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 understand- ings 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 com- plexity, 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. KEY IDEAS IN MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES The Key Ideas in Media and Cultural Studies series covers the main concepts, issues, debates and controversies in contemporary media and cultural studies. Titles in the series constitute authoritative, original essays rather than literary surveys, but are also written explicitly to support undergraduate teaching. The series provides stu- dents and teachers with lively and original treatments of key topics in the field. Cultural Policy by David Bell and Kate Oakley Reality TV by Annette Hill Culture by Ben Highmore Representation by Jenny Kidd Neoliberalism by Julie A. Wilson KEY IDEAS IN MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES NEOLIBERALISM Julie A. Wilson First published 2018 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Taylor & Francis The right of Julie A. Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Wilson, Julie A., 1975– author. Title: Neoliberalism / Julie A. Wilson. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Key ideas in media and cultural studies Identifiers: LCCN 2017005752 | ISBN 9781138654624 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138654631 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Neoliberalism. | Neoliberalism— Economic aspects. | Neoliberalism—Social aspects. Classification: LCC JC574 .W557 2017 | DDC 320.51/3—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005752 ISBN: 978-1-138-65462-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-65463-1 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-62308-5 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Megan, Zach, and Lee CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Living in Competition 1 PART I: CRITICAL FOUNDATIONS 19 1 A New Hegemony: The Rise of Neoliberalism 21 2 Neoliberal Truths and Consequences: The Four Ds 50 3 The Cultural Powers of Neoliberalism: A Case Study 83 PART II: NEOLIBERAL CULTURE 115 4 The Hustle: Self-Enterprise and Neoliberal Labor 117 5 The Moods of Enterprise: Neoliberal Affect and the Care of the Self 150 6 Enterprising Democracy: Neoliberal Citizenship and the Privatization of Politics 182 Conclusion: Living in Common 216 Bibliography 229 Glossary of Concepts 235 Index 243 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My name is on the cover, but this book was written by many. First and foremost, it was written in dialogue with so many students at Allegheny College whose radical openness, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to share their daily hurts and dreams are the conditions of possibility for this book. I owe them everything. Specifically, they pushed me to write this book as more than a critique of neoliberalism. They wanted resources for imagining and building a new world. They also wanted a book that was written for them, not academics. I have tried my very best to meet these demands and have been forever trans- formed in the process of doing so. Megan Bart, Zach Cramer, and Lee Scandinaro: you were the seed for this book. It was your longing for new political horizons that inspired me to start teaching about neoliberalism as our conjuncture in the first place. Briann Moye and Brigit Stack, my brilliant and dedicated research assistants: thank you for sharing my brain, for running down my ideas, for writing up potential case studies, and for living with me through this project. I hope you can see here just how much you’ve meant and contributed. To the Andrew W. Mellon Collaborative Undergraduate Research in the Humanities Grant: thank you for making this invalu- able collaboration possible in the first place and for supporting my work with students over the past five years. Tory Kaigan-Kuykendall, Jeremy Loewer, Peter McCaffrey, Brogan McGowan, Kristen Migliozzi, Rachael Robertson, Jessica Schombert, Xzavier Scott, and Erin Yates: thank you for wading through The New Way of the World with me. Our conversations were formative; you sharpened and elevated this project more than you can know. Hayley Anderson, Greg Bras, Caitlin Brown, Aaron Donahoe, Ari- anna O’Connell, Jordan Palmer, Rochelle Rogalski, Jon Scroxton, Alex Trunfio, and Nadiya Wahl: without your efforts at the end of this process, I am not sure the book would have made it into this form. Your engagement with and commitment to this project are gifts for which I will always be grateful. Sophie Dodge: the love with which x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS you move through the world has been the biggest inspiration. Saman- tha Samakande: you are the wisest person I know; I really tried to let your spirit animate the final articulation. I could have never started teaching about neoliberal culture if it wasn’t for the intellectual brilliance and generosity of my teacher, mentor, and friend, Laurie Ouellette. This work is indebted, too, to Sarah Banet-Weiser, Jo Littler, and Roopali Mukherjee, whose writing on neoliberal politics and culture also has contributed so much to my thinking and teaching over the years. I am so grateful to Erica Wetter for suggesting I write this book. Your enthusiasm for this project and faith in me have been so empow- ering. To Mia Moran, thank you for getting me to the finish line. I couldn’t have done it without you. To my comrades in the Marxism reading group, Bill Bywater, Jay Hanes, David Miller, Laura Quinn, Barbara Shaw, Vesta Silva, Elea- nor Weisman, Sharon Wesoky, and Jon Wiebel: thank you for mak- ing space for us to think together about neoliberalism. To my fellow commoners in Meadville, Pennsylvania, including Mark Ams, Ian Carbone, Heather Fish, Don Goldstein, Taylor Hinton, Julie Hunter, Kerstin Martin, Stephanie Martin, Vanessa Shaffer, Greg Singer, Autumn Vogel, and Peter Zimmer: thank you for working by my side day in and out to make a new world. We’re doing it! To my mom, Ann Wilson, and sister, Dana Wilson: I am so grateful for your love and support. I am who I am because of you. And, finally, to Emily Yochim and Joe Tompkins, my persons: nothing is possible without you. Thank you for believing in me and for contributing so much intellectual energy to this project along the way—from talking to me pretty much everyday about neoliberal poli- tics to reading and editing every word. As with everything I write, it’s as much yours as mine. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION LIVING IN COMPETITION Today’s public secret is that everyone is anxious. —Institute for Precarious Consciousness1 If you are like most of my students, you’re anxious. This anxiety might be felt when you sit down to write a paper. You feel so much pressure, words refuse to come, and when they do, they most always seem inadequate. Questions race through your mind: Will I perform well enough on this assignment? Is my GPA competitive? Will this major actually translate into a job? How will I ever be able to repay my student loans? Am I good enough? Do I even belong here? You most likely experience these anxieties and uncertainties as yours and yours alone. They are deeply private thoughts and feelings that should not be shared, except perhaps with a therapist or a best friend. How- ever, as we are going to find out throughout this book, these personal, intimate anxieties do not belong to or emerge from you. They are not natural or inherent to you. They come from the world you inhabit. In other words, they are social and historical. Even though you experi- ence them as private, perhaps even a source of shame or stigma, they are common, something most all of us undoubtedly share. 2 INTRODUCTION: LIVING IN COMPETITION The purpose of this book is to help you understand in a deep and meaningful way why life today appears and feels as it does by cul- tivating a thick, holistic, and critical understanding of neoliberalism. Generally speaking, neoliberalism is a set of social, cultural, and political-economic forces that puts competition at the center of social life. According to neoliberalism, government’s charge is not the care and security of citizens, but rather the promotion of market competi- tion.