Violent Neoliberalism

Violent Neoliberalism explores the complex unfolding relationship between neoliberalism and violence. Employing a series of theoretical dialogues on development, discourse and dispossession Cambodia, this study sheds significant empirical light on the vicious implications of free market ideology and practice.

This compelling volume analyzes the wide-scale societal impact of neoliberal economic policy on contemporary life and behavior. Synthesizing perspectives from politics and economics with insights from psychology and linguistics, it argues that market-driven public institutions promote antisocial thinking, discourage critical reflection, and inure individuals to inequity and cruelty. Chapters cite the ubiquity of violence in modern society, from the marketing of the military to impersonal mass upheavals in the job market, as devaluing human worth and thus self-worth. But the editors also assert that these currents are not terminal, and the book concludes by identifying conditions potentially leading to a more civil and egalitarian future. Included in the coverage: The language of current economics: social theory, the market, and the disappearance of relationships. Neoliberalism and education: the disfiguration of students. Slicing up societies: commercial media and the destruction of social environments. Neoliberalism and the transformation of work. Economics, the network society, and the ontology of violence. A new economic order without violence. Given the centrality of economic events on the global stage, Neoliberalism, Economic Radicalism, and the Normalization of Violence stands out as both a springboard for discussion and a call to action, to be read by political and cultural economists, political scientists, and sociologists.

This book examines the impact of neoliberalism on society, bringing to the forefront a discussion of violence and harm, the inherent inequalities of neoliberalism and the ways in which our everyday lives in the Global North reproduce and facilitate this violence and harm. Drawing on a range of contemporary topics such as state violence, the carceral state, patriarchy, toxic masculinity, death, sports and entertainment, this book unmasks the banal forms of violence and harm that are a routine part of life that usurp, commodify and consume to reify the existing status quo of harm and inequality. It aims to defamiliarize routine forms of violence and inequality, thereby highlighting our own participation in its perpetuation, though consumerism and the consumption of neoliberal dogma. It is essential reading for students across criminology, sociology and political philosophy, particularly those engaged with crimes of the powerful, state crime and social harm.

This book explores the consequences of the last three decades’ substantial neoliberal securitisation of freedom of speech, democracy and social security of racialised groups. Its empirical material contains in-depth interviews with racialised politicians, journalists, academics and civil society activists in Sweden. Like many other countries, Sweden has combined a neoliberal reorganisation of society with securitisation policies in which ‘the war on terror’ has played a central role. In order to understand the complexity of neoliberal securitisation policies and the analysis of the empiric material, the study makes use of central theoretical concepts, such as ‘the spiral of silence’, ‘symbolic violence’, ‘governmentalisation’ and ‘neoliberal racism.’ It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of political sociology, social policy and social work.

Why extreme violence is a necessity for capitalist accumulation to occur in Colombia and beyond

This volume of cutting-edge research comparatively analyzes violent protest and rioting, furthering our understanding of this increasingly prevalent form of claim making. Hank Johnston and Seraphim Seferiades bring together internationally recognized experts in the field of protest studies and contentious politics to analyze the causes and trajectories of violence as a protest tactic. Crossnational comparisons from North America, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Thailand, and elsewhere contribute to the volume's theoretical elaboration, while several case studies add depth to the discussion. This title will be of key importance to scholars across the social sciences, including sociology, political science, geography and criminology. Johnston and Seferiades's exciting book is a significant contribution to the study of rioting and violent protest in the contemporary neoliberal state.

A study of workers struggles against management regimes in Britain's car industry from the Second World War to the late 1980s.

In a long history of ruination and destruction, neoliberalism is the most recent and virulent form of capitalism. This book is a call to action against the most persistent and pestilent disease of our time. Translated into over twenty different languages, the book offers a call to action that transcends local contexts and speaks to the violent global conditions of our neoliberal age. Fuck Neoliberalism: Translating Resistance is a worldwide middle finger to the all-encompassing ideology of our era. The original essay sparked controversy in the academy when it was first released and has since spread around the world as enthusiastic rebels translated it into their own languages. This book brings those translations together, accompanied by short essays from each translator explaining why they translated the text and describing struggles against neoliberalism in their regions. With translations into languages from across the globe, including Mandarin, German, Indonesian, Spanish, Hindi, Italian, Korean, and many more, this book highlights the international nature of resistance to the totalitarian ideology of neoliberalism. Featuring a cover produced by renowned artist Ed Repka (a.k.a. the King of Thrash Metal Art), this internationalized, heavy-metal rant against the all-powerful ideology highlights a chink in its armor. When people across the world find a way to communicate a shared message and stand together, resistance can be both beautiful and inspiring.