Neoliberalism means capital seizes biopolitical governance from the state

Evidence

Neoliberalism, in this sense, has less to do with older forms of economic liberalism which sought to mobilize the free market as a force for freedom, individualism and peace and more to do with the governmentality of the market over social life, the ways that those biopolitical tasks once monopolized by the state might be contrived, mobilized and executed by the forces of capital and in their interests (2008, 130–131). Elsewhere, Scott Stoneman and I (2009) have suggested that Walmart should be understood as a “panopticon of time,” a corporate manifestation that brings Foucault’s famous emblematic prison thoroughly into the neoliberal moment, evolving a diverse, flexible, networked institution that both fundamentally delimits social time and helps produce a range of subjectivities germane to and productive of neoliberal social and economic norms. — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 263

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the crucial break between classical liberalism and neoliberalism as a shift from market-as-freedom to market-as-governmentality.
• XREF: ‘Panopticon of time’ as a corporate descendant of Foucault’s prison connects to the reader’s financialization-and-everyday-life frame. — connects to: Climate conference failures demonstrate capital’s power over democratic governance — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 340; Neoliberal governance fuses state and capital aims, swapping their traditional roles — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 294; Neoliberalism claims to liberate while actually eroding political sovereignty — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 211 (+5 more)
• SHARE: The ‘Walmart as panopticon of time’ formulation is a perfect nerdy tidbit for someone working on retail labor or surveillance studies.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal governance fuses state and capital aims, swapping their traditional roles #corroborates (0.95) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 294
• Capture theory frames neoliberalism as the political power of economic power #corroborates (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 203
• Neoliberalism claims to liberate while actually eroding political sovereignty #expands (0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 211
• Neoliberalism economizes justice, sovereignty, and the rule of law #expands (0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 32