Book Review: Undoing the Demos

undoingtheundoingofthedemos

WendyBROWN, UndoingtheDemos.Neoliberalism’sStealthRevolution (NewYork,ZoneBooks, 2015)

ReviewingWendyBrownisahumblingtask. UndoingtheDemos pulls togetheramasterfulexposeofMichelFoucault’slecturesonneoliberalism;anincisivereviewofthechangingrelationshipbetween homoeconomicus and homopoliticus inpoliticaltheory;andananalysis ofneoliberalisminaction,framedbythenowubiquitousvocabulary ofgovernance,benchmarks,orbestpractices,andfinallybythe economizationofallinstitutions,mostprominentlythelaw, cultureandhighereducation.Thecoreargumentthroughoutisthat theinstitutionalizationofneoliberalrationalityconstitutesagrave politicalthreat.Forallitscelebrationoffreedom,neoliberalism expressesnoneedtoguaranteethekindsoffreedomswenormally associatewithdemocracy.Infact,weonlyneedtoguaranteemarket freedomandtherestwillfollow.Whatreplacesdemocratic politics is thusthe economic argumentthatthemarketalwaysknowsbest.Inother words,theneoliberalregimeisstrippingthepopular“demos”fromits moralauthority,replacingitwiththeauthorityofefficiencyandthebest bangforthebuck.Andthusthecoreinstitutionsofcapitalismandthe statehavebeenredesignedtofacilitatewhatKoreyC x alis x kanandMichel Callon[2009]1 call“theeconomizationofeverything”—thatis,the processesbywhichindividualsarealignedwiththedemandsofthe systemandbecomesocially,culturally,physicallyandpsychologically efficient. Homoeconomicus iseverywhere,and homopoliticus isnowhere tobefound.

UndoingtheDemos isbeautifullycraftedanddeeplygenerativefor anyoneworkingonthistopic,andinmanywaysIcouldjustleaveitat that.Readit!Everywordandeverypageisworthyourtime.Butthe jobofabookrevieweristocriticallyengageitsobject.Andsointhis spiritIhaveonequibble,onecriticism,andoneregret.Thequibble concernsthestrangeinvisibilityoftheneoliberalsthemselvesinthis narrative.Thecriticismhastodowiththelimitedengagementwith neo-liberalismonitsownterms,bothonthesocialfront(thefailure toexplorenewformsofneoliberalsocialorganization)andonthe

1 C x alis xkanKoreyandMichelCallon 2009 “Economization,PartI:ShiftingAttention fromtheEconomytowardProcessesof

Economization”, EconomyandSociety, 38 (3): 369-398

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MarionFourcade, UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley[fourcade@berkeley.edu] EuropeanJournalofSociology, 57, 3 (2016),pp. 453–459 0003-9756/16/0000-900$07 50perart+$0 10 perpage ªEuropeanJournalofSociology 2016.doi: 10 1017/S0003975616000187

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economicfront(thefailuretoanalyzethenewdynamicsofcapitalism, andinparticulartheroleoftechnologyinit).Finally,Iregret theabsenceofaseriousconsiderationofpathsofresistanceand (especially)subversion.

Bringbacktheneoliberals

InBrown’snarrative,neoliberalismemergesasamysteriousand multifacetedforce,whoseincarnationencompassesthePinochetregime, thepoliticalpoweroflargeAmericancorporations,Walmart,Germany’s intransigencetowardsGreece,theriseofﬁnancecapital,andmore. Thisisaconvenientframinggiventhebook’soverallpurpose,butitdoes poseananalyticalproblem:ifneoliberalismisdeﬁnedbyitsantidemocraticoutcomes,thenhowcanneoliberalrationalityalsobethecauseof theseoutcomes?Incontrastwithhereruditediscussionofclassical liberalism,which,assheshows,wassaturatedwithpoliticalconcerns, Browneschewsanequallythoroughengagementwiththepolitical imaginaryofhernemesis.Suchanengagementmighthavehelped articulatetheconnectionbetweenneoliberalrationalityanditspractical consequencesinalesstautologicalmanner.

