Neoliberalism and the production of new forms of being

Abstract

Neoliberalism is identified as the dominant paradigm in contemporary Western politics. The victory over Communism and the Soviet Union is attributed to this political vision that endorses the free market and hyper-capitalism as its main strengths. The political leaders who are viewed as the antithesis and enemies of Communism are staunch supporters and enforcers of the neoliberal worldview. Personages like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan have brought neoliberalism into every household, rendering it the only viable alternative. This process achieved its full potential when even left-wing political pundits adopted neoliberalism as their political and economic strategy. Irrespective of the political spectrum, the main principles of the neoliberal model are advanced and utilised as the blueprint for their policymaking and for setting their agenda. Thus, progressive leaders like Barack Obama or right-wing leaders like Donald J. Trump both fall under the tent of neoliberalism. Irrespective of their social views, they both endorse a business-first approach, prioritising the economy over other considerations. This leads to the emergence of economic theology as the primary governmental paradigm, superseding the political. Therefore, this fully encompassing reality has led me to ask, “How does neoliberal economic theology produce neoliberalised forms of life?” This inquiry emerges from the realisation that contemporary society and life are shaped and defined by neoliberal principles that have become the essence of our zeitgeist. Every individual has been transformed into a neoliberal subject whose purpose is to advance the economy and follow the dictates of the market. Human relations are reduced to trade and competitive relations, and the sense of self is founded on our position in the competitive order and the human capital we have attained. Thus, under neoliberalism, new forms of life are created. These considerations lead to the claim that neoliberalism has the same reality-forming quality found in religions and their theological framework. The market is a fundamental principle upon which all else is founded, effectively making it a theological or essentialist truth. This is most pronounced in Friedrich August Hayek, who declares the market as a spontaneous order not of human design and outside of human knowledge and control. Under this metaphysical guise, reality is reframed according to the workings of this principium. New technologies, like other institutions, are designed to mirror and promulgate the principles of the market because they aim to reflect reality. With Hayek, the market is nature, and its mechanisms are natural laws. This intellectual scheme produces its understanding of life, thus producing forms of life that abide by these laws. This thesis proposes a reading of neoliberalism as a worldview constituted of a secularised theology that produces a normative discourse that categorises humans and their actions. These discourses and conceptual schemas are imposed on the world via forms of dispositif and techniques aided by new technological developments. The conjunction of all these creates forms of power, namely pastoral power, which has jurisdiction and authority over life, leading towards producing neoliberal categories and forms of life. This claim is developed by closely reading Hayek’s theories, presenting these as a monotheistic secularised theology. With slogans like “There is no alternative” and “The market knows best,” no space is left for social and political visions that do not believe in this new theology.