Never Ending Nightmare: The Neoliberal Assault on Democracy
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- Create Date：2021-05-06 11:57:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Pierre Dardot
- ISBN：1786634740
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Summary
How do we explain the strange survival of the forcesresponsible for the 2008 economic crisis， one of the worst since 1929？ How do we explain the fact that neoliberalism has emerged from the crisis strengthened？ When it broke， a number of the most prominent economists hastened to announce the ‘death’ of neoliberalism。 They regarded the pursuit of neoliberal policy as the fruit of dogmatism。
For Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval， neoliberalism is no mere dogma。 Supported by powerful oligarchies， it is a veritable politico-institutional system that obeys a logic of self-reinforcement。 Far from representing a break， crisis has become a formidably effective mode of government。
In showing how this system crystallized and solidified， the book explains that the neoliberal straitjacket has succeeded in preventing any course correction by progressively deactivating democracy。 Increasing the disarray and demobilization， the so-called ‘governmental’ Left has actively helped strengthen this oligarchical logic。 The latter could lead to a definitive exit from democracy in favour of expertocratic governance， free of any control。
However， nothing has been decided yet。 The revival of democratic activity， which we see emerging in the political movements and experiments of recent years， is a sign that the political confrontation with the neoliberal system and the oligarchical bloc has already begun。
Reviews
luja
，
Dardot offers a counter-narrative of neoliberalism to how it has been canonized by now， analyzing how it constitutes both a rationale in macroeconomics and a structural， all-encompassing movement whose logic greatly differs from the classical liberal tradition （in that sense， Dardot is close to Foucault， whose critical stance seems to be crucial for his understanding）。 Once examined theoretically and historically， neoliberal imaginarium and its protagonists are rather vilified in Dardot's eyes。B Dardot offers a counter-narrative of neoliberalism to how it has been canonized by now， analyzing how it constitutes both a rationale in macroeconomics and a structural， all-encompassing movement whose logic greatly differs from the classical liberal tradition （in that sense， Dardot is close to Foucault， whose critical stance seems to be crucial for his understanding）。 Once examined theoretically and historically， neoliberal imaginarium and its protagonists are rather vilified in Dardot's eyes。By analyzing the destinies of Greek Syriza， Spanish Podemos， etc。， Dardot also wants to propose an extensive， widely organized movement of resistance， believing in the bottom-to-top approach that would truly demonstrate the power of democracy。 。。。more
Benji Rust
，
This is not a particularly optimistic take on the political terrain we find ourselves on in the early 21st Century。 As they surmise themselves， “It is dark。” That， however， is a strength。 You will find very little faux optimism here， a perennial feature of much writing on the left， but a serious attempt to theorize where we are and how to move forward。Michel Foucault， the doyen of poststructuralism， for all his many faults was one of the first to point out that neoliberalism， admittedly a rather This is not a particularly optimistic take on the political terrain we find ourselves on in the early 21st Century。 As they surmise themselves， “It is dark。” That， however， is a strength。 You will find very little faux optimism here， a perennial feature of much writing on the left， but a serious attempt to theorize where we are and how to move forward。Michel Foucault， the doyen of poststructuralism， for all his many faults was one of the first to point out that neoliberalism， admittedly a rather imprecise term， involved the construction of a distinctive subjectivity。 Another French philosopher-historian， Pierre Rosanvallon， agreed， arguing that fraternity had been cast aside by this new ethos in favor of a rapacious individualism。 It has， however， arguably been Dardot and Laval that have provided the most thorough articulation of the notion that neoliberalism has consisted not only of state-assisted privatization but， perhaps more importantly， the crafting of a new form of identity as the norm of existence， where we feel somehow defective if we lack the necessary drive to transform ourselves into a successful brand。 They describe this as an ‘entrepreneurial rationality’， worming its way into not only the state but our very concept of who we are。 In this seemingly never-ending nightmare， “the most unbridled capitalist instinct mingles with every kind of identitarian ireedentism” and “:an absolute submission to transcendence” where “democracy is emptied of its substance without being formally abolished。” This environment cultivates an abject narcissistic ethos of the self， in which we are meant to be ever more flexible and constantly preoccupied with reinvention， all ultimately， of course， for the benefit of transnational capital。 This has been accompanied， both as cause and effect， by the demobilization of the left in any traditional sense， which suffers from a debilitating “lack of any imaginary。” This has enabled an emboldened right， just as identitarian in its own ways as the left， which has been able to exploit these weaknesses and pose as an anti-establishment alternative。 The final part of this book attempts to address this and is in many ways the weakest。 Rejecting any ‘party form’， they soon sink into rather imprecise talk of constructing ‘international democratic blocs’ and ‘global opposition arenas。’ The weaknesses and failures of convention ‘party’ organisations on the mainstream and far left are clear for all who have eyes to see， but then so is the ultimate failure of non or anti-party formations such as the Social Forum and Occupy Movements， which sound very similar to the sort of trans-national， broadly-based oppositional movements they are putting forward as alternatives。 That they do not fully address this is certainly a weakness， although their sober articulation of the scale of the problem is to be welcomed。 。。。more
Leif
，
Yeah， amid the coruscating depthlessness that is political digestion garbed as critical theory， there's much of value here。 Dardot and Laval are strong thinkers and deeply enmeshed in broad-strokes European political economy - and， refreshingly， they aren't shy from a gratifying side-swipe here and there。 But I found myself adrift in the often locationless assertions about theoretical constructs and， when the converation turned to specificities， such as the threatened and unwilling Grexit， Dardo Yeah， amid the coruscating depthlessness that is political digestion garbed as critical theory， there's much of value here。 Dardot and Laval are strong thinkers and deeply enmeshed in broad-strokes European political economy - and， refreshingly， they aren't shy from a gratifying side-swipe here and there。 But I found myself adrift in the often locationless assertions about theoretical constructs and， when the converation turned to specificities， such as the threatened and unwilling Grexit， Dardot and Laval had little fresh to offer。 So that was a little disappointing。It's a short book and it's sometimes "stodgy"， as one might say of a cake。 Still， for their own brand of Foucauldian diagnosis focused on European neoliberalism and ordo-liberalism， the two are on solid ground。 。。。more
Nathan Fisher
，
quick & not not fun， the stuff that is a popularizing summary version of well-rehearsed left approaches to neoliberalism is fine， but y’know， wade through some predictable Foucauldian nonsense against Marxism， w/e I should be less prudish
Steffi
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