Neoliberalism’s weakening of democratic values enables neoconservative moralism and authoritarianism
Evidence
Cooper follows the pioneering approach of Wendy Brown, whose American Nightmare’ explains the compatibility of the ‘fierce moral-political rationality’ of neoconservatism with ‘market-political rationality’ as a product of the neoliberal weakening of democratic values, which enables the ‘moralism, statism, and authoritarianism’ of neoconservatism – even as the latter aims to compensate for some of the former’s effects. — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 169
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s existing knowledge of how market rationality and moral authoritarianism intertwine — echoes arguments in Wendy Brown’s Undoing the Demos and critiques of liberal rights discourse. — connects to: Neoliberalism seeks a strong state that thwarts democracy, not a weak one — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 155; Neoliberal thinkers repeatedly countenanced dictators as the lesser evil — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 905; Neoliberal competitiveness outpaces its communitarian moral underpinnings, fueling populism. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 33 (+17 more)
Broader Connections
- Neoliberal rationality reduces the very desire for democracy
#corroborates(0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 398 - Neoliberal rationality makes inequality normal and normative in democracy
#corroborates(0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 63 - Ordoliberalism entailed an authoritarian skepticism toward democracy
#corroborates(0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 557 - Right-wing authoritarianism is psychological submission, not economic conservatism
#expands(0.75) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 140 - Outdated middle-class moral codes become authoritarian when severed from lived conditions
#corroborates(0.72) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 232 - Pseudo-conservatism masked destructive impulses beneath conventional values, unlike genuine conservatism
#corroborates(0.72) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1800