Neoliberalism is a mode of reason that is globally ubiquitous yet nonidentical with itself

Evidence

Neoliberalism is a distinctive mode of reason, of the production of subjects, a “conduct of conduct,” and a scheme of valuation. It names a historically specific economic and political reaction against Keynesianism and democratic socialism, as well as a more generalized practice of “economizing” spheres and activities heretofore governed by other tables of value. Yet in its differential instantiations across countries, regions, and sectors, in its various intersections with extant cultures and political traditions, and above all, in its convergences with and uptakes of other discourses and developments, neoliberalism takes diverse shapes and spawns diverse content and normative details, even different idioms. It is globally ubiquitous, yet disunified and nonidentical with itself in space and over time. — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 29

Categorization

• DEFINE: The key definitional move — neoliberalism as a rationality that economizes all spheres, a ‘conduct of conduct,’ rather than mere economic policy.
• XREF: ‘Conduct of conduct’ directly evokes Foucault’s governmentality, connecting to the broader Foucauldian lineage. — connects to: Neoliberalism is internally diverse and marked by real internal conflict — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 45; Neoliberalism is internally plural yet not formless — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 10; Neoliberalism is a normative mode of reason, not merely an economic policy set — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 80 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism governs as a normative form of reason, not ideology or material force. #corroborates (0.88) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 219
• Neoliberalism is a normative mode of reason, not merely an economic policy set #corroborates (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 80
• Neoliberalism operates from a unified playbook despite surface variation #contradicts (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 917
• Neoliberalism is a governing rationality that frames all life in market terms #corroborates (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 357
• Neoliberalism is a reprogramming of liberal governmentality, not a reaction to capitalist crisis #corroborates (0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 83
• Neoliberalism has a coherent crisis logic despite lacking fixed doctrine #complicates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 146
• Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices #complicates (0.78) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 81
• Neoliberalism is best understood as open problems, not fixed solutions #expands (0.78) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 162
• Neoliberalism’s contested definition does not make the term analytically useless #expands (0.78) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 15
• Neoliberalism is a self-consciously evolving thought collective, not a fixed catechism #expands (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 141
• Neo-neoliberalism achieves ubiquity through replication rather than movement #responds-to (0.72) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1877