Philosophy

Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures

Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures

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  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Mark Fisher
  • ISBN：191346248X
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Summary

Edited and with an introduction by Matt Colquhoun， this collection of lecture notes and transcriptions reveals acclaimed writer and blogger Mark Fisher in his element — the classroom — outlining a project that Fisher’s death left so bittersweetly unfinished。

Beginning with that most fundamental of questions — “Do we really want what we say we want？” — Fisher explores the relationship between desire and capitalism， and wonders what new forms of desire we might still excavate from the past， present， and future。 From the emergence and failure of the counterculture in the 1970s to the continued development of his left-accelerationist line of thinking， this volume charts a tragically interrupted course for thinking about the raising of a new kind of consciousness， and the cultural and political implications of doing so。

For Fisher， this process of consciousness raising was always， fundamentally， psychedelic — just not in the way that we might think…

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Reviews

Andi Graybill ，

This is a difficult read knowing that the lectures will be tragically cut short after seminar five， but it is also valuable for that very reason。 Fisher was clearly a brilliant teacher and communicator of ideas， and it is inspiring to observe him in his element。 The most intriguing aspect of these lectures is their anticipatory quality: they begin to provide an outline of sorts for Fisher’s unfinished book “Acid Marxism，” which would have served as an optimistic sister text to the more pessimist This is a difficult read knowing that the lectures will be tragically cut short after seminar five， but it is also valuable for that very reason。 Fisher was clearly a brilliant teacher and communicator of ideas， and it is inspiring to observe him in his element。 The most intriguing aspect of these lectures is their anticipatory quality: they begin to provide an outline of sorts for Fisher’s unfinished book “Acid Marxism，” which would have served as an optimistic sister text to the more pessimistic “Capitalist Realism。” Much like Deleuze’s unwritten text “The Grandeur of Marx，” it is the virtual trace of the work that holds the power of suggestion， and forces us， in the banality of everyday life， to actualize its potential。 Fisher’s death is a blank， and this is the question it poses。 。。。more

Justin Groot ，

I miss mark

Diego Parejo perez ，

Creo que es uno de los libros más emocionales que he leído en tiempo。 La cercanía que expresa Mark Fisher con sus estudiantes， las respuestas a medio responder， los argumentos por elaborar。 Es otro Fisher， no es un libro de teoría， sino un proceso de construcción de la teoría。 ¿Qué hubiera podido salir de este curso inacabado？

Philipp ，

This is the second book of transcribed university lectures I've read， followed after Borges' wonderful Professor Borges: A Course on English Literature。 Fisher's book is a bit harder because unlike Borges， Fisher wasn't blind， so there are slides you as the reader rarely get to see （they're sometimes summarised in the footnotes）。 Unlike Borges， Fisher died in the middle of these lectures， so after lecture five it's over， forever， the other ten lectures are now hauntological。 What sets this apart This is the second book of transcribed university lectures I've read， followed after Borges' wonderful Professor Borges: A Course on English Literature。 Fisher's book is a bit harder because unlike Borges， Fisher wasn't blind， so there are slides you as the reader rarely get to see （they're sometimes summarised in the footnotes）。 Unlike Borges， Fisher died in the middle of these lectures， so after lecture five it's over， forever， the other ten lectures are now hauntological。 What sets this apart from other non-fiction books: you as the reader are not as well-informed as the students in these lectures。 Wonderfully smart people who are steeped in the materials， who've finished the precursor units recently， and who have clearly read the prep material in the syllabus （unicorns！？）。 For this book to work best you'd best read the syllabus before each week， just like in any other uni course （the syllabus is at the end of the book， for secret reasons）。What sets this course itself apart from most other STEM-y courses is that Fisher is trying to find something together with his students， it's closer to a proper research unit rather than a knowledge-vomit with following regurgitation。 There's a rough outline along Marxist literature， Paul Mason， Marcuse， Lukacs， Lyotard， along which Fisher lectures， jokes， laughs， discusses where 'the left' might go after capitalism: postcapitalism， push through capitalism instead of fighting it。What sets this book apart from other non-fiction books is that there's no 'one message'， you get to learn a lot about the current streams of far-left thought around postcapitalism。 It's a uni course after all， it's not nicely packed up in a string of arguments， you jump into the deep end of contemporary thought， no swimming vests provided。It's sad that we lost Fisher。 Covid-19 has in some ways broken the old， in other ways shown that the old is not sustainable anymore。 A voice showing the way forward is needed。 。。。more

