One way to understand the 'realism' of capitalist realism is in terms of the claim to have given up believe in the big Other. Postmodernism can be construed as the name for the complex of crises that the decline in the belief in the big Other has triggered, as Lyotard's famous formulation of the postmodern condition - 'incredulity towards meta-narratives' - suggests.

• realism
• capitalist realism
• belief
• narrative
• other
• post-modern
• death

Man of truly religious cultures may be compared with children at the age of eight, who need father as a helper, but who begin to adopt his teachings and principles in their lives.  Contemporary man is rather like a child of three, who cries for father when he needs him, and otherwise is quite self-sufficient when he can play.'  

• post-modern
• religion
• society
• self
• children

The human problem of modern capitalism can be formulated in this way:  Modern capitalism needs men who cooperated smoothly and in large numbers; who want to consume more and more; and whose tastes are standardized and can be easily influenced and anticipated.  It needs men who feel free and independent, not subject to any authority or principle or conscience - yet willing to be commanded, to do what is expected of them, to fit into the social machine without friction; who can be guided without force, led without leaders, prompted without aim - except the one to make good, to be on the move, to function, to go ahead.

• capitalism
• post-modern
• society
• authority
• force
• conscience
• aim
• numbers

If students are going to earn degrees, they've got to come up with dissertation topics.  And since dissertations can be written about everything under the sun, the number of topics is infinite.  Sheets of paper covered with words pile up in archives sadder than cemeteries, because no one ever visits them, not even on All Souls' Day.  Culture is perishing in overproduction, in an avalanche of words, in the madness of quantity.

• post-modern
• society
• culture
• madness