Phrase guide

capitalist realism

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A short-lived German pop art movement of the 1960s.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: art, arts

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An ideological framework for viewing capitalism and its effects on politics, economics, and public thought.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: government, human-sciences, philosophy, politics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Possibly coined in 1963 when it was used as the title of an art exhibition/performance in Düsseldorf, alluding to socialist realism. The term was later reused in a political philosophy context by cultural theorist Mark Fisher.