We tend to perceive our identities as stable and largely separate from outside forces. But over decades of research and therapeutic practice, I have become convinced that economic change is having a profound effect not only on our values but also on our personalities. Thirty years of neoliberalism, free-market forces and privatisation have taken their toll, as relentless pressure to achieve has become normative. — Paul Verhaeghe | the Guardian
"If you’re reading this sceptically, I put this simple statement to you: meritocratic neoliberalism favours certain personality traits and penalises others."
In this op-ed, Paul Verhaeghe asserts that neoliberalism has weakened social ties and pitted workers against one another in a constant struggle to become "successful." In the process, we've started to develop personality traits that resemble a checklist of psychopathy characteristics.
Neoliberalism's effects aren't confined to the workplace, but rather extend into the urban fabric. Read more:
5 Comments
18 months old article, but relevant nonetheless
I think this author has a very twisted worldview.
Article describes the situation perfectly – not everybody can “make it”, and when they don’t…then what?
This is like a giant wave of angst... I prefer my downer articles to have more dread and/or fatalism, thank you.
If you're really interested in what's driving all this, don't bother with clueless Grauniad. Go back to basics and read James Burnham's The Managerial Revolution.
It's even free on the internet.
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