Mutant Neoliberalism: Market Rule and Political Rupture - Paperback

by William Callison (Editor), Zachary Manfredi (Editor), Étienne Balibar (Contribution by)

Tales of neoliberalism's death are serially overstated. Following the financial crisis of 2008, neoliberalism was proclaimed a "zombie," a disgraced ideology that staggered on like an undead monster. After the political ruptures of 2016, commentators were quick to announce "the end" of neoliberalism yet again, pointing to both the global rise of far-right forces and the reinvigoration of democratic socialist politics. But do new political forces sound neoliberalism's death knell or will they instead catalyze new mutations in its dynamic development?

Mutant Neoliberalism brings together leading scholars of neoliberalism--political theorists, historians, philosophers, anthropologists and sociologists--to rethink transformations in market rule and their relation to ongoing political ruptures. The chapters show how years of neoliberal governance, policy, and depoliticization created the conditions for thriving reactionary forces, while also reflecting on whether recent trends will challenge, reconfigure, or extend neoliberalism's reach. The contributors reconsider neoliberalism's relationship with its assumed adversaries and map mutations in financialized capitalism and governance across time and space--from Europe and the United States to China and India. Taken together, the volume recasts the stakes of contemporary debate and reorients critique and resistance within a rapidly changing landscape.

Contributors: Étienne Balibar, Sören Brandes, Wendy Brown, Melinda Cooper, Julia Elyachar, Michel Feher, Megan Moodie, Christopher Newfield, Dieter Plehwe, Lisa Rofel, Leslie Salzinger, Quinn Slobodian

Back Jacket

"Neoliberalism has frequently been pronounced dead in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but the beast lives on. This collection is a strong addition to recent studies of the topic, exploring neoliberalism's relationships with the EU, the far right, populism, and gender."--Doug Henwood, Producer of Behind the News

"This is the book we need today: the authors refuse to debate about what liberalism 'is' and instead take us into the thicket of its fracturing and multiple futures in the wake of the great financial crisis."--Elizabeth Povinelli, Columbia University

Tales of neoliberalism's death are serially overstated. Following the financial crisis of 2008, neoliberalism was proclaimed a "zombie," a disgraced ideology that staggered on like an undead monster. After the political ruptures of 2016, commentators were quick to announce "the end" of neoliberalism yet again, pointing to both the global rise of far-right forces and the reinvigoration of democratic socialist politics. But do new political forces sound neoliberalism's death knell or will they instead catalyze new mutations in its dynamic development?

Mutant Neoliberalism brings together leading scholars of neoliberalism to rethink transformations in market rule and their relation to ongoing political ruptures. The chapters show how years of neoliberal governance, policy, and depoliticization created the conditions for thriving reactionary forces, while also reflecting on whether recent trends will challenge, reconfigure, or extend neoliberalism's reach. The contributors reconsider neoliberalism's relationship with its assumed adversaries and map mutations in financialized capitalism and governance from Europe and the United States to China and India. Taken together, the volume recasts the stakes of contemporary debate and reorients critique and resistance within a rapidly changing landscape.

Contributors: Étienne Balibar, Sören Brandes, Wendy Brown, Melinda Cooper, Julia Elyachar, Michel Feher, Megan Moodie, Christopher Newfield, Dieter Plehwe, Lisa Rofel, Leslie Salzinger, Quinn Slobodian

William Callison is Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College.

Zachary Manfredi is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

Author Biography

William Callison (Edited By)
William Callison is Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College. He is co-editor of "Rethinking Sovereignty and Capitalism" (Qui Parle) and of "Europe at a Crossroads" (Near Futures Online, Zone Books).

Zachary Manfredi (Edited By)
Zachary Manfredi is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. His recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Humanity, The New York University Law Review, The Texas Journal of International Law, and Critical Times.