Charlie Abbott ，

tragically short but immensely valuable。 the lecture format works so well - it really clarified some of the points for me， given that i haven’t read any of the works discussed。 lecture 5 is pretty fuckin wild but the other four were pretty accessible - the discussions on consciousness raising and hartsock/standpoint epistemology were particularly interesting。 it’s one i definitely want to read again after having read the stuff on the reading lists。i had never heard of mark fisher before he died。 tragically short but immensely valuable。 the lecture format works so well - it really clarified some of the points for me， given that i haven’t read any of the works discussed。 lecture 5 is pretty fuckin wild but the other four were pretty accessible - the discussions on consciousness raising and hartsock/standpoint epistemology were particularly interesting。 it’s one i definitely want to read again after having read the stuff on the reading lists。i had never heard of mark fisher before he died。 but， having read a few of his books now and having engaged with a fair bit of zero books content， it makes me wonder what he would think of the world now， and this book in particular makes me miss them， even though i never knew them when they were alive。 a truly brilliant mind。 。。。more

Bob Wigin ，

A transcript of the last five lectures that Mark Fisher delivered at Goldsmiths University。 Very hard to penetrate some of the dialouge that goes on between Fisher and his students。 Probably best read after reding the set texts that went with each lecture。

Matteo Caronna ，

È stato come iniziare a scalare una montagna e realizzare a ogni passo che la montagna è ben più alta di quel che credevi。 È un peccato che si rimane soli ben prima di aver raggiunto la vetta， ma ne vale comunque la pena。

Jack Lawrence ，

R。I。P。

Joey Molloy ，

The spectre of a world which could be free。。。What could a life beyond toil look like？ Do we want what we say we want？ These are the fundamental questions Mark Fisher explores in the module 'Post-Capitalist Desire'。The seminar served as a workshop for fleshing out the ideas in what was supposed to be Fisher's forthcoming book， "Acid Communism。" Tragically， the talks of a new psychedelic consciousness were put to a halt with his passing。 Only the unfinished introduction of "Acid Communism" survive The spectre of a world which could be free。。。What could a life beyond toil look like？ Do we want what we say we want？ These are the fundamental questions Mark Fisher explores in the module 'Post-Capitalist Desire'。The seminar served as a workshop for fleshing out the ideas in what was supposed to be Fisher's forthcoming book， "Acid Communism。" Tragically， the talks of a new psychedelic consciousness were put to a halt with his passing。 Only the unfinished introduction of "Acid Communism" survived。In these final 5 lectures， Fisher discusses accelerationism， the disintegration of the 60's counterculture， group consciousness， libidinal marxism， and much more。 All put together， a vision of a radically different future begins to emerge。 The book showcases Fisher's passion for working with students and his natural ability to craft an engaging lecture。 Rest in Peace。 。。。more

Gareth Schweitzer ，

I learnt a lot of from this。 It has it’s fair share of obscure and impenetrable theory but is a good introduction to thinking about Capitalism and how it works。 The classroom setting makes it more accessible and human， compared to a purely theoretical text。I also think it’s a good complement to Adam Curtis’s “Can’t Get You Out of my Head” which I’ve watched recently， offering insights into how Capitalism operates…and helps to start making sense of where we find ourself in this post-Trump， post-B I learnt a lot of from this。 It has it’s fair share of obscure and impenetrable theory but is a good introduction to thinking about Capitalism and how it works。 The classroom setting makes it more accessible and human， compared to a purely theoretical text。I also think it’s a good complement to Adam Curtis’s “Can’t Get You Out of my Head” which I’ve watched recently， offering insights into how Capitalism operates…and helps to start making sense of where we find ourself in this post-Trump， post-Brexit world。It’s a smallish book that sits comfortably in the hands。 。。。more

