On Neoliberalism

Freud conceded that the intellectual and scientific theory of sexuality is actually derived from art and poetry. As a result, the contents of art and poetry which relate to love and sexuality and in turn form the basis and foundation of the intellectual and scientific theory of sexuality are made less interesting and less pleasurable as an intellectual and scientific theory. Also, it follows from the theory of sexuality that cultural development, education, and pedagogy are aimed more than anything else at overcoming the cruelty, shame, and secrecy which shroud and surround something as simple and trivial as the masturbatory and sexual act.

Moreover, the cruelty, shame, and secrecy which shrouds and surrounds the masturbatory and sexual act have been crystalized and formed at a very early age in the individual psyche, and as a result, the depth and the intensity of the cultural development, education, and pedagogy which are required to overcome such cruelty, shame, and secrecy have to be amplified and augmented in order for there to be real and substantial changes and transformations in the general approach and mentality towards such simple and trivial acts which ultimately impacts everyday life. 

In turn, the general diversions and deflections away from the true aim of the individual’s chemical processes and psychic energy end up manifesting in something as sublime and subtle as a state ideology. “Neoliberalism” serves as the basic ideology of almost all contemporary Western states, and in turn, one can argue that the very basis and foundation of neoliberalism is the distraction and diversion away from real and true subconscious aims. And even if Eliot Cohen and Nora Ben Sahel seek to hinder and stop an individual from getting an overpriced degree, they cannot hinder or stop an individual or a group of people from achieving what are essentially unconscious and subconscious aims which are controlled by forces beyond human comprehension. Nevertheless, and as Wendy Brown noted, neoliberals have waged a “relentless diminution of nonmonetized existence, such as being knowledgeable and thoughtful about the world, converged with the privatization and choking off access to higher education for the many.” As a result: “A generation turned away from liberal arts and education was also turned against it.” 

Because of the neoliberal impulse towards control and domination of unconscious and subconscious aims and forces, it follows that neoliberalism is “less a theory of the market or of economics than of law and the state.” Thus, the failure of the neoliberal global order stems essentially from the failure to control and dominate the unconscious and subconscious aims and motives of millions or perhaps even billions of people. By controlling the unconscious and subconscious aims and motives of millions or perhaps even billions of people, neoliberalism is then rendered anti-democratic at its very core and essence. And as the very basis and foundation of American state ideology over the last few decades, it follows that “nothing is untouched by a neoliberal mode of reason and valuation and that neoliberalism’s attack on democracy has everywhere inflected law, political culture, and political subjectivity.”

The two basic and evident alternatives to what is now a failed neoliberal ideology and system are either socialism or populism. But populism is more of an ontological state founded on mass anger and frustration resulting from the class divisions, class inequalities, and class inequities stemming from neoliberal ideology rather than a rational and sensible economic, political, and social program. Neoliberalism and a true social democracy are also mutually exclusive of one another, given that social democracy actually espouses rational and sensible programs which aim to clean up the mess left behind by a neoliberal agenda. Neoliberalism also assumes that a certain class of people have more knowledge and are better equipped to govern than anyone else, which in turn justifies its suppression of the popular class. But this assumption stems from hubris more than anything else, which in turn blinds neoliberals to the reality that the popular class knows more and actually wields a latent power that has yet to diminish despite neoliberal suppression and war against the popular class.