Dr. Sara DiazWGST 280: Gender, Sexuality, and Popular CultureGonzaga University

Neoliberal Ideology

What is Neoliberalism?• Based on Classical Liberalism• 18th Century

• Peace• Individual liberty• Freedom of thought, speech, and action• Privacy, Choice

• Limited govt power – anti-imperialist• Development of Economic Liberalism• Note that many of these ideas also led to the development of competing

economic systems of communism and capitalism.

• 19th Century• Property Rights**• Laissez-Faire Capitalism• Utilitarianism – “greatest good for the greatest number”• Individualism

What is Neoliberalism?

• Based on Classical Liberalism• 20th Century• Free market/Free trade• Deregulation• Privatization• Reduction of social welfare• Individual responsibility rather than

“greatest good for greatest number.”

What is Neoliberalism?• Based on Classical Liberalism• “Neo” – revival of free-market philosophy of the 19th and

early 20th centuries prior to the New Deal• Definition• Emphasizes “(and some would say exaggerates) the beneficial

workings of the unregulated private sector through the magic of the workings of the free market.”

• “idea that every individual is equally able to protect herself or himself from economic disaster.”

• In media: the idea that “the individual can and must empower herself or himself without government support.” D&H 704

Neoliberal Ideology• How does Neoliberalism meet the definition of “ideology”• Ideology is:

• A body of ideas articulated by a group of people which inform practices• Masks the ideas behind itself so that they seem natural, inevitable,

universal• Embedded in all our social institutions (legal, educational, economic,

military, etc) and creates dominant commonsense understanding of reality that support the status quo (D&H 627)

• How do we know that this part of Neoliberal ideology is flawed: • “every individual is equally able to protect herself or himself from

economic disaster.” p. 704• Post-class?

Decoding Neoliberalism• Decode language• Individualism

• Personal Responsibility vs Community Responsibility• Obscuring institutional structures/privilege• Other examples?

• Decode images• Juxta/positions which emphasize individualism

• Focus Individual subject• Emphasize individual effort/accomplishment• Centering of bodies which represent hegemonic economic structures

of gender, class, and race• Bodies on top of/in front of bodies

For Example …

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

• In what ways do we see neoliberal ideology in Judge Judy?

•How about in the Cosby Show or Run’s House?

•How are post-race and post-feminist ideologies also neo-liberal ideologies?

CAN WE USE THE CODES OF NEOLIBERALISM SUBVERSIVELY?

How about this?

Or This?