Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M2616

Capitalist Realism

Capitalist Realism
BusinessHigh supportEconomics
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A pervasive cultural atmosphere in which capitalism is seen not only as the only viable political and economic system, but also as something for which no alternative can even be imagined. Like in the film Children of Men, where the world is ending, but the coffee shop is still selling Starbucks.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Imagination exhaustion: even if you are dissatisfied with the status quo (e.g., 996), you feel "there's no way, the world is like this." This is a deep-seated learned helplessness that locks down the possibility of social change.

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Anchor fast decisions

Capitalist realism, proposed by Mark Fisher, refers to a "paralysis of alternative imagination": people generally feel that capitalism is the only viable system, and even anti-capitalism is reduced to a nostalgic gesture. It reveals how ideology perpetuates itself through the atmosphere of "no alternative."

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalist_RealismZH · Explicit
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