Religion in the Neoliberal Age

Religion in the Neoliberal Age

Author: François Gauthier

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1317067487

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This book, together with a complementary volume 'Religion in Consumer Society', focuses on religion, neoliberalism and consumer society; offering an overview of an emerging field of research in the study of contemporary religion. Claiming that we are entering a new phase of state-religion relations, the editors examine how this is historically anchored in modernity but affected by neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Seemingly distant developments, such as marketization and commoditization of religion as well as legalization and securitization of social conflicts, are transforming historical expressions of 'religion' and 'religiosity' yet these changes are seldom if ever understood as forming a coherent, structured and systemic ensemble. 'Religion in the Neoliberal Age' includes an extensive introduction framing the research area, and linking it to existing scholarship, before looking at four key issues: 1. How changes in state structures have empowered new modes of religious activity in welfare production and the delivery of a range of state services; 2. How are religion-state relations transforming under the pressures of globalization and neoliberalism; 3. How historical churches and their administrations are undergoing change due to structural changes in society, and what new forms of religious body are emerging; 4. How have law and security become new areas for solving religious conflicts. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.


Book Synopsis Religion in the Neoliberal Age by : François Gauthier

Download or read book Religion in the Neoliberal Age written by François Gauthier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, together with a complementary volume 'Religion in Consumer Society', focuses on religion, neoliberalism and consumer society; offering an overview of an emerging field of research in the study of contemporary religion. Claiming that we are entering a new phase of state-religion relations, the editors examine how this is historically anchored in modernity but affected by neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Seemingly distant developments, such as marketization and commoditization of religion as well as legalization and securitization of social conflicts, are transforming historical expressions of 'religion' and 'religiosity' yet these changes are seldom if ever understood as forming a coherent, structured and systemic ensemble. 'Religion in the Neoliberal Age' includes an extensive introduction framing the research area, and linking it to existing scholarship, before looking at four key issues: 1. How changes in state structures have empowered new modes of religious activity in welfare production and the delivery of a range of state services; 2. How are religion-state relations transforming under the pressures of globalization and neoliberalism; 3. How historical churches and their administrations are undergoing change due to structural changes in society, and what new forms of religious body are emerging; 4. How have law and security become new areas for solving religious conflicts. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

Race, Religion, and Resilience in the Neoliberal Age

Race, Religion, and Resilience in the Neoliberal Age

Author: Cedric C. Johnson

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1137526149

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This book presents a study of the rise of American neoliberalism in the aftermath of the modern Civil Rights movement, paying particular attention to the traumatic impact of the neoliberal age on countless African Americans. Author Cedric C. Johnson takes a close look at the manner in which American neoliberalism has been able to preserve, articulate, and exploit constructions of race-based difference. The neoliberal age has engendered an extraordinary growth in economic disparities and social inequalities, with traumatic repercussions for innumerable African Americans. Historically, black religious forms have functioned as contested spaces, capable of organizing alternative modes of cultural, economic, and political life. This project examines forms of black religiosity that function as modes of soul care in this context. Johnson posits an innovative, multi-systems approach that informs practices of care for populations traumatized or threatened by the neoliberal age.


Book Synopsis Race, Religion, and Resilience in the Neoliberal Age by : Cedric C. Johnson

Download or read book Race, Religion, and Resilience in the Neoliberal Age written by Cedric C. Johnson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a study of the rise of American neoliberalism in the aftermath of the modern Civil Rights movement, paying particular attention to the traumatic impact of the neoliberal age on countless African Americans. Author Cedric C. Johnson takes a close look at the manner in which American neoliberalism has been able to preserve, articulate, and exploit constructions of race-based difference. The neoliberal age has engendered an extraordinary growth in economic disparities and social inequalities, with traumatic repercussions for innumerable African Americans. Historically, black religious forms have functioned as contested spaces, capable of organizing alternative modes of cultural, economic, and political life. This project examines forms of black religiosity that function as modes of soul care in this context. Johnson posits an innovative, multi-systems approach that informs practices of care for populations traumatized or threatened by the neoliberal age.

Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age

Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age

Author: Bruce Rogers-Vaughn

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-08

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1137553391

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This volume offers a detailed analysis of how the current phase of capitalism is eating away at social, interpersonal, and psychological health. Drawing upon an interdisciplinary body of research, Bruce Rogers-Vaughn describes an emerging form of human distress—what he calls ‘third order suffering’—that is rapidly becoming normative. Moreover, this new paradigm of affliction is increasingly entangled with already-existing genres of misery, such as sexism, racism, and class struggle, mutating their appearances and mystifying their intersections. Along the way, Rogers-Vaughn presents stimulating reflections on how widespread views regarding secularization and postmodernity may divert attention from contemporary capitalism as the material origin of these developments. Finally, he explores his own clinical practice, which yields clues for addressing the double unconsciousness of third order suffering and outlining a vision for caring for souls in these troubling times.


Book Synopsis Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age by : Bruce Rogers-Vaughn

Download or read book Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age written by Bruce Rogers-Vaughn and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a detailed analysis of how the current phase of capitalism is eating away at social, interpersonal, and psychological health. Drawing upon an interdisciplinary body of research, Bruce Rogers-Vaughn describes an emerging form of human distress—what he calls ‘third order suffering’—that is rapidly becoming normative. Moreover, this new paradigm of affliction is increasingly entangled with already-existing genres of misery, such as sexism, racism, and class struggle, mutating their appearances and mystifying their intersections. Along the way, Rogers-Vaughn presents stimulating reflections on how widespread views regarding secularization and postmodernity may divert attention from contemporary capitalism as the material origin of these developments. Finally, he explores his own clinical practice, which yields clues for addressing the double unconsciousness of third order suffering and outlining a vision for caring for souls in these troubling times.

Neoliberal Religion

Neoliberal Religion

Author: Mathew Guest

Publisher:

Published:

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781350116429

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"Mathew Guest explores neo-liberalism as an account of contemporary western society and considers what this means for our understanding of religion. The rise of free market economics in western culture is associated with the celebration of competition and prioritization of consumer choices as cultural phenomena that profoundly influence human experience in all areas of life. However, several global political changes - including the election of Donald Trump as US president, 'brexit', and the rise of right-wing populism across continental Europe - point to a counter-response. This response emphasizes nativist forms of identity and the affirmation of narrow cultural or ethnic boundaries. Together they reflect a complex and seismic shift in assumptions about the role of the state and the future of social order within developed societies. A crisis in the status of the mass media and the rising prominence of social media add further elements of uncertainty into an already destabilized context. This book is an accessible, topical discussion of a new set of tools and approaches to understanding contemporary religion and religious movements. In addition, Mathew Guest introduces a number of sociological and ethical questions that arise from considering the status of religion within a neo-liberal age"--


Book Synopsis Neoliberal Religion by : Mathew Guest

Download or read book Neoliberal Religion written by Mathew Guest and published by . This book was released on with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mathew Guest explores neo-liberalism as an account of contemporary western society and considers what this means for our understanding of religion. The rise of free market economics in western culture is associated with the celebration of competition and prioritization of consumer choices as cultural phenomena that profoundly influence human experience in all areas of life. However, several global political changes - including the election of Donald Trump as US president, 'brexit', and the rise of right-wing populism across continental Europe - point to a counter-response. This response emphasizes nativist forms of identity and the affirmation of narrow cultural or ethnic boundaries. Together they reflect a complex and seismic shift in assumptions about the role of the state and the future of social order within developed societies. A crisis in the status of the mass media and the rising prominence of social media add further elements of uncertainty into an already destabilized context. This book is an accessible, topical discussion of a new set of tools and approaches to understanding contemporary religion and religious movements. In addition, Mathew Guest introduces a number of sociological and ethical questions that arise from considering the status of religion within a neo-liberal age"--

The Neoliberal Age?

The Neoliberal Age?

