Belief in bodily self-ownership props up neoclassical economics but is itself a myth

Evidence

This abiding somatic integrity of the self is the last great double truth of the neoliberal era. It is the rock-solid foundation of our freedom, and yet the fleeting evanescent product of the imperative of flexibility. It is a myth promoted by the orthodox neoclassical economist, if only because dispelling it would reveal the great gaping emptiness of their entire edifice: Should we bar people from improving a very bad economic lot because it requires a deprivation of their personhood? — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 415

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that the embodied self is BOTH the foundation of neoliberal freedom AND its product — a ‘double truth’ — is a dense, paradigm-level observation.
• XREF: connects to: Self-alienation in property explains ownership’s intensity beyond mere utility. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 146; Behavioral economics shares origins with, rather than refutes, neoliberal thought — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 39; Behavioral economics gets coopted to excuse rather than reform orthodox theory — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 745 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoclassical economics replaced class analysis with individualistic merit narratives #expands (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 30
• Self-alienation in property explains ownership’s intensity beyond mere utility. #expands (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 146
• Behavioral economics shares origins with, rather than refutes, neoliberal thought #qualifies (0.72) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 39
• Behavioral economics gets coopted to excuse rather than reform orthodox theory #corroborates (0.70) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 745