Garrett Peace ，

I’m definitely not well-versed enough in all the theory being worked through here， but， to Fisher’s credit， his teaching makes me WANT to be。 （The passages he picks out from Lyotard， for instance， have had me seriously considering buying Libidinal Economy all week， despite knowing there’s a slim chance I’d ever read the whole thing。） I’d imagine this is more interesting on the whole to those who are familiar with Lyotard， Delueze & Guattari， Lukács， Nick Land， and Marcuse， who all provide the th I’m definitely not well-versed enough in all the theory being worked through here， but， to Fisher’s credit， his teaching makes me WANT to be。 （The passages he picks out from Lyotard， for instance， have had me seriously considering buying Libidinal Economy all week， despite knowing there’s a slim chance I’d ever read the whole thing。） I’d imagine this is more interesting on the whole to those who are familiar with Lyotard， Delueze & Guattari， Lukács， Nick Land， and Marcuse， who all provide the theoretical foundation for much of the discussions。 Those seeking more of Fisher’s writing on music and pop culture would be better off looking elsewhere—though this may reveal to you， too， that you’re more interested in Marxist theory than you thought you were。 One of my best friends and I talk often of albums that are “for the heads，” albums with a lukewarm critical （even audience） reception that are actually essential to the artist’s discography or exploration of their overall sound。 （Some relatively recent examples that come to mind: Radiohead’s King of Limbs， Sufjan’s Ascension， Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz。） This seems to me like a book for the heads。 。。。more

Taylor Dorrell ，

So good。。。 almost cried towards the end of the last lecture when he said “Oh gosh， we’re nearly coming to an end。。。” RIP to a legend。

Ben Murphy ，

Reading ideas through the lecture format， with alot of the conversational aspects preserved well by Colquhoun makes it quite exciting to read。 Kind of feel like you’re there in a way， I guess。 Obviously， Lecture Five is dense as shit， and doesn’t really get any clearer when they discuss it tbh， but I guess it be like that sometimes。。。 I was more excited when Fisher spoke on the political-history side of things， which I hadn’t heard much from him before。 The lecture on Jefferson Cowie’s book “Sta Reading ideas through the lecture format， with alot of the conversational aspects preserved well by Colquhoun makes it quite exciting to read。 Kind of feel like you’re there in a way， I guess。 Obviously， Lecture Five is dense as shit， and doesn’t really get any clearer when they discuss it tbh， but I guess it be like that sometimes。。。 I was more excited when Fisher spoke on the political-history side of things， which I hadn’t heard much from him before。 The lecture on Jefferson Cowie’s book “Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and The Last Days of The Working Class” is real good， and the recurring focus throughout the book on “where we are now” and “what do we do about it” is， if anything， simply helpful。 Obviously， in the long shadow of his death， it’s quite sad to read what was meant to come， which was essentially more of the same。 But still， definitely worth hearing Fisher this way， through the classroom。 。。。more

Andy ，

Great provocations and it's a rare access to a classroom action with these readings and ideas and questions in play。 Great provocations and it's a rare access to a classroom action with these readings and ideas and questions in play。 。。。more

Luke Charnley ，

Accurately captures the experience of being in a lecture at Goldsmiths， for better or for worse。 Digressions， abandoned lines of thought， interruptions are all preserved， but when you get a glimpse of what Fisher was striving towards in these lectures， it all clicks into place。 Probably the least essential Fisher book， but still cool。

michal k-c ，

Mark had such a special mind that it’s almost tragic to read through these seminars that occurred right before his death。 You’re never going to have a better teacher for Lyotard and Libidinal Economy， so you should probably just read this。

Alex ，

Colquhoun absolutely succeeds here in shedding light on Fisher's unfinished Acid Communism。 But considered apart from the speculations of *what could have been*， the lectures themselves are an incredibly lucid and urgent analysis of class struggle in the 2010s。 Includes probably the best exposition of Lukacs' thought I've ever read， as well as a modern-day， intelligible reading of the libidinal marxism of Marcuse and Lyotard。 A genuinely inspiring book。 Colquhoun absolutely succeeds here in shedding light on Fisher's unfinished Acid Communism。 But considered apart from the speculations of *what could have been*， the lectures themselves are an incredibly lucid and urgent analysis of class struggle in the 2010s。 Includes probably the best exposition of Lukacs' thought I've ever read， as well as a modern-day， intelligible reading of the libidinal marxism of Marcuse and Lyotard。 A genuinely inspiring book。 。。。more