Author: Aled Davies

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2021-12-07

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 178735685X

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The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are commonly characterised as an age of ‘neoliberalism’ in which individualism, competition, free markets and privatisation came to dominate Britain’s politics, economy and society. This historical framing has proven highly controversial, within both academia and contemporary political and public debate. Standard accounts of neoliberalism generally focus on the influence of political ideas in reshaping British politics; according to this narrative, neoliberalism was a right-wing ideology, peddled by political economists, think-tanks and politicians from the 1930s onwards, which finally triumphed in the 1970s and 1980s. The Neoliberal Age? suggests this narrative is too simplistic. Where the standard story sees neoliberalism as right-wing, this book points to some left-wing origins, too; where the standard story emphasises the agency of think-tanks and politicians, this book shows that other actors from the business world were also highly significant. Where the standard story can suggest that neoliberalism transformed subjectivities and social lives, this book illuminates other forces which helped make Britain more individualistic in the late twentieth century. The analysis thus takes neoliberalism seriously but also shows that it cannot be the only explanatory framework for understanding contemporary Britain. The book showcases cutting-edge research, making it useful to researchers and students, as well as to those interested in understanding the forces that have shaped our recent past.


Book Synopsis The Neoliberal Age? by : Aled Davies

Download or read book The Neoliberal Age? written by Aled Davies and published by UCL Press. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are commonly characterised as an age of ‘neoliberalism’ in which individualism, competition, free markets and privatisation came to dominate Britain’s politics, economy and society. This historical framing has proven highly controversial, within both academia and contemporary political and public debate. Standard accounts of neoliberalism generally focus on the influence of political ideas in reshaping British politics; according to this narrative, neoliberalism was a right-wing ideology, peddled by political economists, think-tanks and politicians from the 1930s onwards, which finally triumphed in the 1970s and 1980s. The Neoliberal Age? suggests this narrative is too simplistic. Where the standard story sees neoliberalism as right-wing, this book points to some left-wing origins, too; where the standard story emphasises the agency of think-tanks and politicians, this book shows that other actors from the business world were also highly significant. Where the standard story can suggest that neoliberalism transformed subjectivities and social lives, this book illuminates other forces which helped make Britain more individualistic in the late twentieth century. The analysis thus takes neoliberalism seriously but also shows that it cannot be the only explanatory framework for understanding contemporary Britain. The book showcases cutting-edge research, making it useful to researchers and students, as well as to those interested in understanding the forces that have shaped our recent past.

Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age

Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age

Author: Kevin Hargaden

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2018-10-31

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1532655029

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Throughout his ministry, Jesus spoke frequently and unabashedly on the now-taboo subject of money. With nothing good to say to the rich, the New Testament--indeed the entire Bible--is far from positive towards the topic of personal wealth. And yet, we all seek material prosperity and comfort. How are Christians to square the words of their savior with the balances of their bank accounts, or more accurately, with their unquenchable desire for financial security? While the church has developed diverse responses to the problems of poverty, it is often silent on what seems almost as straightforward a biblical principle: that wealth, too, is a problem. By considering the particular context of the recent economic history of Ireland, this book explores how the parables of Jesus can be the key to unlocking what it might mean to follow Christ as wealthy people without diluting our dilemma or denying the tension. Through an engagement with contemporary economic and political thought, aided by the work of Karl Barth and William T. Cavanaugh, this book represents a unique and innovative intervention to a discussion that applies to every Christian in the Western world.


Book Synopsis Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age by : Kevin Hargaden

Download or read book Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age written by Kevin Hargaden and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout his ministry, Jesus spoke frequently and unabashedly on the now-taboo subject of money. With nothing good to say to the rich, the New Testament--indeed the entire Bible--is far from positive towards the topic of personal wealth. And yet, we all seek material prosperity and comfort. How are Christians to square the words of their savior with the balances of their bank accounts, or more accurately, with their unquenchable desire for financial security? While the church has developed diverse responses to the problems of poverty, it is often silent on what seems almost as straightforward a biblical principle: that wealth, too, is a problem. By considering the particular context of the recent economic history of Ireland, this book explores how the parables of Jesus can be the key to unlocking what it might mean to follow Christ as wealthy people without diluting our dilemma or denying the tension. Through an engagement with contemporary economic and political thought, aided by the work of Karl Barth and William T. Cavanaugh, this book represents a unique and innovative intervention to a discussion that applies to every Christian in the Western world.

Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business

Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business

Author: James Dennis LoRusso

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-02-09

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1350006254

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By the early twenty-first century, Americans had embraced a holistic vision of work, that one's job should be imbued with meaning and purpose, that business should serve not only stockholders but also the common good, and that, for many, should attend to the “spiritual” health of individuals and society alike. While many voices celebrate efforts to introduce “spirituality in the workplace” as a recent innovation that holds the potential to positively transform business and the American workplace, James Dennis LoRusso argues that workplace spirituality is in fact more closely aligned with neoliberal ideologies that serve the interests of private wealth and undermine the power of working people. LoRusso traces how this new moral language of business emerged as part of the larger shift away from the post-New Deal welfare state towards today's global market-oriented social order. Building on other studies that emphasize the link between American religious conservatism and the rise of global capitalism, LoRusso shows how progressive “spirituality” remains a vital part of this story as well. Drawing on cultural history as well as case studies from New York City and San Francisco of businesses and leading advocates of workplace spirituality, this book argues that religion reveals much about work, corporate culture, and business in contemporary America.


Book Synopsis Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business by : James Dennis LoRusso

Download or read book Spirituality, Corporate Culture, and American Business written by James Dennis LoRusso and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-02-09 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early twenty-first century, Americans had embraced a holistic vision of work, that one's job should be imbued with meaning and purpose, that business should serve not only stockholders but also the common good, and that, for many, should attend to the “spiritual” health of individuals and society alike. While many voices celebrate efforts to introduce “spirituality in the workplace” as a recent innovation that holds the potential to positively transform business and the American workplace, James Dennis LoRusso argues that workplace spirituality is in fact more closely aligned with neoliberal ideologies that serve the interests of private wealth and undermine the power of working people. LoRusso traces how this new moral language of business emerged as part of the larger shift away from the post-New Deal welfare state towards today's global market-oriented social order. Building on other studies that emphasize the link between American religious conservatism and the rise of global capitalism, LoRusso shows how progressive “spirituality” remains a vital part of this story as well. Drawing on cultural history as well as case studies from New York City and San Francisco of businesses and leading advocates of workplace spirituality, this book argues that religion reveals much about work, corporate culture, and business in contemporary America.

Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care

Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care

Author: Emmanuel Y. Lartey

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-09-23

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1532685556

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This anthology is about caring for all persons as a part of the revolutionary struggle against colonialism in its many forms. In recognition of the varied ways in which different forms of oppression, injustice, and violence in the world today are traceable to the legacy and continuing effects of colonialism, various authors have contributed to the volume from diverse backgrounds including differing ethnic identities, religious and cultural traditions, gender and sexual orientations, as well as communal and personal realities. As a postcolonial critique of spiritual care, it highlights the plurality of voices and concerns that have been overlooked or obscured because of the politics of race, religion, sexuality, nationalism, and other structures of power that have shaped what discursive spiritual care entails today. Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care presents voices of practical and pastoral theologians, academics, spiritual care providers, religious leaders, students, and activists working to provide greater intercultural spiritual care and awareness in the areas of healthcare, community work, and education. The volume, as such, expands the discourse of spiritual care and participates in the ongoing paradigm shifts in the field of pastoral and practical theology.


Book Synopsis Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care by : Emmanuel Y. Lartey

Download or read book Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care written by Emmanuel Y. Lartey and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-09-23 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology is about caring for all persons as a part of the revolutionary struggle against colonialism in its many forms. In recognition of the varied ways in which different forms of oppression, injustice, and violence in the world today are traceable to the legacy and continuing effects of colonialism, various authors have contributed to the volume from diverse backgrounds including differing ethnic identities, religious and cultural traditions, gender and sexual orientations, as well as communal and personal realities. As a postcolonial critique of spiritual care, it highlights the plurality of voices and concerns that have been overlooked or obscured because of the politics of race, religion, sexuality, nationalism, and other structures of power that have shaped what discursive spiritual care entails today. Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care presents voices of practical and pastoral theologians, academics, spiritual care providers, religious leaders, students, and activists working to provide greater intercultural spiritual care and awareness in the areas of healthcare, community work, and education. The volume, as such, expands the discourse of spiritual care and participates in the ongoing paradigm shifts in the field of pastoral and practical theology.