Unlikethe 19 th centuryliberals,whosepoliticalworldBrown exploresinminutedetails,theneoliberalsareconspicuouslyabsent from UndoingtheDemos.Shemakesonlypassingreferencesto FriedmanandHayek,forinstance,andcitesthemmostlythrough theirinterpretationbyFoucault. Neo-liberalismasanintellectual movementwasbornininterwarEuropeinoppositiontotheplanned economy,whichanumberofintellectuals,economists,andeconomic managersfearedwascreepingupeverywhere:intheSovietUnion, NaziGermany,andindemocraticstates,suchastheUnitedKingdom. Forsomeoftheearlywriters,particularlytheGerman-speakingones suchasWalterEuckenandtosomeextentFriedrichHayek,the differencebetweenthecoercionexercisedby,say,theBritishLabor partyasitnationalizedthecoalindustryandthatperformedinthe SovietUnion’scommandeconomywasmerelyoneofdegree,notof nature:bothdesignsconstrainedindividualpropertyrights,andas suchtheywere both fundamentallyanti-liberal.Inotherwords, the neoliberalprojectasitwasconceiveddissociatedindividualfreedomfrom theexerciseofpopularsovereignty,thatis,fromthepoliticalfreedomto collectivelyconstrainindividualfreedom.Thismakesneo-liberalism aprofoundly“a-democratic”ideology:asDardotandLavalremark, 454

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democracyinthispoliticalimaginaryisnothingmorethanatechnical wayofappointingrulers[2014: 306]2.Brown’silluminatingexample comesfromtheneoliberalreorganizationoftheIraqieconomyby PaulBremer,which,asshepointsouthadtooccur before the democratictransition,notafterit.Thepoliticalregimewasmerely anafter-thoughtoftheeconomicregime.

Neoliberalwriterswerealsoquiteexplicitaboutthehomologyof formbetweendemocracyandthemarket.MiltonFriedman,for instance,makesthepointverystraightforwardlyin Capitalismand Freedom:“freedomineconomicarrangementsisitselfacomponentof freedombroadlyunderstood.”Inotherwords,market“choices”area formoffreeexpression.Anaturalcorollaryistheideathatempoweringmarketsempowerspeople:themarketistheeconomicanalogto democracyandconsumersovereigntyispoliticalfreedominanother guise.ButFriedmangoesfurther.Marketcompetition,heargues,is thebestdefense against theconcentrationofeconomicpowerinthe handsofthefewand,consequently,againsttheundueinﬂuenceof powerfulvestedinterestsonthestate.Whyworryaboutelaborating properlypoliticalguaranteesagainsttheexerciseofpowersince marketliberalismisactuallythebestwaytorealizedemocracyin practice?Brown’sincisiveanalysisoftheUSSupremeCourt’s “CitizensUnited”decisionprovidesawonderfulillustrationof Friedman’sgeneric,analyticalpoint.ForJusticeAnthony,whowrote themajorityopinion,theexistenceofa“marketplaceofideas”is reasonenoughtodismissconsiderationsofpower,becausepeoplecan “invest”intheirpreferredpoliticalposition.

Dealingwithneoliberalismonitsownterms

UnderastandardUniversityofChicagointerpretation,where marketfailuresarerare,Friedman’sinjunctionalsomeansthat thepursuitofpublicgoods,whichnormallystandsatthecoreof thepoliticalprocess,isbestlefttoemergentformsofindividual voluntarism(whichexpresspeople’srevealedpreferences).Margaret Thatcherfamouslysaid:“thereisnosuchthingassociety.”Butthe fullsentencewasactuallymuchmorepoeticandmuchmore instructive:“thereisnosuchthingassociety.Thereislivingtapestry ofmenandwomenandpeopleandthebeautyofthattapestryandthe

2 DardotPierreandChristianLaval, 2014 TheNewWayoftheWorld:OnNeoliberal Society,Verso.

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qualityofourliveswilldependuponhowmucheachofusisprepared totakeresponsibilityforourselvesandeachofuspreparedtoturn roundandhelpbyourowneffortsthosewhoareunfortunate.”

Forallitseconomizingdrive,neoliberalrationality,notsoparadoxically,hasgonehandinhandwiththecelebrationofsocialcapital, communitydevelopment,certainaspectsofassociationallife,and mostofallphilanthropy.Wearestilllacking,andthisbookdoesnot offer,apropertheoryoftheseformsofsocialorganization,whichhave ﬂourishedinastrangesymbiosiswiththemarket.Wemightofcourse dismissthemasersatzdemocracy,asMargaretSomersdoesbrilliantly whensheremarksthatneo-liberalismhasturned“Gdanskintoa BowlingAlley”[2005]3.Butwhateverourpoliticalpositiononthese socialactorsmaybe,wecannotdispenseourselvesfromanalyzing themontheirownterms.Recentworkoncharities,forinstance, showshowbenevolentethicsactuallyentrenchesneoliberalismbut alsohelpssubvertandpossiblydisplaceit[Tugal,n.d.].

