Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Leyva, Rodolfo (2013) Neoliberalism and the cultural and political dispositions and practises of millennials in London and LA: a socio- cognitive analysis. PhD thesis, King's College London. Available from Middlesex University’s Research Repository at http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/15286/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this thesis/research project are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non- commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Any use of the thesis/research project for private study or research must be properly acknowledged with reference to the work’s full bibliographic details. This thesis/research project may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from it, or its content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. This electronic theses or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Title:Neoliberalism and the Cultural and Political Dispositions and Practices of Millennials in London and LA a socio-cognitive analysis Author: Rodolfo Leyva The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ You are free to: Share: to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Neoliberalism and the Cultural and Political Dispositions and Practices of Millennials in London and LA: a socio-cognitive analysis By Rodolfo Leyva A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Sociology King’s College London, University of London School of Social Science and Public Policy 2013 1 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been completed or likely even started without the support, education, and friendship of the following people and organizations, to whom I am eternally grateful. I would like to give my gratitude to my supervisor Professor Sharon Gewirtz for her infinite patience, graceful guidance, and tireless editing. This thesis is dedicated to her whether or not she wants to take to credit for it. Thanks to my second supervisor Professor Meg Maguire for her stern and constructive criticism, without which this thesis and my own critical faculties would be significantly impoverished. Thanks to Diana Coben, Anwar Tlili, Tim Kasser, and Yani Malai Abdullah for helping me to develop some of the theoretical constructs of this thesis, and introducing me to key academic references. Thanks to my professors Christina Preciado, Gudio Davis Del Piccolo, Robert Massey, Fransesca Guerra, Andrew Szasz and Dard Neuman for introducing me to the fields of sociology and cultural studies, and Shant Shahoian for introducing me to the works of Noam Chomsky. This thesis is largely a reflection of the lessons that they taught me. Thanks to all my participants for their generous time. Thanks to Jerald Kress, Lee McManus, Mike Winnie, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Ter Astvadsadrian, and Mr. Labeck for their mentorship, teaching, and patience. Thanks to Jenny Strahler, Rachel Zarate, Zaheen Chowdhury, and Daniel Vassallo for their invaluable support, friendship, and much needed encouragement. Thanks to A Place Called Home Community Center, the California Council of the Blind, and King’s College London for their financial support. 2 Table of Contents Preface 7 Chapter 1: Homo Economicus in Post-Schumpeterian Society 22 1.1 What’s So New About Liberalism? 23 1.2 Neoliberal Globalization: the End of History 35 1.3 Neoliberal Governance (We Will Force You To Be Free) 37 1.4 Neoliberal Urbanization and Non-Profits 42 1.5 Contemporary Youth Culture Under Neoliberalism 45 1.6 Political Messages: There Is No Alternative 48 1.7 Summary 51 Chapter 2: Towards A Theory of Neoliberal Reproduction 54 2.1 False Consciousness and the Frankfurt School: the Relevance of Dead Germans 55 2.2 The Birmingham School of Cultural Studies 63 2.3 Beyond Consciousness: the French Turn 66 2.4 A Schematic Reconciliation 70 2.5 Political-Economic Formation: Habitus and Cognitive Dissonance 74 2.6 Towards Yet Another Third-Way: a Reformulated Both/And Approach 76 Chapter 3: Young People