Neoliberal power works so invisibly that the subject believes it is free

Evidence

The neoliberal regime’s technology of power takes on subtle, supple and smart forms; thereby, it escapes all visibility. Now, the subjugated subject is not even aware of its own subjugation. The whole context of domination (Herrschaftszusammenhang) remains entirely hidden. Consequently, the subject thinks itself free. — Byung-Chul Han, Psychopolitics, 44

Categorization

• XREF: Directly continues the theme from ch3 that the self-exploiting subject makes Hegel’s slave-master dialectic collapse and that intrinsic conformity outweighs state surveillance. — connects to: Power grows stronger the less visible it is — Byung-Chul Han, Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New…, 42; The digital panopticon fails to register as surveillance because its subjects feel free — Byung-Chul Han, Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New…, 91; Neoliberal power works by interiorizing relations that subjects read as freedom (+9 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: This is the thesis of the whole book, stated with precision: domination hidden so completely that subjective freedom is itself the form of servitude — a claim dense enough to sit with.
• recurring: this claim recurs 3 times within its source

Related

• Neoliberal power hides subjugation so completely that subjects believe they are free. (similarity 0.93)
• Neoliberal domination works by making subjects act on themselves and call it freedom (similarity 0.87)
• Neoliberal power works by interiorizing relations that subjects read as freedom (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberal freedom can be a vehicle for governance and domination (similarity 0.83)
• Neoliberalism framed itself as a defence of individual freedom against all collectivist systems. (similarity 0.82)
• The digital panopticon fails to register as surveillance because its subjects feel free (similarity 0.80)
• Power grows stronger the less visible it is (similarity 0.80)
• Within neoliberalism, one’s theory of markets determines one’s definition of freedom (similarity 0.79)
• Neoliberals restrict freedom to negative freedom to shield market epistemology from scrutiny (similarity 0.78)
• Neoliberalism claims to liberate while actually eroding political sovereignty (similarity 0.78)
• Neoliberal freedom is recoded as negative liberty to protect market supremacy (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal power works by interiorizing relations that subjects read as freedom #corroborates (0.94)
• Neoliberal freedom can be a vehicle for governance and domination #corroborates (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 153
• Neoliberalism’s social theory is fundamentally epistemological, recoding freedom as instrumental to independent orders #expands (0.78)
• Neoliberal ‘freedom’ is internally redefined to mean market autonomy, not political liberty #complicates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 166
• Modern freedom rests on an unacknowledged capitalist metaphysic #expands (0.73)
• Neoliberal freedom is recoded as negative liberty to protect market supremacy #complicates (0.73) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2130
• Neoliberals restrict freedom to negative freedom to shield market epistemology from scrutiny #qualifies (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 169
• Neoliberal freedom culminates in radical solipsism that denies the economy’s existence #expands (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 431