Neoliberalism’s social theory is fundamentally epistemological, recoding freedom as instrumental to independent orders

Evidence

His portrayal of socialism as a scientific fallacy originated in his early epistemological works in which he rejected the validity of all opodictic truths. Following Henri Poincaré, Rougier proposed that a scientific proposition, instead of being either a rational truth a priori, or an empirical truth a posteriori, could be a “hypothesis” or an “optional convention” picked for reasons of practical or theoretical convenience and tacitly accepted as such by the scientific community. Poincaré’s geometrical conventionalism, once extended to all disciplines, pointed to a “third way” which preserved the possibility of scientific objectivity while acknowledging the artificiality of reasoning and truth. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 62 (#expands, via linked claim)

Foucault is clearly intrigued by the “freedom” that liberalism and neoliberalism promise. He knows we can be governed through such freedom, but refuses the Marxist point that what is being named as freedom elides and even discursively inverts crucial powers of domination. — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 153 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neoliberal ‘freedom’ is internally redefined to mean market autonomy, not political liberty — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 166; Within neoliberalism, one’s theory of markets determines one’s definition of freedom — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 167; Neoliberalism denies any harmable self, dissolving all positive freedom — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 308 (+17 more)

Related

• Neoliberalism reframed politics as an epistemological question of what can be known (similarity 0.85)
• Within neoliberalism, one’s theory of markets determines one’s definition of freedom (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberalism framed itself as a defence of individual freedom against all collectivist systems. (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberal epistemology drew on Poincaré’s conventionalism to attack socialist rationalism (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberal freedom can be a vehicle for governance and domination (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberalism’s critique of rival ideologies drew on epistemological conventionalism (similarity 0.83)
• Neoliberalism fused philosophy of science and political economy against totalitarianism (similarity 0.83)
• Neoliberalism dominates by default, leaving its ideology contestable (similarity 0.83)
• Neoliberalism is fundamentally an epistemological project, not merely a political or economic one (similarity 0.82)
• Neoliberals restrict freedom to negative freedom to shield market epistemology from scrutiny (similarity 0.82)
• Neoliberalism generalizes the economic form across the entire social field, unlike classical liberalism. (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberal power works by interiorizing relations that subjects read as freedom (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberal freedom is recoded as negative liberty to protect market supremacy (similarity 0.81)
• Early neoliberalism drew on mathematical conventionalism, not naturalism or empiricism (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism pairs a scientific self-image with elite-directed ideological strategy, not democratic science (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism’s deliberate epistemic inconsistencies enabled its long-term success #corroborates (0.85)
• Neoliberal epistemology drew on Poincaré’s conventionalism to attack socialist rationalism #expands (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 62
• Neoliberal freedom can be a vehicle for governance and domination #complicates (0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 153