Mutant Neoliberalism

Tales of neoliberalism’s death are serially overstated. Following the financial crisis of 2008, neoliberalism was proclaimed a “zombie,” a disgraced ideology that staggered on like an undead monster. After the political ruptures of 2016, commentators were quick to announce “the end” of neoliberalism yet again, pointing to both the global rise of far-right forces and the reinvigoration of democratic socialist politics. But do new political forces sound neoliberalism’s death knell or will they instead catalyze new mutations in its dynamic development?

Mutant Neoliberalism brings together leading scholars of neoliberalism—political theorists, historians, philosophers, anthropologists and sociologists—to rethink transformations in market rule and their relation to ongoing political ruptures. The chapters show how years of neoliberal governance, policy, and depoliticization created the conditions for thriving reactionary forces, while also reflecting on whether recent trends will challenge, reconfigure, or extend neoliberalism’s reach. The contributors reconsider neoliberalism’s relationship with its assumed adversaries and map mutations in financialized capitalism and governance across time and space—from Europe and the United States to China and India. Taken together, the volume recasts the stakes of contemporary debate and reorients critique and resistance within a rapidly changing landscape.

Contributors: Étienne Balibar, Sören Brandes, Wendy Brown, Melinda Cooper, Julia Elyachar, Michel Feher, Megan Moodie, Christopher Newfield, Dieter Plehwe, Lisa Rofel, Leslie Salzinger, Quinn Slobodian

Introduction: Theorizing Mutant Neoliberalism | 1
William Callison and Zachary Manfredi

1. Neoliberalism’s Scorpion Tail | 39
Wendy Brown

2. The Market’s People: Milton Friedman and the Making of Neoliberal Populism | 61
Sören Brandes

3. Neoliberals against Europe | 89
Quinn Slobodian and Dieter Plehwe

4. Anti-Austerity on the Far Right | 112
Melinda Cooper

5. Disposing of the Discredited: A European Project | 146
Michel Feher

6. Neoliberalism, Rationality, and the Savage Slot | 177
Julia Elyachar

7. Sexing Homo OEconomicus: Finding Masculinity at Work | 196
Leslie Salzinger

8. Feminist Theory Redux: Neoliberalism’s Public-Private Divide | 215
Megan Moodie and Lisa Rofel

9. “Innovation” Discourse and the Neoliberal University: Top Ten Reasons to Abolish Disruptive Innovation | 244
Christopher Newfield

10. Absolute Capitalism | 269
Étienne Balibar

List of Contributors | 291

Index | 295