The Guardian and similar liberal-bourgeois outlets celebrate “booksmaxxing,” but this isn’t a sign of a cultural revival. Instead, it reveals the deep decline of bourgeois culture under late capitalism. The term—borrowed from the pseudo-Darwinian language of online manosphere self-optimisation—highlights the social forces at play. As noted, it reduces reading to “another tool for building one’s personal brand… another aesthetic marker to be curated on BookTok, Instagram, or Goodreads.”
This is not a revival of reading. Instead, it represents the
commercialisation of reading at its peak—transforming intellectual engagement
into a social media spectacle. The book serves as a prop; the reader becomes a
self-promoter; and culture morphs into a marketplace of carefully crafted
identities.
The Guardian’s enthusiasm for this trend is predictable,
reflecting a privileged class whose view of culture is shaped by consumerism
and fears of maintaining social status. Their claim that reading is now
"sexy" signals not cultural vitality but its decline, highlighting a
lack of genuine engagement with art, history, or social issues.
The publishing industry has historically moved away from
representing the experiences of the working class. James McDonald’s
question—“Where is our Zola?”—is genuine, highlighting a structural truth: the
industry is dominated by the upper-middle class, whose preferences and
ideological interests shape what gets published, promoted, and celebrated.
The popular genres—romance, YA fantasy, mystery/thriller—are
no coincidence. They reflect a social group focused inward, fixated on
identity, self-expression, and escapism. In contrast, literary fiction that
engages with social issues is considered the least important, as the document
notes.
This creates a disturbing scenario in which the lives of
hundreds of millions of workers—such as warehouse staff, nurses, delivery
drivers, teachers, and cleaners—are rendered invisible within the cultural
domain. The “booksmaxxing” bookshelf serves as a showcase of upper-middle-class
narcissism, presenting a curated display of aestheticised consumption.
Cultural Decay and the Crisis of Bourgeois Society
Marxists maintain that the cultural crisis is fundamentally
connected to the capitalist crisis. David Walsh highlights a core
contradiction: despite the existence of conditions conducive to a vibrant
global artistic culture, capitalism's social relations hinder its growth. As
Leon Trotsky notes, the decline of bourgeois society intensifies social
contradictions, creating a pressing demand for liberating art. However, this
demand is not fulfilled by today's cultural institutions, which instead
suppress it through layers of identity-based censorship, market-driven
infantilization, and the ongoing commodification of all human activities.
Booksmaxxing isn't a departure from this process; instead,
it represents its outcome. It substitutes authentic intellectual engagement for
a shallow show, trading real comprehension for the mere act of reading.
Self-Optimisation Ideology and the Policing of Culture
The “-maxxing” suffix is more than a meme; it represents the
mindset of hustle culture, integrating market principles into personal beliefs.
Reading is viewed as a way to build cultural capital, providing a competitive
edge in pursuing career and social achievements.
This ideology explains the emergence of “sensitivity
readers," who are more accurately described as “DEI inquisitors.” Their
role isn't to safeguard readers but to oversee cultural matters in favour of
the upper-middle class, enforcing the principles of identity politics and
limiting literature to narrow notions of personal authenticity and “lived
experience.”
The result is a restrictive atmosphere where artists are
told to “stay in their lane,” and attempting to depict social realities beyond
their identity group is considered morally wrong. This approach does not
signify progress; rather, it results in the fragmentation and depoliticisation
of culture, turning art into a series of identity-centred performances.
The Working Class and the Necessity of Cultural Renewal
In this context, the working class requires authentic
culture instead of the commercialized copies provided by the upper-middle
class. They desire art that directly addresses social issues, pays tribute to
ordinary people's lives, and includes—quoting Trotsky—“an element of protest
against intolerable conditions.”
This culture cannot emerge from TikTok trends, marketing
campaigns, or the self-made rituals of the professional-managerial class.
Instead, it can only be cultivated by revitalizing the socialist movement and
re-establishing the connection between artistic creation and workers'
struggles. The great realist tradition—embodied by Zola, Dickens, Tolstoy,
Dreiser, Steinbeck—did not develop spontaneously. It was driven by the growth
of the international workers’ movement and the belief that society is understandable
and subject to change. Rebuilding this movement is crucial for a genuine
cultural revival.
Conclusion
Booksmaxxing does not signify a cultural awakening but
instead indicates cultural exhaustion. It exposes the narcissism, insecurity,
and ideological emptiness of the upper-middle class, whose dominance over
cultural institutions has led to a landscape characterized by triviality,
censorship, and self-branding.
The working class holds the duty of cultural renewal, not
influencers, publishers, or liberal newspapers. Humanity can develop a new,
sincere, and freeing culture solely through the creation of a revolutionary
socialist movement.
