#238 | Going Nowhere, Slow: Depression & Capitalist Realism w/ Mikkel Krause Frantzen

Intro: 9:04 | Book Pre-sale

In this episode, I speak with Mikkel Krause Frantzen, author of ‘Going Nowhere, Slow — The Aesthetics and Politics of Depression,’ published by Zero Books. We discuss depression, capitalist realism, and revolution, as discussed in his essay ‘A Future with No Future: Depression, the Left, and the Politics of Mental Health,’ published at Los Angeles Review of Books.

“An adequate diagnosis of depression — and its context — is not enough in itself. It is common wisdom, however, that the diagnosis does not necessarily entail the cure. Just because we know what’s wrong does not mean that we will be able to deal with it. On the contrary, one of the primary symptoms of depression is that what you need to do is precisely what you cannot do, at least not alone and on your own. Or in the plain words of Ann Cvetkovich: “Saying that capitalism (or colonialism or racism) is the problem does not help me get up in the morning.” Also, there is no reason to believe that abolishing private property ownership, or realizing a global and absolute cancellation of private debt, will relieve the suffering of depressed people with a single stroke, as if by magic. But, in an act of speculation, I am tempted to say that revolution is the best antidepressant there is, it makes for a better world, true happiness. But, alas!, in order to do revolution, we need to get out of bed. A real dialectical catch-22 of depression.” (https://bit.ly/3aikIEd)

Mikkel Krause Frantzen holds a PhD from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, and is currently postdoctoral fellow at University of Aalborg, Denmark. He is the author of ‘Going Nowhere, Slow — The Aesthetics and Politics of Depression’ (Zero Books, 2019).

Episode Notes:

- Read ‘A Future with No Future: Depression, the Left, and the Politics of Mental Health’: https://bit.ly/3aikIEd

- Purchase ‘Going Nowhere, Slow — The Aesthetics and Politics of Depression’: https://bit.ly/39fV41F

- The song featured in this episode is “Satin Doll” by Sam Grendel from the album Satin Doll.