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.

27Cornelissen-TheHumanConditioninaNeoliberalWorld

beforewecanresumetheroadtobetterthings.”66Thisinsightisofcoursehardlynew.

alwayshasbeen:How?

LarsCornelissen-l.s.cornelissen@brighton.ac.uk

Ibid.,65.