Tales of neoliberalisms 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 neoliberalisms death knell or will they instead catalyze new mutations in its dynamic development?
Mutant Neoliberalism brings together leading scholars of neoliberalismpolitical theorists, historians, philosophers, anthropologists and sociologiststo 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 neoliberalisms reach. The contributors reconsider neoliberalisms relationship with its assumed adversaries and map mutations in financialized capitalism and governance across time and spacefrom 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