Capitalist Realism: | Is There No Alternative?

: Fisher argues that neoliberal ideology individualizes mental health struggles, treating depression and anxiety as private chemical imbalances rather than systemic responses to precarious living conditions. He calls for the "re-politicization" of mental health.

Fisher defines capitalist realism as the widespread sense that it is now impossible to even imagine a coherent alternative to capitalism. He highlights the famous slogan, often attributed to Fredric Jameson or Slavoj Žižek, that "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism".

: The ideology of free-market neoliberalism is treated as a "given" rather than a political construction. Capitalist Realism: Is There no Alternative?

: Fisher posits that after 1989, capitalism successfully framed itself as the natural culmination of human development.

: Despite promises of efficiency, neoliberalism has led to an explosion of bureaucracy, such as "mission statements" and constant self-auditing, which Fisher links to the concept of "reflexive impotence"—the feeling that even if things are bad, nothing can be done to change them. He highlights the famous slogan, often attributed to

: Drawing on Jacques Lacan, Fisher suggests that crises like climate change and mental illness represent the "Real" that breaks through the ideological "realism" of the current system.

: This is the belief that everything in society—including healthcare and education—should be run like a business. Fisher notes that this leads to "market Stalinism," where the representation of work through audits and PR becomes more important than the actual work itself. : Despite promises of efficiency, neoliberalism has led

Fisher identifies several areas where the "realism" of capitalism creates profound societal and psychological crises: