Post on 10-May-2018
transcript
14 CriticalStudies
Abstract
withMichelFoucault’saccountoftheentrepreneurialself,thenwithcontemporarycrit-icaltheoristswhobuild uponandmovebeyondFoucault’saccount, itconsidersthreeaspectsofthehumanconditionunderneoliberalhegemony:themoral,thepolitical,andtheexistential.
LarsCornelissen
1
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forcesmusthavefoiledourintentions,thatwearethevictimsofsomeevil
power which must be conqueredbefore we can resume the road to better
things?1
FriedrichHayek,TheRoadtoSerfdom
Introduction
FriedrichHayek’sTheRoadtoSerfdomistoday,aboveallelse,atestimonytoirony.The
bookispunctuatedwithfrighteningimagesoflivesreducedtounfreedom,peopleseen
theGreekgodofsatireandirony,himselfordainedit,TheRoadtoSerfdomhasturned
-
pectedsocialismwouldbringhasseeminglycometrueunderaregimehehimselfhelped
LetusquicklyforgetHayek.Myaimisnottocriticisethisprimusinterneoliberales
-
nality has constructed those modes of subjectivity its intellectual avant-garde always
fearedsocialdemocracywouldresultin.Myaim,then,istoconsiderthemodeofsubjec-
tivitythatisnotonlyendorsedbutconstructedbyneoliberalrationality.Anoteonter-
minologyandmethodology:neoliberalismisunderstoodherenotasanideology,aclass
project,apoliticaltheory,ora political programme,although allof theseare tosome
-
ingthatcaststheentiretyofhumanlifeineconomicterms.WithWendyBrown,Irefer
reasonorganizingthesocialsphere,governancepractices,andcitizenship.”2AlthoughI
-versityNijmegen,theNetherlands.
-tion,”PoliticalTheory34(2006)6:690-714,693;WendyBrown,UndoingtheDemos:Neoliberal-ism’sStealthRevolution(NewYork:ZoneBooks,2015).Notethatapoliticalrationalityisnotthesameasaformofgovernmentality,whichiswhatneoliberalismisquitecommonlyunderstoodtobebyFoucauldiananalysts.Whilethelatterisamodeofgoverningthatreplacessovereigntyoverthecourseofmodernity,theformerdenotesamodeofreasoning.SinceIaimtounderstandthe
toseeitasarationalityratherthanamodeofgovernmentality(althoughthelatterisimpliedbyEdgework:CriticalEssaysonKnowledgeandPolitics(Princeton:
15Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
speakofneoliberalrationalityinthesingular,itismoreaccuratetodistinguishbetween
historically,culturally,geographically,socially,andtemporallydifferentiatedstrandsand
offshootsofneoliberalrationality.However,sincemyaimhereisnottodiscussanysuch
strand ofneoliberal rationality inparticular,but rathertoanalysethe implicationsof
certaintheoreticalconceptualisationstobefoundinneoliberaltheory,Istickto ‘neo-
liberalrationality’inthesingular.Howtheimplicationsanalysedherecanberelatedto
differentiatedinstantiationsofneoliberalrationalityremainstobeseen.
self,’a conceptcoinedbyMichelFoucault inhis1978-1979lecturesat the Collègede
France.InthesecondsectionIwillbuildonrecentcriticaltheorytoconsidertheimpli-
cationsofneoliberalism’sreconstructionofthesubjectformoralsubjectivity,forpoliti-
calsubjectivity,andforthehumanconditionunderneoliberalhegemony.
turntoMichelFoucault’slecturesonTheBirthofBiopolitics,3whereFoucaultdevelops
anaccountofhomooeconomicusasitisreconstructedbyneoliberaltheory.Neoliberal-
and foremostthroughthenotion of ‘human capital’.Humancapital,asunderstoodby
therecently deceased Gary S. Becker (referredtoby Foucault as “the most radicalof
theAmericanneo-liberals”)4,isthenamegiventothesetofskills,abilities,andresourc-
-
one’s intelligence). Whilst others can be developed over the course of one’s lifetime
(forinstanceone’sphysicalcondition)althoughmostaretheresultofacombinationof
innateabilityandsubsequentdevelopment.5Importantly,neoclassicaleconomistssuch
relatedtohumancapital,andassucheconomicactivitybecomesseenaseither,onthe
onehand,investmentinordetractionfromhumancapital,or,ontheother,theobtaining
of(psychicormonetary)incomebasedonpreviouslyamassedhumancapital.
Viewedseparately,thenotionofhumancapitalisnotespeciallyradical.Classicalliber-
alismalreadyassumedthatone’s income isbaseduponone’s skills and training,and
AdamSmithevenconsideredexpenditurestowardsthedevelopmentofvocationalskills6However,what
setsneoliberalismapart from classical liberalism(andthis ispartofwhatmerits the
objects,todomainsofbehaviororconductwhichwerenotmarketformsofbehavior
orconduct.”7Neoliberalrationality,then,analysesnotonlypeople’seconomicactivity
PrincetonUniversityPress,2005);Brown,UndoingtheDemos,115-121.