Similarly,weneedtohaveabetterappreciationoftheintrinsic (iftoxic)appealofneoliberaltechnologies.Neoliberalismhasan interestingoverninghumanconduct.Insomewaysthisisanextension oftheclassicalliberalview,wherethemarketwasseenasacivilizing force.Engagementwiththemarket,AdamSmithremarked,develops thebourgeoisvirtuesofprudenceandpunctuality.Itfosterscooperationandpoliteness.Thenewmarketlogicpromisesallthat,andmore. Itdemandsourﬁtness,ourself-love,ournarcissismeven,andmost ofall,theconstantcultivationofourhumancapital.InFoucault’s vocabulary,wehavebecomeentrepreneursofourselves.Itismuch worse,andmuchlessexciting:wehavebecome accountants ofourselves.

Themetricsareeverywhere:onsocialnetworks,inourcredit reports,intheUberdatabase,inourfitbitsandourdatinghistory.Our medical,legal,financialtrajectoriesarebeingintegrated,recombined, reorganized,madesenseofandfedbacktousintheformofimplicit moralinjunctions.Thenumberscompelustobehealthy!Keepon track!Payyourbills! Ourfreedomtochooseisinfactanobligationto optimize.Insomewaythisistheextreme,Kafkaesqueformalizationof thecivilizingdriveidentifiedbythe 18th centurymoralphilosophers. Thestateandthemarketarereorganizingthemselvessoastokeepus onourtoes,allthetime.

3 SomersMargaret, 2005.“BewareTrojan HorsesBearingSocialCapital:How IdeationalPowerHasTurnedGdanskinto aBowlingAlley”, in GeorgeSteinmetz(ed.),

ThePoliticsofMethodsintheHumanSciences. PositivismandItsEpistemologicalOthers (Durkham,DukeUniversityPress: 233-274).

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Thiskindofprostheticallyassistedsurveillancefeelsterribly oppressive,butthefactisthatithasbecomesecondnature,apart ofoureconomichabitus.Whotoday,ifgiventheopportunity,would giveuptheconvenienceofacreditcardinfavorofcarryingcashin theirpockets?Wedon’tthinktwiceaboutavoidingausedbooks sellerwithatwo-starsrating.Andanonymousvotesofconﬁdence fromhundredsofridersaswellasthecertaintyofmonitoringand accountabilityproviderelieftoouranxietieswhenwestepintoa stranger’scar.

WhatmadeMarx’sgeniuscritiqueofcapitalismsocompellingwas adeepunderstandingoftheeconomicandtechnologicalforcesthat poweredthesystem,whichdrewin both capitalistsandworkers. Similarly,thiseconomyhasadynamicofitsown,propelledbynew technicalpossibilities,newsocialrelations,andofcoursenewwaysof extractingvalue.Digitaltechnologies,importantly,areatthecenterof thisprofoundreorganizationofthemodeofproduction.InWestern economies,theextractionofpersonaldataisincreasinglydisplacing thetraditionalextractionoflaborpowerasasourceofvalue. (Ofcoursethisdata-iﬁcationofWesterneconomiesismadepossible, inpart,bylowcostgloballabor.)

Thisnewtechnologicalregimeisreconﬁguringusverydeeply, too.WatchingteenagersobsessovertheirInstagramlikesis frightening.Knowingthatthealgorithmsaredesignedtokeep themhooked—thewaytheconveyerbeltkeptworkershookedto themachine—isevenmorefrightening.Butunderstandingthe sociallifetheybuildwithinandthroughthisworld—theway Marxistscholarstriedtounderstandhowworkerscouldworkas hardastheydidinindustrialcapitalism—,andhowthislife contributestosustainingthesystemeconomically, that isanintellectualchallengethatmust bemet[Fourcade,forthcoming] 4 . Thevocationoftoday’ssocialtheoristsisnotsimplytoreﬂectback ontheworldthatisnomore.Itistoanalyzeindepththeprocesses ofsocialdifferentiation,exploitation,andexclusionthatstructure asocietyregulatedbyself-optimization,andthelocationsin thissocietywherepoliticalmob ilizationispossible.Suchan understanding—ofneoliberalsocietyfromwithin—isperhapsthe onlypaththatwillleadustore-imagineandreconstructthevery terrainofpoliticalstruggle.