Martin Hare Michno ，

Mark Fisher's unfinished work， Acid Communism （to， which he could only write the Introduction）， finds some consolidatory completion in his final lectures: Postcapitalist Desire。 The lectures are transcribed by a former student， Matt Colquhoun， who brings the reader into the seminar room with Fisher。 Colquhoun also delivers a nice introduction to the lectures， as well as two appendices which offer closure to the unfinished lecture series。 The lectures themselves are enthralling， as fascinating as Mark Fisher's unfinished work， Acid Communism （to， which he could only write the Introduction）， finds some consolidatory completion in his final lectures: Postcapitalist Desire。 The lectures are transcribed by a former student， Matt Colquhoun， who brings the reader into the seminar room with Fisher。 Colquhoun also delivers a nice introduction to the lectures， as well as two appendices which offer closure to the unfinished lecture series。 The lectures themselves are enthralling， as fascinating as you'd expect Mark Fisher to be。 However， they are also surprisingly refreshing。 The usual depressive or gloomy undertones in Fisher's work is seemingly replaced by a much more energetic and excited Fisher。 As the title suggests， the lecture series seeks to explore a world beyond or after capitalism， a post-capitalist reality。 A world which seemed so distant and unreachable in Capitalist Realism becomes suddenly thinkable。 Even in the five out of fifteen lectures he was able to give， Fisher gives us something to work with， something which readers of Acid Communism or Capitalist Realism have been yearning for。 In that sense， if you do happen to have read any of his work， don't hesitate to read these final lectures。As a side note， one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the appendix which provides the reading list for the entirety of his course （The Xenomanifesto included！）。 We aren't able to know exactly what he had to say about these texts， but it is still curious to read them in terms of Fisher's philosophy and thought。 。。。more

Lily ，

Finished， in the haste of catching trains and flights， trapped in the liminal space of stations and airports， even more eerie in the dismal light of pandemic regulations。 That Fisher is as captivating a teacher as he was a brilliant writer， did come as a surprise， but not his transparent ability to blend theories and ideas with real life。 Mark Fisher was a believer in a way out of the nightmarish spiral of capitalism right until the very end， and this comes across in his brilliant lectures。 As w Finished， in the haste of catching trains and flights， trapped in the liminal space of stations and airports， even more eerie in the dismal light of pandemic regulations。 That Fisher is as captivating a teacher as he was a brilliant writer， did come as a surprise， but not his transparent ability to blend theories and ideas with real life。 Mark Fisher was a believer in a way out of the nightmarish spiral of capitalism right until the very end， and this comes across in his brilliant lectures。 As with his writings， the air of sympathy， of kindness， of caring for something greater and beyond， is always present。 I was instantly fascinated by his proposed syllabus and plans for the entire course， but of course we were denied the pleasure of watching how Fisher would conclude his intimate exploration of libidinal desire and how we can reclaim and reshape it to set the world free。 This book is immensely precious。 It is a worthy companion to Fisher's published work as one of the influential cultural critics and thinkers in our time， and for the countless people he has inspired， a bittersweet trail of his ideas and theoretical aspirations， before he left us。 。。。more

João ，

The abrupt ending - really sad。Moreover， as the last lecture leaves this feeling of a NO EXIT large neon sign flashing in dissociative lights。 Here is an excerpt of absurd despair:STUDENT #2: So he’s saying that Marx — or Marxism — enjoys capitalism and not finishing it because then he would lose its culture of critique？MF: Yes， I think so。 That’s part of it。 His endless deferring in getting rid of the object of critique [means that] at the same time… the critique is never finished。 The critique The abrupt ending - really sad。Moreover， as the last lecture leaves this feeling of a NO EXIT large neon sign flashing in dissociative lights。 Here is an excerpt of absurd despair:STUDENT #2: So he’s saying that Marx — or Marxism — enjoys capitalism and not finishing it because then he would lose its culture of critique？MF: Yes， I think so。 That’s part of it。 His endless deferring in getting rid of the object of critique [means that] at the same time… the critique is never finished。 The critique is never finished， which means that the work of getting rid of capital can never really start。 And the other way round， right？---Waves will be here for a long time， and no tsunami changes that。 。。。more