TheBirthofBiopolitics:LecturesattheCollègedeFrance1978-1979,transl.G.Burchell(Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan,2008[2004]).
Ibid.,269.
HumanCapital:ATheoreticalandEmpiricalAnalysiswithSpecialReferencetoEducation,3rded.(Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,1993[1964]).Cf.Foucault,TheBirthofBiopolitics,226-233.Foranexcellentanalysisofthenotionofhumancapital,see:MichelFeher,“Self-Appreciation;or,TheAspirationsofHumanCapital,”transl.I.Ascher,PublicCulture21(2009[2007])1:21-41.
An Inquiry into theNatureandCausesof theWealth ofNations (1776), II.1, at
TheBirthofBiopolitics,268.
16 CriticalStudies
(withSmith, thoseactivities thatspringfromournatural propensityto ‘truck,barter,
andexchange’)intermsofcompetitionandinvestment,butalloftheiraction.Itturns
economics,thestudyofeconomicbehaviour,into“praxeology”:thestudyofhumanac-
tionassuch.8Withtheriseofrationalchoicetheoryinthepost-WWIIperiod,economic
analysisbecomesoneofthemostprominentmethodologiesappliedinthehumanities
andtherewitheconomicsquicklyreplacestheartesliberalesofyesteryearasthecore
curriculumforsocialscientists.9“Economicimperialism”,indeed.10
Takentogether,thenotionofhumancapitalandthewidenedscopeofeconomicsresult
economicactivityisanalysedin
termsofhumancapital,atthesametimeeconomicsbroadensitsscope,colonisesthe
allhumanactionaseconomicaction,therebyeffectivelyre-
castingeveryhumanactivityaseithertheobtentionofincome,ortheappreciationor
depreciationofhumancapital.11Homooeconomicus -
nomicanalysis,isnotmadetodisappear(notwithstandingneoliberals’insistenceonthe
contrary)12 homooeconomicusintheclassicalliberal
conceptionwasa“partnerofexchange”basedon“aproblematicofneeds,”13underneo-
liberalismhomooeconomicusbecomesmodelled ontheenterprise, that is,abusiness
soughtin“themechanismsofcompetition.”14
consistofcapitalandislikewiserequiredtocompeteinmarkets.Homooeconomicusbe-
comes“anentrepreneur,anentrepreneurofhimself.”15Theentrepreneurialself,inshort,
istheselfwhoisconstantlyengagedininvestinginherownhumancapitalbecauseshe
mustcompeteinamarketplace;itistheself“whoincursexpensesbyinvestingtoobtain
somekindofimprovement.”16
orotherwise.
TheneoliberalsubjectforFoucaultisthusthesubjectwhoinvests,whocompetes,who
appreciatesherhumancapital.17Thissubjectisconsideredtobehavelikeanenterprise
importantAustrianschoolneoliberals.SeeespeciallyhisHumanAction:ATreatiseonEconomics,4thed.(SanFrancisco,CA:Fox&Wilkes,1996[1949]).Forausefulanalysisofthisnotionanditsimpact,seePierreDardot&ChristianLaval,TheNewWayoftheWorld:OnNeo-LiberalSociety,transl.G.Elliott(London&NewYork:Verso2013[2009]).
-liticaltheory,seeAndrewVincent,TheNatureofPoliticalTheory(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2004),61-65.
rationalchoicetheoryanditsoffshoots(e.g.publicchoicetheory)havehadonthesocialscienc-es.See“EconomicImperialism:AnInterviewWithGaryBecker,”Religion&Liberty3(1993)2,at http://www.acton.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume-3-number-2/economic-imperialism, ac-cessed05May2014.
TheBirthofBiopolitics;cf.Dardot&Laval,TheNewWayoftheWorld.
-nomicus.”(VonMises,HumanAction,64.)VonMisesmeansthateconomicsdealsnotmerelywitheconomicactionbutwithallhumanaction.Heappearstobeunawarethatthismeansnotthathomooeconomicusisdismissed,butratherthatiteclipsesallotherhomini.
TheBirthofBiopolitics,225.
Ibid.,147.
Ibid.,226.
Ibid.,230.
17Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
and,crucially,seesherselfasanenterprise.Sheismadetoconformtoentrepreneurial
standardsthroughanethicsoftheselfand,indeed,thenewlyfashionedneoliberal“[h]
omo oeconomicus is someone who is eminently governable.”18 The point here is that
whereashomooeconomicus as the classical political economists understood it had to
beleftalone(“onemustlasser-faire”)19theneoliberalsubjectissointimatelytethered
becomeseasilyconducted.Theneoliberalsubjectwillalwaysrespondtosocio-economic
reality, because hersurvival, her income, dependson her adaptation to changingcir-
toincreasethevalueoftheirhumancapital,ormoreprecisely,toactonthewaythey
governthemselves,byincitingthemtoadoptconductsdeemedvalorizingandtofollow20
Onemerelyhastoconsider‘welfare-to-work’or‘workfare’programmestounderstand
howsuchself-governmentunfoldsineverydaylife.21
HereendsFoucault’saccountoftheneoliberalsubject.Althoughhedidnotaddressthe
topichimself,wecanusetheframeworkheprovidestoaskwhatkindofsubjectneolib-
eralrationalityconstructsafterhavingbecomehegemonic.InwhatfollowsIwillcon-
sidertheneoliberalsubject’smoralagency,herpolitical agency,and,somewhatmore
-
theirtheoreticalunderpinnings.
Moralagency
Neoliberaltheorydealswithprivatesubjectswho“doandpermitwhatthey
will” according to their own preferences and value orientations within the
limitsoflegallypermissibleaction.Theyarenotrequiredtotakeanymutual
interest forone another;theyare thusnot equippedwithanymoral sense
ofsocialobligation.Thelegallyrequisiterespectforprivatelibertiesthatall
competitorsareequallyentitledtoissomethingverydifferentfromtheequal
respectforthehumanworthofeachindividual.
J.Habermas,ThePostnationalConstellation
Whenneoliberalrationalitybecomesthehegemonicimaginary,ameaningfulsenseof
thattheneoliberalsubject,althoughpurportedlynon-gendered, isdeeplygendered in fact.SeeBrownUndoingtheDemos,99-107.
TheBirthofBiopolitics,270.Foranaccountoftheneoliberalethicsoftheself,seePeterMiller&NikolasRose,GoverningthePresent:AdministeringEconomic,SocialandPersonalLife(Cambridge:PolityPress,2008),209-215.
Ibid.
Non-StopInertia(Winchester&Washington:ZeroBooks,2011).
18 CriticalStudies
thecase.22Theargumentrunsdeeper,forthepointisthatneoliberalrationalityunder-
minestheverypossibilityofanynon-instrumentalmoralagencybyreconstructingthe
subjectexclusivelyalongentrepreneuriallines.Letusseehowthisgoes.
Firstly,andmostimportantly,theentrepreneuriallogicneoliberalismcommitsitssub-
jectstoturnsthemintounabashedlyself-interestedmicro-enterprises.Theplaceproper
toenterprises,however,isthemarketplace.Thismeansthatsubjects,whoseactivityis
otherhumancapitals),appreciationordepreciationoftheirowncapital,ortheobten-
23.Butifallhuman
activityisinterpretedasself-interested(asrationalchoicetheoryassumes)24wethereby
losetheabilitytoviewanythingotherthanourownutilityasanendinitself.Thismeans
nothing less than the inability to act as Kantian moral agents, because for Kant only
prescribesit,aremoralinnature.Sinceneoliberalismassumesthatallactionisspurred
byindividualinterests,itbecomesimpossible,amongotherthings,toviewotherhuman
beings(orindeedourselves)asendsinthemselvesortoactaccordingtoourmoralduty
as such. The neoliberal subject is, in effect, not an inhabitant of theReichderZweck-
en 25Although
this does not mean that the neoliberal subject isentirely divested of moral agency, it
doesmeanthattheonlymoralagencysheiscapableofpertainstowhatdevelopmental
children.Inthissense,neoliberalmoralityispre-eminentlyinfantile.26
Neoliberalisminheritedthisutilitarianunderstandingofmoralityfromclassicalliberal-
ism.Classicalliberalismtoodeniesthatindividualsareanythingotherthandesiringbe-
planningofsupporting.SeeTheRoadtoSerfdom, -versityofChicagoPress,2007[1944]),130.
that neoliberalism combines elements of the political economy of classical liberalism with ele-
ifcondensedintoasingleword,wouldhavetoread:property -alismresultfromthisfundamentaldemand.”(Liberalism:TheClassicalTradition,transl.R.Raico(Indianapolis:LibertyFund,Inc.,2005[1927]), 2.)ThemethodvonMisesusestoderivethose“otherdemands”isstraightforwardlyBenthamite.Cf.Brown,UndoingtheDemos,32-34.
directedatends,andsecond,thathumanswillalwaysoptforthewayofleastresistanceinattain-ingthatend.Importantly,theendsaimedatdonothavetobeegoistic:myendcanbemyneigh-bour’shappiness.This,however,isstillviewedasself-interested,forultimatelyIwanttofeelgoodthroughmyneighbour’sfeelinggood.Toputitinslightlydifferentwords:rationalchoicetheory
meansthatevenifIambeingaltruistic,itwillstillcountasamaximisationofmyown(altruistic)utilities.Cf.Vincent,TheNatureofPoliticalTheory,62-63.
UndoingtheDemos,109.
ofcapitalism iscertainlyaccurate. SeehisConsumed:HowMarketsCorruptChildren, InfantilizeAdultsandSwallowCitizensWhole(NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,2007).ForanoverviewofKohlberg’sstagesofmoraldevelopment,seehttp://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/kohlberg.stages.html,accessed17August2014.
19Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
ings,perpetuallymovingfromonejoytothenext.27Thedifferenceliesthereinthatwhile
classicalliberalismheldthatanindividual’sdesiresaregivenpriortoanycontactwith
-
nalmatter”).28Foritsbastardoffspringself-interestednessiswhollytetheredtomarket
mechanisms.Theself-interestednessprescribedbyneoliberalismisnotthequasi-epi-
cureanperpetualwant-satisfactionBenthamandhisliberalfellowtravellerscelebrated;
itis,rather,theinjunctiontobeaproductive,responsible,self-investingspeckofhuman
capital.29AsJacquesRancièreexplains,theneoliberalsubjectis“calledontobethemi-
crocosmofthegreatnoisywholeofthecirculationanduninterruptedexchangeofrights
andcapabilities,ofgoodsandtheGood,”andis“requiredtoseehimself[sic
ownmilitant,asasmallalliance-formingenergy,runningfromonetietothenext,from
onecontracttothenextaswellasfromonethrilltothenext.”30Whileitleadstothesame
-31
Theneoliberaleviscerationofmoralagencyshouldnotsurpriseus;itisinherentinthe
entrepreneurial logic neoliberalism submits its subjects to. In a critique of corporate
power,JoelBakanwritesthat“[u]nlikethehumanbeingswhoinhabitit,thecorpora-
tion issingularly self-interestedand unable to feel genuine concern forothers in any
context.”32Thisleadshimtoconcludethatifcorporationswerepeople,theywouldbe
diagnosedaspsychopathic.Surelyheisright,andsurelythisiswhatneoliberalratio-
nalitywantseveryhumanbeingtomodeltheirbehaviouron.Neoliberaltheoryhasnev-
erbeenverysecretiveaboutitssimplisticunderstandingofmoralityeither.Forwhile
AdamSmith(whoseWealthofNations, I imagine,istobefoundoneveryneoliberal’s
nightstand,whilethefactthatthesamemanauthoredTheTheoryofMoralSentiments
isconvenientlyforgotten)onceheldthat“[i]tisnotfromthebenevolenceofthebutcher,
thebrewer,orthebakerthatweexpectourdinner,butfromtheirregardtotheirown
interest,”33 BernardMandeville, the politicaleconomist from whomHayekderivedhis
theoryofspontaneousorder,actuallycelebratedtheviceswithsplendidcandour:
ThenleaveComplaints:Foolsonlystrive
TomakeaGreatanHonestHive.
T’enjoytheWorld’sConveniencies,
Befam’dinWar,yetliveinEase,
WithoutgreatVices,isavain
EutopiaseatedintheBrain.
GettingWhatYouWant?:ACritiqueofLiberalMorality(London&NewYork:Routledge,1998).
Ibid.,86.
UndoingtheDemos.
Disagreement:PoliticsandPhilosophy,transl.J.Rose(Minneapolis:Univer-sityofMinnesotaPress,1999[1995]),114-115.NotethatwhileRancièredoesnotexplicitlydealwithneoliberalismortheneoliberalsubjectIdothinkthatespeciallythemodeofsubjectivityhedescribesisintimatelyrelatedtoneoliberalrationality.
isnolongerasubjectofinterests,asshewasunderclassicalliberalism,butanentrepreneurofherself.SeeTheBirthofBiopolitics.
(London:Constable,2004),56.
TheWealthofNations(1776),I.2.
20 CriticalStudies
Fraud,Luxury,andPridemustlive,
Hunger’sadreadfulPlague,nodoubt,
Yetwhodigestsorthriveswithout?34
ThesubtitletoMandeville’smagnumopusneatlysumsuptheneoliberalunderstand-
ingofmorality:
Hayek, who is very much indebted to the work of this “master-mind”35 -
deville’slessonstoheartandindeednotonlycondemnsallofthecardinalvirtuesexcept
forPrudence;36itactivelyprescribesallofthecardinalvices,withtheexceptionofSloth
(moreonSlothbelow),asvicesareimaginedtobethefuelofHistory’sengine:sponta-
neous(market)order.Thatthisviewofvirtuosityisdetrimentaltoanynotionof‘civic
virtue’,uponwhichmanydemocratictheoriesrest,requiresnoelaboration.
Moralagencyandneoliberalism,insum,donotgotogether.Thesubjectneoliberalra-
tionalitycreatescannotbeanythingotherthanaself-interestedbeing,whose(literal-
ly) vicious behaviour is celebrated because, in neoliberal mythology, the only way to
progressasaspeciesisforindividualstobehavelikewhollyself-interested,atomistic
Benthamites.
Politicalagency
Voters and customers are essentially the same people. Mr. Smith buys and
votes;heisthesamemaninthesupermarketandinthevotingbooth
G.Tullock,TheVoteMotive
Besidesunderminingthepossibilitytoviewthemselves,others,andtheworldasends
inthemselves,neoliberalrationalitythoroughlysubvertssubjects’capacityforpolitical
agency.Althoughitisanacademiccommonplacetorefertoneoliberalismasadepoliti-
Usuallyneoliberalism’sdepoliticisingtendencyisunderstoodtolieinitspenchantfor
rhetoricallyandinstitutionallyreducingallproblemstomarketproblems.Neoliberal-
ism,inthissense,isindeed“thebeliefthatthetraditionalquestionsofthepolisarebest
answeredbythemarket.”37Thisdepoliticisinglogicisinherentinmostneoliberaltheo-
ry,whichasIarguedabove,tendstounderstandallhumanactionaseconomicaction:
everything is understood as either investment, consumption, competition, or income
(Indianapolis:LibertyFund,1988[1714]),37.
http://espacereussite.u-strasbg.fr/depotcel/DepotCel/547/Cours%20amglais/Hayek_on_Man-deville.pdf,accessed07October2014.
andwasagoodfriendofMiltonFriedman’s)callsneoliberaleconomics‘PrudenceOnlyeconomics’forthisveryreason.Forherexcellentworkoneconomicsandvirtues/vices,seeTheBourgeoisVirtues:EthicsforanAgeofCommerce(Chicago&London:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,2006).TheconnectionbetweenneoliberalismandPrudenceismoreexplicitlymadeinherequallyexcel-lentbookBourgeoisDignity:WhyEconomicsCan’tExplaintheModernWorld(Chicago&London:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,2010),446.
Idiotism:CapitalismandthePrivatisationofLife(London:PlutoPress,2014),88.
21Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
obtention (although obtention of psychic income is literally equated with consump-
tion). Thecreedunderlyingthis ‘praxeological’ economics is that“[h]uman beings do
notbehavebasicallydifferentlywhentheysolvesocialandpoliticalproblemscompared
towhentheyturntoeconomicorlegaltasks.”38Tobesure,thisiscertainlyonewayin
whichneoliberalismdepoliticises.Ifhumanbeingsareself-interestedspecksofhuman
capitalallround,thenitfollowsthatinthe‘politicalmarketplace’theyarejustasentre-
preneurial,self-interested,andasocialastheyareanywhereelse.
Manyauthorspointtoasecondwayinwhichneoliberalismdepoliticises.Becausepol-
iticsinaneoliberalerabecomessolelyabouteconomicmatters,whicharefartoocom-
plexformeremortalstoevengraspletalonedecideupon,citizensquicklyaverttheir
gazetothemoreinterestingthingsinlife.Neoliberalism,asWendyBrownquiterightly
pointsout,“reducespoliticalcitizenshiptoanunprecedenteddegree ofpassivityand
politicalcomplacency.”39Althoughpeoplearestillmadetovoteandperhapsevencon-
tributetopoliticsinotherways(protest,writearticlesfornewspapers),thispoliticsre-
volvesaroundbanalorinconsequentialpoliciesandvotingisincreasinglyreminiscentof
actualconsumerchoices.“Inplaceofthecitizen-participant,”asSheldonWolinexplains,
“thenewpoliticscourtstheviewer-consumer.”40Whatthisresultsinis“acantpolitics
of the inconsequential.”41 Meanwhile,actual political processesare submittedtocom-
hegemony,asRancièrepointsout,“[t]hethemeofthecommonwillisreplacedbythatof
thelackofpersonalwill,ofcapacityforautonomousactionthatisanythingmorethan
justmanagementofnecessity.”42
The authors discussed here are certainly right in signalling the way in which neolib-
eralismturns citizens into apathetic, one-dimensionalmen (to borrow a phrase from
HerbertMarcuse)andthestateintoapuppetcontrolledbytoday’sgreatestpuppeteer:
theGlobalMarket.Thereis,however,anothermorefundamentalwayinwhichneoliber-
alismdepoliticises.Essentially,thepointisthatneoliberalismreconstructsboththesub-
jectanddemocracy,turningthemintoanenterpriseandamarketrespectively,thereby
underminingtheverypossibilityofgenuinepoliticalaction.43Hereishowthisgoes.
Bycastingsubjectivityineconomictermsacrossallspheresoflife,neoliberalrational-
ityturnspoliticalactivityintoanotherstrandoftheproteaneconomicbehaviourthat
investors),asiscommonlypointedout,italsomeansthatpoliticalagencydisappears.
Theconsumer-investorcannotbeapoliticalsubject,forthelatterisasubjectwhoactsin
anArendtiansense,meaningappearing,speaking,expressingoneselfinapublicrealm
human beingsseethemselvesascitizens ofapolis,whocollectivelyactbecausesuch
HomoOeconomicus:TheEconomicModelofBehaviourandItsApplica-tioninEconomicsandOtherSocialSciences(Gallen:Springer,2008),2.
Edgework,43.
DemocracyIncorporated:ManagedDemocracyandtheSpecterofInvertedTotalitarianism(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,2008),196.
Ibid.,112.
Disagreement,113.
Undo-ingtheDemos.
22 CriticalStudies
actionisabonuminse -
eralsubjectsarenaughtbutentrepreneurialand,asIalreadyarguedabove,areforthis
reasonentirelyself-interested,politicsbecomes,inArendt’sterms,“nolessameansto
anendthanmakingisameanstoproduceanobject,”which“happenswheneverhuman
togethernessislost,thatis,whenpeopleareonlyfororagainstotherpeople.”Inthese
cases,“speechbecomesindeed‘meretalk,’onemoremeanstowardtheend.”44
However,whileontheonehandtheneoliberalsubjectisincapableofviewingherselfas
anythingotherthanaself-interested,entrepreneurialspeckofhumancapital,neoliber-
alism,ontheother,deniesanddeconstructsthepublicrealmthatisaconditiosinequa
nonforactionofthissort.Thecounterfeit‘publicrealm’thatneoliberalismconstructsin
lieuoftheoneitdeconstructedisnothingbutamarketplace:anagora,notanekklesia.45
This is to say,neoliberalism does not simply frame democratic institutions in market
terminology;itsrationalityinfactreconstructsthem.Asrecentexamplesofneoliberal
jurisprudenceintheUSmakeclear,neoliberalrationalityrecastsdemocracyasa‘mar-
-
late.Speech,whichisunderstoodasacommercialgoodratherthanastheonecapacity
thatdistinguisheshumansfromanimals(asAristotle,Arendt,orRancièrewouldhave
-
rations,monetaryinstitutions,andthelike.Byrecastingspeechasagoodboughtwith
(whichprotects,interalia,freespeech)tobeinterpretedasprotectingnotcitizensfrom
censurebutthe‘democraticmarketplace’fromstateinterference.46Itlikewiselegitimis-
esfar-reachingpoliticalinequality,becauseone’seconomiccapitalistranslateddirectly
intoone’s‘politicalcapital’.Theresult:evenassubjectsaredisenfranchised,turnedinto
apathetic,passiveconsumer-citizens,andmadeincreasinglypowerlessvis-à-visthede-
mandsofglobalmarkets,thecorporationisallowedintotherealmof(whatisleftof)
politics.47Ineffect,neoliberalism’sreconstructionofthesubjectisabladethatcutsboth
ways:byrecastingthesubjectasanenterprise,itsimultaneouslybestowsuponactual
businessenterprisesasimilarpoliticalsubjectivity.Democracybecomesrulenotbythe
TheHumanCondition,2ndedition(Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,1998[1958]),180.AlthoughthesituationArendthasinmindiswarfare,theconditionsdescribedseem equally applicable to market conduct. “Solving ordinary business problems, conductingmanagement battles, and surviving in the marketplace,” one benchmarking manual notes, “are
Benchmark-ing:TheSearchforIndustryBestPracticesthatLeadtoSuperiorPerformance(Milwaukee:QualityPress,1989),3.
agora,seeTheHumanCondition,160.
UndoingtheDemos,chapter5.ForananalysisoftheUSSupremeCourtcaseemblematicoftheneoliberaljurisprudencedis-cussedhere,seeTimothyK.Kuhner,“CitizensUnitedAsNeoliberalJurisprudence:TheResurgenceOfEconomicTheory,”VirginiaJournalofSocialPolicy&theLaw18(2011)3:395-468.
Partnership(TTIP)agreementgrantscorporationsthepowertosuegovernmentsiftheirlegisla-
agencies such as Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s have on nation-states, currencies, government
Remembrancer.
23Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
-
causetheyunderstandpeopleascapital).
Insum,neoliberalrationalitydepoliticisesthesubjectinamyriadofways.Ontheone
makesthestuffofpoliticsinconsequential,whileontheotherandmorefundamental-
ly,bymakingthesubjectanenterprise,itundermineshercapacityforpoliticalaction.
‘marketplaceofideas’.Theresultisaveritableplutocracy,notnecessarilyinthesense
thatthewealthy(oiplousioi)legitimatelyrule(althoughthat,too,istrue),butratherin
thesensethatwealthassuch (ploutos:capital, themarket,macroeconomicdemands)
legitimatelyrules.
Neoliberalexistence
J.W.vonGoethe,FaustI
Thisbringsustothehumanconditioninaneoliberalworld.Foralthoughweknowthat
theneoliberalsubjectisnotamoralagentnorapoliticalagentinanymeaningfulsense
ofthosewords,wearestillinthedarkwithregardstowhatdoes -
erallife.Althoughlotscansaidandhasbeensaidonthistopic,Iwanttodrawattention
tothreeaspectswhichsofarhavereceivedlittleattention.
world.Itliesattheveryrootofneoliberalthought,anditisinherentintheunderstand-
ing of the subject Hayek endorses. In an essay on what he dramatically terms ‘true
individualism’,Hayekasserts that this form of individualism“isa productofanacute
consciousnessofthelimitationsoftheindividualmindwhichinducesanattitudeofhu-
mility towards the impersonal and anonymous social processes by which individuals
helptocreatethingsgreaterthantheyknow.”48Thisnotionoftheindividualisineffecta
euphemismfortheadagePhilipMirowskiattributestoneoliberalism:“surrenderyour
nurturedandconveyedbythemarket.”49The‘attitudeofhumility’Hayekcelebratesis,
Iwouldsay,attheverycoreofthenotionoftheentrepreneurialself;itisthemostfun-
damentalmoralinjunctionimposedupontheindividual.Thespeckofhumancapitalis
madetoberesponsiblyentrepreneurialby,indeed,submittingitselftomarketforcesof
supplyanddemand,investmentanddepreciation,competitionandexchange.
Becauseneoliberalism,asMirowskiforcefullyargues,inducesitssubjectstosubmitto
political,oreconomicprocesses.Ineffect,anyknowledgebeyondanindividual’simme-
Individualism and Economic Order (Chicago & London: The University ofChicago Press, 1948), 8. This understanding of individualism and the individual can be foundthroughoutHayek’sentireoeuvre.
NeverLetaSeriousCrisisGotoWaste:HowNeoliberalismSurvivedtheFinan-cialMeltdown(London&NewYork:Verso,2013),104.
24 CriticalStudies
ofcapitalismoreeasilygovernablethanthecriticalcitoyen,whichmeansthatneoliber-
alismviews“ignoranceasastatustobeproducedratherthanastatetobemitigated.”50
Thisresultsnotjustinthinktankrepresentativesspreadingtheirbanalideologylikea
disease;italsomeansthatasscienceiseconomiseditsmorecriticaldisciplinesarewont
todisappear(unlesstheycanadapttothe ‘educationalmarket’).Theidealneoliberal
senseofthatterm.51
Thesecondaspectoftheneoliberalcondition,astheItaliansociologistMaurizioLaz-
zaratopointsout,isthatthelogicofhumancapitalinevitablyleadstoindebtedpeople.52
Itiseasytoseehowinvestmentintheselfthatishumancapitalquicklybecomesaform
ofdebt,becauseneoliberalrationalityholdstheindividualresponsibleforsuchinvest-
ment.Asisthecasewithallinvestment,investmentintheselfentailsrisks;risksthatthe
inwhichcasetheyarenationalisedinstead),thecostsofinvestment,socialsecurity,and
soon.Debtfollowsquitelogicallyfromneoliberalrationality,fortheneoliberalsubject,
whoismadetosubmitherselftomarketforces,oughttorealisethatanyinvestmentin
skillsorresourceswhicharenotindemandisariskyone.Thismeansthatintheneo-
-
vestmentchoicealongtheway.Ifshechoosestostudyortodevelopaskill,shelikewise
mythgoes),soshealonemustbearthecostsoftheinvestment.
nature.Theloansneoliberalsubjectsaremadetoacceptbringwiththemmoral,tempo-
ral,andsocialdebtaswell.Themoraldebtliesinthefactthatthedebtor,inmakinga
promise,commitsherselfmorallytokeepingthatpromise.53Indeed,“isn’tpayingone’s
debts,”DavidGraeberasks,“whatmoralityissupposedtobeallabout?”54Secondly,the
temporaldebt,asLazzaratoargues,entailsa“promisetopayadebt,apromisetorepay
inamoreorlessdistantandunpredictablefuture,sinceitissubjecttotheradicaluncer-
taintyoftime.”55Thedebtorpromisesnotonlytopaybacktheloan,sheinfactpromises
to devote her futurity to repaying it. Here we already catch a glimpse of the state of
precarityof theneoliberalsubject(to bediscussedshortly), becausethissubjectivity
is inherently characterised by uncertainty. “Granting credit,” Lazzarato observes with
Ibid.,81.Emphasisomitted.
Idiotism.
TheMakingoftheIndebtedMan:AnEssayontheNeoliberalCondition,transl.J.D.Jordan(LosAngeles:Semiotext(e),2012[2011]).
(Schuld),Swedish(skuld),andDutch(schuld andmoralguilt.
Debt:TheFirst5,000Years(Brooklyn:MelvilleHouse,2011),4.
TheMakingofIndebtedMan,45.
25Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld
56Lastly,thesocialdebtexists
thereinthattheindebtedindividualhasadebtnotonlytohercreditor,buttosocietyas
awhole.Societyallowedhertoinvestinherhumancapital(evenif,ironically,shepaid
foritherself),byprovidingtheinstitutionsforsuchinvestment(schools,universities,
infrastructure)orprovidingfortheprotectionofsuchinvestment(healthcare,property
law)andassuchtheindividualwhodoesnotpaybackinfactswindlessocietyasmuch
as she swindles her creditor. It is for this reason that the unemployed are treated as
theneoliberaldebteconomy,welfarerights,asLazzaratoattests,turnintodebts.Thisis
inconduct,attitudes,waysofbehaving,plans,subjectivecommitments,thetimedevot-
marketandbusiness,etc.”57
Whoever is indebted, is easily governable. This goes for individuals, whose debt will
functionasapowerfulincentivetobecomeentrepreneurial,butitlikewisegoesforna-
tion-states.Historicallyspeaking,nationaldebthasoftenbeenusedasaprecursorto
thorough neoliberalisation, a process that as a matter of course bypasses democratic
procedures.58Insum,investmentinhumancapitalimpliesdebt,whichinturnimplies
-
sationonanationallevel.