4 FourcadeMarion,Forthcoming.“The FlyandtheCookie.OntheMoralEconomy of 21 st CenturyCapitalism”(sase Presidentialaddress) SocioeconomicReview

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Thesubversiveusesofneoliberalism

Isprogressivepoliticspossibleintheneoliberalsociety? Undoing theDemos doesnotprovidemanyanswers,barelythreepages,under thetitle:“despair.”ButasJamesFergusonwritesin“TheUsesof Neoliberalism”:“Whatifpoliticsisreallynotaboutexpressing indignationordenouncingthepowerful?Whatifitis,instead,about gettingwhatyouwant?[.]Canweﬁndwaysofthinkingcreatively abouttheprogressivepossibilities(andnotonlythereactionary dangers)ofthisnewterrain?”[2009: 167]5.Itisuseful,perhaps,to callonPolanyi,andtorememberthatsocialinsuranceandthewelfare stategrewoutofadelayedreactionagainsttheviolentdis-embedding oftheeconomyintheliberalperiod(theﬁrstreactionwas,asinthe neoliberalperiod,adangerouspolicestate).Societybecame re-embeddedinadifferentwayinthe 20 th century,withnewactors. Nowtheseforms—unionsforinstance—havecomeundoneagain. Thesignsofthe“doublemovement”thatwilltransformneoliberal reasonareallaroundus,inboththemostdreadful(i.e.theriseof outrightproto-fascism)andmosthopeful(i.e.thereturnofprogressivepolitics)forms.True,thismovementmaynotofferthekind ofradicalchangethatsome—andperhapsBrownherself—would ratherfavor.Butthereisapathofresistance.

Perhapsthebest-knownexampleisthewaveofbasicincomereforms andproposalsthroughouttheworld,forinstanceinSouthAfrica, IranandBrazil;basicincomemovementsaregainingsteaminEurope aswell,andtheideaisgalvanizingSiliconValleyelites.MiltonFriedman unsuccessfullypromotedbasicincome,intheformofanegativeincome tax,backinthe 1970sasamoreefﬁcientandlessstigmatizingwayof attackingpovertyandlabormarket instability.Thustheneoliberal lineage,sotospeak,isclear.Soisthelanguagesurroundingthese initiatives,which(1)recognizesthe“ﬂexible”demandsofthenew economy,(2)appealstothevocabularyofhumancapitalinvestment, and(3)doesnotassumethatwageearningisthenorm.Buttheneoliberal originsandlanguageofthepolicyshouldnotobscurethefactthat—as theybuildbroaderconstituencies—unconditionalcashtransfersare morphingintoadifferentkindofpoliticalanimal,openingupnew progressivepossibilities.JamesFergusonreferstothisnewterrainof politicalstruggleas“thepoliticsoftherightfulshare.”

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5 FergusonJames, 2009.“TheUsesofNeoliberalism”, Antipode 41 (1): 166-184

undoingtheundoingofthedemos

Moreopeningsforinternally-drivenformsofsubversionare poppingupelsewhere,inclosedialoguewithneoliberalrationality itself.Thepenalapparatus,whoseexpansionwastightlycoupledwith thatoftheneoliberalstate,isbeingchallengedinawaythatwas unthinkablejusttenyearsago.Thisisdue,inpart,toreasonsthatlie attheheartofneoliberalrationality:thepenalstateiscostly,and profoundlyinefficient.Onefinalexample:intheirproactiveand narcissisticorientationtowardself-quantification,peoplearealso subvertingthedynamicsofself-trackinginsubtleways.AsGoodhart’slawpredicts,whenpeoplestartstrategizingaroundmeasures, whenmeasuresbecomecommodities,orthetargetsofsocialstruggles, theyceasetobegoodmeasures.

Despairwemay.AndinherincisivebookBrowngivesusmany reasonsto.Butoutofthecreativityofhumanagencyandthe dialecticalunfoldingofneoliberalrationalitymanysocialworldsare stillpossible.

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