Cestmoi ，

tragically short

Henrique Valle ，

leitura muito gostosaobviamente tem esse traço da morte dele que invade retroativamente o texto e cria uma atmosfera bem melancólica， mas mesmo assim bem gostoso de ler

vi macdonald ，

These lectures are in their own right wonderful， but it's undeniable that the long shadow of Mark Fisher's passing （the shock of which still feels so raw and recent， even though it's been almost four years） looms large over them。 The fact we're seeing them at all， is really a confession of how little of this would-be masterwork there really is in any tangible form。 Five of a planned fifteen lectures in which it seems Fisher intended to workshop what would become his unfinished masterpiece， Acid These lectures are in their own right wonderful， but it's undeniable that the long shadow of Mark Fisher's passing （the shock of which still feels so raw and recent， even though it's been almost four years） looms large over them。 The fact we're seeing them at all， is really a confession of how little of this would-be masterwork there really is in any tangible form。 Five of a planned fifteen lectures in which it seems Fisher intended to workshop what would become his unfinished masterpiece， Acid Communism。 While much can （and indeed should） be said about taking up Fisher's project， letting our own imaginations lead us towards our own visions for what this "Acid Communism" could possibly be （incidentally my personal favourite attempt thus far is Jonathan Greenaway's essay "Dissolving Nihilism"）， something much smaller kept stabbing me in the chest while reading this。 Fisher returns a number of times to the idea of "consciousness raising"， and every time he did I was transported back to when I first accidentally stumbled across Fisher's work。 While trawling the internet for mp3 blogs with Post-Punk obscurities I stumbled across "Memorex for the Krakens: The Fall's Pulp Modernism"。 It was an older entry， posted at least a few years before I stumbled across it， almost dismissing it due to the fact it was wordy and didn't even have the decency of including a mediafire link。 I don't really remember why I decided to read it （I'd guess that the title was eye-catching enough that I figured I'd give it a shot， even if he wasn't going to give me any malware encrusted mp3s）， but I'm glad I did， because even though this piece in particular didn't magically turn me into a communist， it put me on the path to becoming one。 It's easy to think about the k-punk blog as just a creative outlet for a talented theorist who was looking to workshop his ideas in a low-stakes environment before taking them to the publisher。 But it was only really while reading this that it hit me that everything he did was part of this project of "consciousness raising"。 From his work in schools and universities， to the surprise bestseller Capitalist Realism， to a blog where he'd go of on weird excitable rants about garbage BBC sci-fi programs from the 70s and obscure music – all of it served a purpose。 I can't think of too many works of 'theory' that have moved me to tears， but this is one of them。 Mark Fisher truly was an unbelievable talent。 。。。more

Lucy ，

even though its just a transcript， reading fisher truly in his element really is special and heartbreaking at the same time。 we truly were so lucky to have a thinker as innovative and as deeply empathetic as fisher at the same time as us。

Nick ，

I imagine many will say the same thing after reading this tragic lecture series: the excellence of the thinking offered by Fisher and his students is worth serious consideration and attention。 The reading material and the manner in which Fisher begins constructing his theory of postcapitalist desire requires continued research and practice。 There feels like a new possibility of work to be done both in and outside of academia from hereon。 But beyond the wonder of the thinking， the book offers the I imagine many will say the same thing after reading this tragic lecture series: the excellence of the thinking offered by Fisher and his students is worth serious consideration and attention。 The reading material and the manner in which Fisher begins constructing his theory of postcapitalist desire requires continued research and practice。 There feels like a new possibility of work to be done both in and outside of academia from hereon。 But beyond the wonder of the thinking， the book offers the chance for those of us who never had the privilege of attending Fisher's lectures the chance of being there， in a way。 The transcription breathes in a way that watching a video of the lectures does not。 Though tainted by sadness throughout， this feeling of being in his lectures was a treat I did not expect the book to bring。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0