Editing Anti-capitalism (section)

=== Contemporary anti-capitalism ===
Inspired by Marxist thought, the [[Frankfurt School]] in Germany was established in 1923, with the purpose of analyzing the superstructure. Marx defined the superstructure as the [[social stratification]] and mores reflecting the economic base of capitalism. Through the 1930s, the Frankfurt School, led by thinkers such as [[Herbert Marcuse]] and [[Max Horkheimer]] created the philosophical movement of [[critical theory]]. Later, Critical theorist [[Jürgen Habermas]] noted that the universality of modern worldviews posed a threat to marginalized perspectives outside of western rationality. While Critical Theory emphasized the social issues stemming from capitalism with the intention towards liberating humanity, it did not directly offer an alternative economic model. Instead its analysis shifted attention to the reinforcement of existing power dynamics through statecraft and a complicit citizenry. 

In turn, Critical Theory inspired postmodern philosophers such as [[Michel Foucault]] to conceptualize how we form identities through social interaction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Agger |first1=Ben |title=Critical Theory, Poststructuralism, Postmodernism: Their Sociological Relevance |journal=[[Annual Review of Sociology]] |date=1991 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=105–131 |doi=10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.000541 |jstor=2083337}}</ref> During the 1960s and 1970s the global political movement called the [[New Left]] explored what liberation entailed through social activism on behalf of these identities. Therefore, socialist identifying movements critical of capitalism extended their reach beyond purely economic considerations and became involved in anti-war and civil rights movements. Later this postmodern activism centered around identities regarding ethnicity, gender, orientation, and race would influence more direct anti-capitalist movements.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Farred |first1=Grant |title=Endgame Identity? Mapping the New Left Roots of Identity Politics |journal=[[New Literary History]] |date=2000 |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=627–648 |doi=10.1353/nlh.2000.0045 |jstor=20057628 |s2cid=144650061}}</ref>

New critiques of capitalism also developed in accordance with modern concerns. [[Anti-globalization]] and [[alter-globalization]] oppose what they view as the sweeping [[neoliberal]] and pro-corporate capitalism that spread internationally in the wake of the Soviet Union's fall. They are particularly critical of international financial institutions and regulations such as the [[IMF]], [[WTO]], and [[free trade agreements]]. In response, they promote the autonomy of sovereign people and the importance of environmental concerns as priorities over international market participation. Notable examples of contemporary anti-globalist movements include Mexico's [[EZLN]]. The [[World Social Forum]], began in 2002, is an annual international event dedicated to countering capitalist globalization through networking of attending organizations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Jeremy |title=Anticapitalism and culture: radical theory and popular politics |date=2008 |publisher=Berg |isbn=978-1-84788-451-0 |url=https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-273844 |chapter=Another World Is Possible: The Anti-Capitalist Movement |pages=75–106}}</ref>

According to historian [[Gary Gerstle]], the ideological space for anti-capitalism in the United States shrank significantly with the end of the [[Cold War]] and the globalization of capitalism, forcing the left to "redefine their radicalism in alternative terms" by heavily focusing on multiculturalism and partisan culture war issues, which "turned out to be those that the capitalist system could more, rather than less, easily manage."{{sfn|Gerstle|2022|p=149}} Late philosopher [[Mark Fisher]] referred to this phenomenon as [[Capitalist realism#Mark Fisher|capitalist realism]]: "the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it."{{sfn|Fisher|2009|p=2}}