8/10/2019 Springer Springer - The Violence of Neoliberalism http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/springer-springer-the-violence-of-neoliberalism 1/21 " The Violence of Neoliberalism Simon Springer Department of Geography, University of Victoria [email protected]*Forthcoming in the Handbook of Neoliberalism * Abstract As austerity measures intensify in the wake of the most recent global financial crisis, it is becoming ever more clear that neoliberalization exhibits a distinct relational connection with violence. This is not an admonishment of the protests that continue to swell, but rather a recognition that these movements are in fact pushing back against the violent measures that have frustrated and demoralized everyday existence under neoliberalism. There is now considerable room for scepticism with regard to the Ôrising tides lifts all boatsÕ discourse that is perpetuated by proponents of neoliberal ideology, as the free market has categorically failed at producing a harmonious global village. Promises of utopia are confronted with the stark dystopian realities that exist in a growing number of countries where neoliberalization has not resulted in greater peace and prosperity, but in a profound and unmistakable encounter with violence. This paper questions how neoliberalizing processes often comes suffused with processes of othering that result in conflict, arguing that neoliberalism itself might be productively understood as a particular form of violence. Keywords Conflict, Dystopia, Geography, Neoliberalism, Othering, Violence Introduction The ascent of neoliberalism can be understood as a particular form of anxiety, a disquiet born in the wake of the Second World War when the atrocities of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union fostered a belief that government intervention trampled personal freedoms and thereby unleashed indescribable slaughter (Mirowski and Plehwe 2008). There is some truth to be found in this concern, but the response that followed has exhibited its own violent tendencies. The Mont Pelerin Society, the originary neoliberal think-tank, responded by resurrecting classical liberalismÕs three basic tenets. First, a concentrated focus on the individual, who was viewed as the most qualified to communicate his or her desires, whereby society should be reoriented towards removing obstacles that hinder this goal. Second, free markets were considered the most proficient means for advancing self-reliance,
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8/10/2019 Springer Springer - The Violence of Neoliberalism
Abstract As austerity measures intensify in the wake of the most recent global financial crisis, it isbecoming ever more clear that neoliberalization exhibits a distinct relational connection with violence. This is not an admonishment of the protests that continue to swell, but rather arecognition that these movements are in fact pushing back against the violent measures thathave frustrated and demoralized everyday existence under neoliberalism. There is nowconsiderable room for scepticism with regard to the Ôrising tides lifts all boatsÕ discourse thatis perpetuated by proponents of neoliberal ideology, as the free market has categoricallyfailed at producing a harmonious global village. Promises of utopia are confronted with the
stark dystopian realities that exist in a growing number of countries where neoliberalizationhas not resulted in greater peace and prosperity, but in a profound and unmistakableencounter with violence. This paper questions how neoliberalizing processes often comessuffused with processes of othering that result in conflict, arguing that neoliberalism itselfmight be productively understood as a particular form of violence.
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