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The Hegemony of the Neoliberal Narrative

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The Hegemony of the Neoliberal Narrative The Hegemony of the Neoliberal Narrative: Right Wing Discourses of ‘Common Sense’, the Weaponization of the Term ‘Liberal’, and the Shifting of the Political Spectrum by Victor M. A. Nascimento A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology ©Victor Nascimento, 2021 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. The Hegemony of the Neoliberal Narrative: Right Wing Discourses of ‘Common Sense’, the Weaponization of the Term ‘Liberal’, and the Shifting of the Political Spectrum by Victor M. A. Nascimento Supervisory Committee Dr. Steve Garlick, Supervisor Department of Sociology Dr. Edwin Hodge, Departmental Member Department of Sociology ii Abstract Among the most notable trends of the last several decades in the United States have been the rise of corporate power, the entrenchment of neoliberalism, the rise in inequality, along with discussions regarding the ‘culture wars’ and the phenomenon of polarization. The onset of the neoliberal era has been accompanied and facilitated by a decades-long marketing campaign propagating the consistent narrative of individualism over the collective, that government is the problem rather than a solution to problems, while associating freedom exclusively with the market. This thesis project draws on critical theory, Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic power, discourse, narrative and communications theory, along with some insights from social psychology to examine the discursive shifting of the political spectrum that has occurred over the last four decades and has helped to entrench market fundamentalism as a hegemonic common sense. The thesis pays particular attention to the weaponization of the word ‘liberal’ and how this strategy has affected the understanding of the political spectrum and how the centre is currently framed. The research design I use to interrogate this entails a qualitative content analysis of various media sources noting how ‘common sense’ populist discourse, such as terms like ‘liberal’, are utilized by Republican operatives and conservative commentators, as well as by the mainstream media and the general public. Using a multi-disciplinary theoretical approach and a methodological framework provided by Stone and Parker, I deconstruct and analyze the narrative that has been built up around neoliberalism and how it can serve to reinforce neoliberalism as a little-questioned hegemonic paradigm, often by-passing cognition. Neoliberal logics reject the political in terms of participatory democracy, while still requiring a strong state to stabilize the economic order. The resulting erosion of democracy augurs the possibility of right-wing authoritarianism, exacerbates inequality, and promotes a growth model that is unsustainable ecologically. Keywords: liberal/liberalism, neoliberalism, corporate power, political spectrum, narratives, populism, anti-reflexivity, affect, system justification, polarization iii Table of Contents: Supervisory Committee .........................................................................................................ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................iv List of Tables .........................................................................................................................vi List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………vii Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter One: Locating Historical Context ……………………………..…………………...6 1.1 Note on the Political-Ideological Spectrum & Terminology ...……...………….6 1.2 Classical Liberalism as a Philosophical Concept …………………...…………..11 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………………...18 2.1 Critical Theory …………………………………………………..……………...18 2.2 Bourdieu: Practice, Symbolic Power, Doxa ………………………..……...........21 2.3 Social Psychology, Communications-Propaganda, Affect ………...…................24 2.4 System Justification …………………...………………………………...............27 2.5 Narrative & Discourse ……………………...…………………….……..............29 Chapter Three: Literature Review …………………………...………...………..…………..33 3.1 The Roots of Corporate Networks & Free Market PR ..….………………….....33 3.2 The Weaponization of the Term ‘Liberal’ ……………………………………....39 3.3 Populism, Counterclaims, Common Sense, Anti-reflexivity ………..…………..43 3.4 Right-wing Populist Economic Rhetoric ………………………..............………46 3.5 New Right Strategies in the Digital Age ……………………………..…............47 3.6 Actually Existing Neoliberalism: Populism, Precarity, (Anti-)Democracy .........50 Chapter Four: Methods & Methodology ………………………………………....