Neoliberalism has sought to become the most efficient system that would fight the Stalinist approach to the appearance of work. Fisher uses the example of Stalin’s White Sea Canal. In the 1930s, this canal was one of the most impressive feats in engineering, but only on the surface. The canal was too shallow to use for most 20th-century cargo. Thus, it was a symbol of production and, more importantly, anti-production at that. Stalin’s USSR would turn this canal into PR. People would photograph it. Whole Soviet public relations teams would be tasked with showcasing this canal, an empty canal that was really only pretty and useful on the outside. This is the very symbolic anti-production neoliberal capitalism sought to destroy. Yet, neoliberal capitalism has made this PR business meta a more efficient endeavor under the use of constant auditing. Because of managers and bosses constantly breathing down your neck, workers are more concerned with the image of production. Teachers are more concerned with adhering to complete guidelines and the very appearance of education, rather than education itself. This is what capitalist realism is.

FROM:

Epoch Philosophy

Mark Fisher: Capitalist Realism and Business Ontology

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