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I think that neoliberalism is a system that creates privatization of goods that may have been once public (for e.g., healthcare) in order to get more people into the open market.

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Theme 1: welfare and social reproduction

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Theme 1: welfare and social reproduction

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When I think of welfare and social reproduction in terms of neoliberalism, I think in terms of social inclusion and exclusion. I think neoliberalism tries to incorporate the idea of social inclusion through the notion of the 'open market' as a system that encourages everyone's economic participation. However, neoliberalism also leads to social exclusion by failing to separate the value of humans from their work and by doing so, it creates a system of social reproduction wherein human life cannot be separated from the value of production of goods in the market, and therefore, creates subjects of neoliberalism.

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There are some progressive aspects to the role of neoliberalism concerning the military. Neoliberal ideals in an increasingly militarized world can uphold national security to stabilize the neoliberal economy. Furthermore, Cowen understands how neoliberalism can glamorize military service, especially for the middle class as some kind of a last resort that offers a sense of financial stability. This presents an interesting contradiction in neoliberal ideals itself since a lot of people who sign up for military service are undocumented immigrants whose status in the US remains undocumented. Enrolling in the military gives them and their family security regarding their immigration status. This shows one of the many disruptive ideals of neoliberalism and its role in the military as the military is all about nationalist sentiments. The immigrants who are foreign nationals would have to ingrain a sense of American nationalism to protect a territory that is not their own just to secure their immigration status. This persuades people to join and serve in the military to enjoy some kind of social welfare benefits as well. The neoliberal ideals would also encourage resource allocation to the military which would aim for an increase in military spending and a reduction in social welfare programs that would further increase economic inequality.

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The neoliberal family and domestic work (pt. 1 neoliberalism and love)

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The neoliberal family and domestic work (pt. 1 neoliberalism and love)

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How subjects are made and families are conditioned for neoliberalism

On loving our work- Jaffe addresses how neoliberal ideologies make us believe that if we truly love our work, we will not think of it as ‘work’ due to our passion for it. However, Jaffe believes that the modern workplace in the neoliberal setting requires our emotional investment just as much as physical investment, Neoliberalism almost forces us to feel a passion for our work so that it does not feel like work anymore and keeps our lives embedded in the workplace itself, which eventually results in burnouts, fatigue, and isolation

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Jaffe also discusses how societal expectations of nuclear families and economic structures influence the division of labor within households. Neoliberalism as an economic and political ideology emphasizes individualism and free markets. This impacts how families operate and how domestic work is distributed, thus impacting individuals’ experiences. This brings me to another contradiction in neoliberalism: if we love our work too much, how can we focus on having a family? This makes me think of ideas like the ‘career woman with no kids’. Women are often shamed for not prioritizing having a family if they are too invested in work. Still, they are also expected to love their work to fully participate in the free market that is supposed to liberate them from domestic work.

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Balani’s work focuses on how neoliberalism sets Muslim women as their target for the sake of ‘empowerment’. This kind of neoliberalism often takes the place of NGOs that come up with initiatives to liberate Muslim women. Neoliberalism in this sense can be seen as “killing two birds with one stone” as it aims to counter terrorism by entering women into the neoliberal market. Balani talks about the importance of women in inculcating ‘culture’ into their families. If these women are integrated into the neoliberal world, they would stop men in their communities from radicalizing and consequently, influence future generations to become a part of the free markets.

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Queer social reproduction: past, present, future

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Queer social reproduction: past, present, future

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In the past, neoliberal economic policies often reinforced existing social inequalities. Queer communities, especially queer BIPOC communities, faced limited access to resources and discrimination. The marginalization of queer people in neoliberal societies comes with the hegemonic ideologies revolving around the nuclear family. In the previous weeks, we talked about how neoliberal families are made however, that focused more heavily on heteronormative nuclear families. More recently, in terms of austerity measures and the increase in the role of the welfare state, we continue to see the continued marginalization of queer people, especially concerning access to healthcare, planned parenthood facilities, and gender-affirming care.

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Gilmore discusses the concept of ‘benign neglect’ which is a protracted, complicated process involving multiple factors where NGOs step in when the market falls short. Benign neglect operates on the premise that neglecting people forces self-sufficiency, creating a complex, multifaceted process without a singular root cause. The emerging "antistate" relies on the ideological dismissal of the government's capacity for social well-being, encouraging self-reliance. Growing neglect paves the way for NGOs to fill gaps, forming what is termed the "shadow state." NGOs, funded by government grants, operate alongside the state but lack democratic accountability, becoming privatized entities with a single-issue focus.

Contrary to social movements, NGOs must meet specific benchmarks and standards, deviating from broader goals to address specific community needs. The state's role shifts from delivering social care to supervision, disconnecting from grassroots movements.

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What comes next? What is beyond neoliberalism? (pt. 1) 

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What comes next? What is beyond neoliberalism? (pt. 1) 

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Neoliberalism and Marriage

The weeks where we talked about families, in particular nuclear families made me think a lot about how marriage can be seen as a neoliberal construct. We are conditioned not just to love ‘work’ but also to love a person and ultimately settle down with them through marriage. Heteronormative nuclear families in neoliberal ideals focus on a ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ raising children and instilling neoliberal values in them. This makes me wonder if neoliberalism shapes our ideas around marriage as the norm for the sake of social reproduction of future generations

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Neoliberalism and happiness

When I think of neoliberalism and what comes next, I find it hard to envision what comes beyond neoliberalism. I think of all the contradictions within neoliberal ideals that we have studied within this course, and more importantly where we can find ‘happiness’ in this neoliberal world where it is difficult to find individuality since all of us are mere subjects of neoliberalism. Living a life that emphasizes the importance of this 9-5 work culture as the norm creates a space of more isolation than togetherness as it reduces the value of human life just to its productivity and the number of hours spent working and contributing to the neoliberal economy. So in this, I wonder, where do we find happiness and the space to explore our individuality? Is happiness beyond neoliberal ideals and instead found in quotidian pleasures like cooking, singing, dancing, etc. with no intentions of monetary gains and contributing to the neoliberal society? These thoughts occurred to me when I was listening to the song Price Tag by Jessie J.

https://youtu.be/qMxX-QOV9tI?feature=shared