…………56 4.1 Narrative Policy Framework & Qualitative Research ………………..………....56 4.2 Sampling Procedures ………………………………………………..…………..57 4.3 Search Engine Terms ……………………………………………..……………..59 4.4 Data Coding & Analysis …………..……………………………...……………..61 4.5 Critical Discourse Analysis ……………………………………..….......……….62 4.6 Additional Data Set …………………………………………….……….……….63 Chapter Five: Findings of the New Right Anti-Liberal Narrative ……..…………………....65 5.1 Narrative Policy Framework Settings/Context of the Policy Debate …............…66 5.2 Victims …………………………………………………………………………..68 5.3 Villains …………………………………………………………………..……….69 5.4 Heroes ………………………………………………………………….................71 5.5 Moral of the Story (Policy Goals) ……………………………………………..…72 5.6 Non-Conservative/Neutral Articles ……………………………………………....74 Chapter Six: Discussion ……………………………………………………..………..….…...77 6.1 Populism & the Discourses of Common Sense ………………………………..…77 6.2 Co-Opting Progressive & Radical Left Discourses …………………………..…..78 6.3 Anti-Reflexive Discourses & Counter-claims ………………………………....….81 6.4 Rhetorical Strategies: The Weaponization of the Term ‘Liberal’……..……….….85 6.5 The Right’s Double Rhetorical Move: The Overton Window ..........................….86 iv 6.6 The Right’s Double Rhetorical Move: Conflation Strategy ……………….............87 6.7 False Equivalency & the ‘Ideological Divide’ ……………...……………………..89 6.8 The Discourse Of ‘Small Government’: Democracy, Freedom, & Equality ……...96 6.9 Repercussions: Freedom & Authoritarianism ……………………………..……....100 6.10 Reversing Reflexive Modernity? …………………………………….......………102 6.11 Applying a Theoretical Lens ………………………………………….......……...103 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………...……………...112 7.1 The Role of Government & the Public Good ………………………………...........112 7.2 Key Insights from the Research …………………………………………..…..........113 i) Anti-collectivism, Polarization, Coalition Building …………………..............113 ii) The Architecture and Efficacy of Right Wing Discourse ………….….............114 iii) Responding to the New Right ………………………………….....…….……..117 iv) Limitations of Liberalism ………………………………………..…………....120 References …………………………………………………………………....………….…......123 Appendices: Appendix A: Tables 6 to 21 …………………………………………………………………140 Appendix B: Articles Used in Primary Data Set – Conservative Media Texts …..……..…...181 Appendix C: Articles Used in Primary Data Set – Non-Conservative Media Texts ………...203 Appendix D: Supplementary Data Set – Liberal Media Bias/Anti-PBS Policy Narrative ......224 Appendix E: Supplementary Data Set – No Liberal Media Bias/Pro-PBS Policy Narrative ..228 Appendix F: Coding Sheet …………………………………………………………………...231 v List of Tables Table 1. Time Frame of Texts Used in Primary Data Set …. ………………………………..60 Table 2. General Breakdown of Text Sources Used in Primary Data Set …………………...61 Table 3. Position & Totals from Primary & Supplementary Data Set Texts ………………...64 Table 4. Outline of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Common Sense Narrative ……………..65 Table 5. Breakdown of Time Frame of Text Sources Used in Supplementary Data Set …….140 Table 6. General Breakdown of Text Sources Used in Supplementary Data Set ……………140 Table 7. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Narrative: Setting/Context of Plot ….140 Table 8. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Narrative: Victims ………………….142 Table 9. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Narrative: Villains ………………….145 Table 10. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Narrative: Heroes ………………….148 Table 11. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Pro-Neoliberal Narrative: Morals/Policy Solutions ..152 Table 12. Examples of the Anti-Liberal Media/PBS Narrative (Supplementary Data Set) ….155 Table 13. Villains in the Conservative Narrative: Liberal Hypocrisy & Censorship ………...159 Table 14. Examples from Non-Conservative Articles ………………………………………..162 Table 15. New Right Themes: Freedom & Security ………………………………………….166 Table 16. New Right Themes: Right Wing Populism ………………………………………...167 Table 17. Anti-reflexive Tendencies of New Right Discourses ………………………………169 Table 18. Rhetorical Strategies: Overton Window ……………………………………………173 Table 19. Rhetorical Strategies: Conflation …………………………………………………...174 Table 20. Ego Defensive Tendencies: System Justification/Identity Protection ……………...175 Table 21. Erosion of Democracy ……………………………………………………………...176 Table 22. Summary of the Positions in the ‘Ideological Divide’ & their Associations ……….178 Table 23. Elements in the New Right Strategy of Reverse Accusations ………………………178 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Shifting the Centre Discursively ……………………………………………………117 vii "The masquerade is
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