and Neoliberalism: What We Don’t Know 79 3.1 Cultural Populism: There Is No Such Thing As Society 79 3.2 Beyond Identity: So What? 85 3.3 Media-Culture Effects: Cognitive and Others 92 3.4 Civic/Political Participation 98 3.5 Lessons relevant for this thesis 102 Chapter 4: Methodology 104 4.1 Methodological Orientations: Critical This and That 105 4.1.1 Research Design: Operationalizing a Both/And Approach 106 4.1.2 Institutional Interpellation: Habitus and Schema Theory 107 4.1.3 Institutional Neoliberal Interpellation: Meet Homo Economicus 110 4.1.4 Research Sites and Interview Schedule Design 115 4.1.5 Putting It All Together: Final Research Questions 116 4.2 Entering the Field: Los Angeles and London 117 4.2.1 South-Central LA: Collecting the Data 118 4.2.2 North Hollywood Zoo Magnet 119 4.2.3 The Bresee Foundation Non Profit Community Centre 122 4.2.4 World Vision Youth Empowerment Programme 123 4.2.5 London Bermondsey Youth Centre 124 4.2.6 Islington Political Youth 125 4.2.7 Hackney Youth Centre 125 4.2.8 Confidentiality and Other Ethical Considerations 127 4.2.9 Sampling Limitations and Demographic Breakdown 127 4.3 Data Analysis: A Socio-Cognitive Typology 130 4.3.1 Initial Thematic Analytical Groupings 130 4.3.2 The Socio-Cognitive Interface 132 4.3.3 Towards A Socio-Cognitive Typology of LA and London Youth 135 Chapter 5: Critical Political Youth Challenging Neoliberalism 138 5.1 Critical Political Youth: a Leftist Disposition 139 5.2 Schema Mapping: Operationalized Framework 154 5.3 Welfare and Poverty Schemata 157 3 5.4 A Creeping Neoliberalism and Fatalist Dispositions 162 5.5 Triggers of Politicization 170 5.6 Potential Future Political Trajectories and Concluding Remarks 172 Chapter 6: Artsy/Indie Youth The Wild Cards 176 6.1 Leisure Time, Cultural Preferences, and Affective Dispositions 177 6.2 Apolitical Dispositions 182 6.3 Complicated Contestation of Neoliberalism 184 6.4 Artsy/Indie Welfare Schemata 188 6.5 Politics and Capitalism Schemata 192 6.6 Concluding Remarks 196 Chapter 7: Mainstream Youth A More Neoliberal Inclination 198 7.1 Shopping and Self-Interested Dispositions 199 7.2 Media-Culture Influence and Aspirations 206 7.3 Welfare/Benefits Schemata 209 7.4 Politics and Capitalism Schemata 216 7.5 The “Crisis in Democracy” 219 7.6 Contesting Neoliberalism: A Partial Opening: 221 7.7 Concluding Remarks 222 Chapter 8: Discussion: Towards A Socio-Cognitive Approach To Critical And Progressive Pedagogy 224 8.1 Critical and Progressive Pedagogy and Democracy 225 8.2 Actual Typological Characteristics, Dispositions, and Potential Lessons 232 8.3 Towards a Pedagogy of Dispositional Democracy 237 8.4 Course Preface 242 8.5 Sample Lesson Plan: A Socio-Cognitive Approach 245 8.6 End Thoughts 249 Chapter 9: Conclusion 252 9.1 Overview of Chapter Themes and Lessons 252 9.2 Methodological Limitations and Lessons 257 9.3 Conclusion 260 References 263 Appendix A Interview Schedule for Young People 285 Appendix B Interview Schedule for Youth Workers 288 Appendix C Demographic Information of Each Participant 289 4 Figures 4.1 Institutional Interpellation 107 4.2 Neoliberal Discursive Inflection of Major Social Institutions 112 4.3 Ideal Neoliberal Habitus 114 4.4 Model of Empirically Grounded Typology Construction 136 5.1 Luz’s Music Schemata and Schemata Key 156 5.2 Ben’s Welfare Schemata 159 6.1 Tiff’s Welfare Schemata 191 6.2 Zack’s Welfare Schemata 191 7.1 Tyrone’s Welfare Schemata 212 7.2 Tirian’s Welfare Schemata 213 Tables 4.1 General Information About LA Participants 128 4.2 General Information About London Participants 129 4.3 Representation of Thematic Ideal Analysis 131 4.4 LA Youth Types 137 4.5 London Youth Types 137 8.1 Typology: Defining Characteristics and Corresponding Dispositions 234 5 Abstract This thesis explores the everyday experiences and aspirations of young people living in Los Angeles and London, focusing on their cultural and political dispositions, emotions, thoughts and practices, and how these converge with, and diverge from, the dominant neoliberal discourses they are surrounded by.