text. It’s a fantastic book, and I’d recommend anyone who is interested in the same sort of societal themes and critique that I am to look into it. Here are the notes I took on each chapter. It’s a short book and all, but engrossing. I recently read Mark Fisher’s fantastic Capitalist Realism. You can also read my discussion of Curtis’ work.

I think it aims to explicitly address some of the problems of depressive hedonia Fisher worried about. NOTE (): I would encourage anyone interested in criticisms of individualism/consumerism to look into Adam Curtis’ Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher