Neoliberalism

257 Pages·2018·2.327 MB·English

by  Julie A. Wilson

NEOLIBERALISM
Thanks to the rise of neoliberalism over the past several decades, we live
in an era of rampant anxiety, insecurity, and inequality. While neoliberalism
has become somewhat of an academic buzzword in recent years, this book
offers a rich and multilayered introduction to what is arguably the most
pressing issue of our times. Engaging with prominent scholarship in media
and cultural studies, as well as geography, sociology, economic history,
and political theory, author Julie Wilson pushes against easy understand-
ings of neoliberalism as market fundamentalism, rampant consumerism,
and/or hyper-individualism. Instead, Wilson invites readers to interrogate
neoliberalism in true cultural studies fashion, at once as history, theory,
practice, policy, culture, identity, politics, and lived experience. Indeed, the
book’s primary aim is to introduce neoliberalism in all of its social com-
plexity, so that readers can see how neoliberalism shapes their own lives,
as well as our political horizons, and thereby start to imagine and build
alternative worlds.
Julie A. Wilson is Associate Professor, Allegheny College, Department of
Communication Arts and Theatre. She is the author (with Emily Chivers
Yochim) of Mothering through Precarity: Women’s Work and Digital Media.
KEY IDEAS IN MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES
The Key Ideas in Media and Cultural Studies series covers the main concepts, issues,
debates and controversies in contemporary media and cultural studies. Titles in the
series constitute authoritative, original essays rather than literary surveys, but are
also written explicitly to support undergraduate teaching. The series provides stu-
dents and teachers with lively and original treatments of key topics in the field.
Cultural Policy
by David Bell and Kate Oakley
Reality TV
by Annette Hill
Culture
by Ben Highmore
Representation
by Jenny Kidd
Neoliberalism
by Julie A. Wilson
KEY IDEAS IN MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES
NEOLIBERALISM
Julie A. Wilson
First published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Julie A. Wilson to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wilson, Julie A., 1975– author.
Title: Neoliberalism / Julie A. Wilson.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series:
Key ideas in media and cultural studies
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005752 | ISBN 9781138654624
(hardback) | ISBN 9781138654631 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Neoliberalism. | Neoliberalism—
Economic aspects. | Neoliberalism—Social aspects.
Classification: LCC JC574 .W557 2017 | DDC 320.51/3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005752
ISBN: 978-1-138-65462-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-65463-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-62308-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For Megan, Zach, and Lee

C
ontents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Living in Competition 1
PART I: CRITICAL FOUNDATIONS 19
1 A New Hegemony: The Rise of Neoliberalism 21
2 Neoliberal Truths and Consequences: The Four Ds 50
3 The Cultural Powers of Neoliberalism: A Case Study 83
PART II: NEOLIBERAL CULTURE 115
4 The Hustle: Self-Enterprise and Neoliberal Labor 117
5 The Moods of Enterprise: Neoliberal Affect and
the Care of the Self 150
6 Enterprising Democracy: Neoliberal Citizenship and the
Privatization of Politics 182
Conclusion: Living in Common 216
Bibliography 229
Glossary of Concepts 235
Index 243

A
Cknowledgments
My name is on the cover, but this book was written by many. First
and foremost, it was written in dialogue with so many students at
Allegheny College whose radical openness, intellectual curiosity, and
willingness to share their daily hurts and dreams are the conditions
of possibility for this book. I owe them everything. Specifically, they
pushed me to write this book as more than a critique of neoliberalism.
They wanted resources for imagining and building a new world. They
also wanted a book that was written for them, not academics. I have
tried my very best to meet these demands and have been forever trans-
formed in the process of doing so.
Megan Bart, Zach Cramer, and Lee Scandinaro: you were the seed
for this book. It was your longing for new political horizons that
inspired me to start teaching about neoliberalism as our conjuncture
in the first place.
Briann Moye and Brigit Stack, my brilliant and dedicated research
assistants: thank you for sharing my brain, for running down my ideas,
for writing up potential case studies, and for living with me through
this project. I hope you can see here just how much you’ve meant and
contributed. To the Andrew W. Mellon Collaborative Undergraduate
Research in the Humanities Grant: thank you for making this invalu-
able collaboration possible in the first place and for supporting my
work with students over the past five years.
Tory Kaigan-Kuykendall, Jeremy Loewer, Peter McCaffrey, Brogan
McGowan, Kristen Migliozzi, Rachael Robertson, Jessica Schombert,
Xzavier Scott, and Erin Yates: thank you for wading through The New
Way of the World with me. Our conversations were formative; you
sharpened and elevated this project more than you can know.
Hayley Anderson, Greg Bras, Caitlin Brown, Aaron Donahoe, Ari-
anna O’Connell, Jordan Palmer, Rochelle Rogalski, Jon Scroxton,
Alex Trunfio, and Nadiya Wahl: without your efforts at the end of this
process, I am not sure the book would have made it into this form.
Your engagement with and commitment to this project are gifts for
which I will always be grateful. Sophie Dodge: the love with which