The Morals of the Market : Human Rights and the Rise of Neoliberalism

The fatal embrace of human rights and neoliberalism. Why did the rise of human rights in the 1970s coincide with the institutionalisation of neoliberalism? And why has the neoliberal age also been the age of human rights? Drawing on detailed archival research on the parallel histories of human rights and neoliberalism, Jessica Whyte uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society.In the wake of World War Two, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to 'civilisation'. Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects. Honing in on neoliberal political thought, Whyte shows that the neoliberals developed a stark dichotomy between politics, conceived as conflictual, coercive and violent, and civil society, which they depicted as a realm of mutually-beneficial, voluntary, market relations between individual subjects of rights. In mobilising human rights to provide a moral language for a market society, neoliberals contributed far more than is often realised to today's politics of human rights. The fatal embrace of human rights and neoliberalism. Drawing on detailed archival research on the parallel histories of human rights and neoliberalism, Jessica Whyte uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society. In the wake of the Second World War, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to “civilisation”. Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects. Uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society. In the wake of the Second World War, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to 'civilisation'. Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects. Whyte demonstrates the importance of coming to terms with these origins. Unless that is done, she argues, those who mobilize human rights to contest neoliberalism may instead find that they strengthen its hold. --From publisher description The fatal embrace of human rights and neoliberalism Why did the rise of human rights in the 1970s coincide with the institutionalisation of neoliberalism' And why has the neoliberal age also been the age of human rights' Drawing on detailed archival research on the parallel histories of human rights and neoliberalism, Jessica Whyte uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society. In the wake of World War Two, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to 'civilisation'. Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects. Honing in on neoliberal political thought, Whyte shows that the neoliberals developed a stark dichotomy between politics, conceived as conflictual, coercive and violent, and civil society, which they depicted as a realm of mutually-beneficial, voluntary, market relations between individual subjects of rights. In mobilising human rights to provide a moral language for a market society, neoliberals contributed far more than is often realised to today's politics of human rights Cover Page Halftitle Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Introduction: The Morals of the Market 1. 'The Central Values of Civilization Are in Danger' 2. There Is No Such Thing as 'the Economy': On Social and Economic Rights 3. Neoliberalism, Human Rights and the 'Shabby Remnants of Colonial Imperialism' 4. Human Rights in Pinochet's Chile: The Dethronement of Politics 5. Powerless Companions or Fellow Travellers? Human Rights and the Neoliberal Assault on Post-Colonial Economic Justice Afterword: Human Rights, Neoliberalism and Economic Inequality Today Notes