About

Capitalist Realism is an ideological framework referenced most notably in the book Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? written by theorist Mark Fisher in 2009. Mark Fisher defines Capitalist Realism as "the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it." The concept of Capitalist Realism in memes first started in August 2020 when Instagram accounts began using the book's cover as an exploitable image reference.

Origin

On August 10th, 2020, Instagram account @theworstpoet posted an edited version of the book's cover, layering in an image of Jared Leto's Joker over it (shown below).^[1] The post received roughly 200 likes in one year. However, a month later, a larger account, @joshuacitarella,^[2] the personal account of the notable artist and professor Joshua Citarella, reposted the image on September 11th, 2020.^[3] This repost would receive roughly 400 likes in one year. Citarella later claimed to have "planted" the meme through a strategic use of his internet microcelebrity and network.^[12]

In general, towards the end of 2020, an interest in "philosophical irony" started to percolate in Instagram meme spheres. Philosophers like Hegel and Deleuze became easy buzzwords for alt-Instagram and alt-Twitter spheres. Capitalist Realism / Mark Fisher memes can be seen as an extension of this growing trend.

Spread

Joshua Citarella would continue to feature more and more compilations of Capitalist Realism memes on his account, tagging the accounts that were making them. One of the most notable examples from this early stage of memes used the We Fuckin' On The X Bed Tonight format and was posted by Instagrammer @jorts666 on September 30th, 2020.^[4] The post received roughly 250 likes in one year. However, @joshuacitarella reposted the image on October 7th, 2020, in a multi-image post featuring other Capitalist Realism memes.^[5] This post would receive roughly 2,000 likes in one year.

Capitalist Realism memes would spread to other platforms as well like Twitter and Facebook. On September 14th, 2020, Twitter^[6] user @bigbreadbrainz reposted the original Capitalist Realism meme from @theworstpoet in a tweet captioned, "This what zero pussy do to a mf" (shown below). On Facebook,^[7] groups like "Mark Fisher Depressive Ghost Posting" had existed before August 2020, but only hopped onto the trend after its rise on Instagram, further amplifying the memes including the book cover.

The trend would continue on Instagram and the internet in general going into 2021. Notable Instagram accounts linked to the trend's spread include @academicfraud,^[8] @theacidleft,^[9] @mark_fisher_but_not_really_him^[10] and @drugcultgang^[11] (among others).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References