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 understandings 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 complexity, 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. "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 understandings 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 complexity, 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."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Living in Competition 12 Part I: Critical Foundations 30 1 A New Hegemony: The Rise of Neoliberalism 32 2 Neoliberal Truths and Consequences: The Four Ds 61 3 The Cultural Powers of Neoliberalism: A Case Study 94 Part II: Neoliberal Culture 126 4 The Hustle: Self-Enterprise and Neoliberal Labor 128 5 The Moods of Enterprise: Neoliberal Affect and the Care of the Self 161 6 Enterprising Democracy: Neoliberal Citizenship and the Privatization of Politics 193 Conclusion: Living in Common 227 Bibliography 240 Glossary of Concepts 246 Index 254