Thethirdandmostimportantaspectoftheneoliberalconditionisthattheneoliberal
speckofhumancapitaliscaughtinamaelstromofanonymous,incomprehensible,unfor-
injury,thesubjectisnotonlymadetoaccept,buttocelebrate.Beingnolongermorallyor
politicallysovereign,theneoliberalsubject’srights,security,andattimesevenhersur-
vivalaretetheredtomarketdemands.59Meanwhile,theneoliberalised,entrepreneurial
statehasonlyonerole:toconformtomacroeconomicdemandsandinjunctions.Again
Rancièrehitsthenailonthehead:“Attheendoftheday,proofoftherightofstatepower
isidenticaltotheevidencethatitonlyeverdoestheonlythingpossible,onlyeverwhat
isrequiredbystrictnecessityinthegrowingintricacyofeconomieswithintheglobal
market.”60
anyoneofthespecksofcapitalitrulesoveriftheseshouldturnouttobeunproductive.
Thisconclusionfollowsfromneoliberalresponsibilisationoftheindividual(blamingin-
dividualsubjectsformarketfailure)61combinedwithsaidreconstructionofthestate.If
thelatter’slegitimacynolongerderivesfromtheprotectionofabroadpalletofrights,
Ibid.
Ibid.,p.104.
TheShockDoctrine:TheRiseofDisasterCapitalism(London:AllenLane,2007).
UndoingtheDemos,110.
Disagreement,112-113.Cf.Brown,Edgework;“AmericanNightmare.”
-liberalresponsibilisationincludeBrown,UndoingtheDemos;LisaDuggan,TheTwilightofEqual-ity?:Neoliberalism,CulturalPolitics,andtheAttackonDemocracy(Boston:BeaconPress,2003);andImogenTyler,RevoltingSubjects:SocialAbjectionandResistanceinNeoliberalBritain(London:ZedBooks,2013).
26 CriticalStudies
aswiththe ‘embeddedliberalism’of thepost-bellum era, ithasnoreasontooffer its
subjectsanythingmorethanminimumsocialprotectioninthecaseofthoseithopesto
-
tioninothers(e.g.throughviolentrepressionofBritain’s‘chavs’orFrance’s‘racaille’).62
Themainargumenthereisthatwiththedisappearanceoftheprotectionofbasicrights
fromneoliberalstaterationality,theneoliberalsubjectisexposedtowhatJudithButler
mighttermagreaterdegreeofprecarity.63Whilstneoliberalrationalityshamelesslypun-
ishestheneoliberalsubject’sconstitutiveother(thewelfaredependent,theunemployed
whilstitspunishmentcertainlytargetscertainsocialgroups,classes,orethnicitiesmore
readilyandmoreviciouslythanothers,atthesametimeitconstructsasocietywhere
anyonecanbecastoffintheblinkofaneye;where,ultimately,everyoneisexposedto
disenfranchisement,social abjection, orevenviolentrepression.We shouldnot make
themistakeofthinkingthatneoliberalismonlypunishestheunluckyfew,becauseeven
64
Theneoliberalsubject,insum,ismoreorlessignorant,moreorlessindebted,andmore
orlessexposedtoabjectionandpunishment,butisalwaysinsecure,alwayssubmitted
Conclusion
“Nothingmakesconditionsmoreunbearablethantheknowledgethatnoeffortofours
canchangethem,”HayekwritesinTheRoadtoSerfdom,andifheisright,thentheneo-
liberalconditionofamoral,apoliticalwretchednessisindeedmostunbearable.65Neo-
liberalrationality,asFoucaultnotedpresciently,reconstructs the subjectalongentre-
preneurial linesandcasts her everyactivity intermsofinvestment, competition,and
incomeobtention.Thisrationalityleadstoamodeofsubjectivitythatisdivestedofmo-
ralityandofpoliticalsubjectivity,andwhichturnseverydaylifeintoagameofRussian
roulette,wheretheoddsareeverinfavouroftherich.
Neoliberalismpromisedtoturneveryoneintoanheroicentrepreneur,intoaJohnGalt.
Whatitdidwasquitetheopposite:itturnedpeopleintospecksofcapital,mercilessly
subjugatedtomarketforces,evercompetitive,everself-interested,everexposedtobe-
ingcastoff.Surely,followingHayek’sreasoning,wemustconcludethat“sinisterforces”
have“foiledourintentions”andthatthe“evilpower”responsible“mustbeconquered
RevoltingSubjects;cf.Lazzarato,TheMakingofIndebtedMan.
FramesofWar:WhenisLifeGrievable?(London&NewYork:Verso,2009).
illnessandsocialinstability.ForexampleRichardWilkinson&KatePickett,TheSpiritLevel:WhyEqualityisBetterforEveryone(London:Penguin,2010[2009]);PaulVerhaeghe,WhatAboutMe?:TheStruggleforIdentityinaMarket-BasedSociety,transl.J.Hedley-Prole(London:Scribe,2014[2012]).Theformerbookarguesthatinequalityleadstoawiderangeofproblems,includingobe-sity,lowerlifeexpectancy,highercriminality,etc.,whilstthelatterarguesthatathoroughlycom-petitivesocietyinducesmentalhealthissues,includingparanoia,schizophrenia,anddepression.
TheRoadtoSerfdom,128.