Religion in Consumer Society

Religion in Consumer Society

Author: François Gauthier

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1317067568

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Presenting an overview of an emerging field in the study of contemporary religion, this book, together with a complementary volume Religion in the Neoliberal Age, explores issues of religion, neoliberalism and consumer society. Claiming that we have entered a new phase that implies more than the recasting of state-religion relations, the authors examine how religious changes are historically anchored in modernity but affected by the commoditization, mediatization, neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Religion in Consumer Society explores religion as both shaped by consumer culture and as shaping consumer culture. Following an introduction which critically analyses studies on consumer culture and integrates scholarship in the sociology of religion, this book explores the following topics: how consumerism and electronic media have shaped globalized culture, and how this is affecting religion; the dynamics and characteristics of often overlooked middle-class religion, and how these relate to globalization and differences between 'developed' and 'emerging' countries; emerging trends, and how we understand phenomena as different as mega churches and holistic spiritualistic journeys, and how the pressures of consumer culture act on religious traditions, indigenous and exogenous; the politics of religious phenomena in the Age of Neoliberalism; and the hybrid areas emerging from these reconfigurations of religion and the market. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.


Book Synopsis Religion in Consumer Society by : François Gauthier

Download or read book Religion in Consumer Society written by François Gauthier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting an overview of an emerging field in the study of contemporary religion, this book, together with a complementary volume Religion in the Neoliberal Age, explores issues of religion, neoliberalism and consumer society. Claiming that we have entered a new phase that implies more than the recasting of state-religion relations, the authors examine how religious changes are historically anchored in modernity but affected by the commoditization, mediatization, neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Religion in Consumer Society explores religion as both shaped by consumer culture and as shaping consumer culture. Following an introduction which critically analyses studies on consumer culture and integrates scholarship in the sociology of religion, this book explores the following topics: how consumerism and electronic media have shaped globalized culture, and how this is affecting religion; the dynamics and characteristics of often overlooked middle-class religion, and how these relate to globalization and differences between 'developed' and 'emerging' countries; emerging trends, and how we understand phenomena as different as mega churches and holistic spiritualistic journeys, and how the pressures of consumer culture act on religious traditions, indigenous and exogenous; the politics of religious phenomena in the Age of Neoliberalism; and the hybrid areas emerging from these reconfigurations of religion and the market. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

In the Ruins of Neoliberalism

In the Ruins of Neoliberalism

Author: Wendy Brown

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2019-07-16

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 0231550537

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Across the West, hard-right leaders are surging to power on platforms of ethno-economic nationalism, Christianity, and traditional family values. Is this phenomenon the end of neoliberalism or its monstrous offspring? In the Ruins of Neoliberalism casts the hard-right turn as animated by socioeconomically aggrieved white working- and middle-class populations but contoured by neoliberalism’s multipronged assault on democratic values. From its inception, neoliberalism flirted with authoritarian liberalism as it warred against robust democracy. It repelled social-justice claims through appeals to market freedom and morality. It sought to de-democratize the state, economy, and society and re-secure the patriarchal family. In key works of the founding neoliberal intellectuals, Wendy Brown traces the ambition to replace democratic orders with ones disciplined by markets and traditional morality and democratic states with technocratic ones. Yet plutocracy, white supremacy, politicized mass affect, indifference to truth, and extreme social disinhibition were no part of the neoliberal vision. Brown theorizes their unintentional spurring by neoliberal reason, from its attack on the value of society and its fetish of individual freedom to its legitimation of inequality. Above all, she argues, neoliberalism’s intensification of nihilism coupled with its accidental wounding of white male supremacy generates an apocalyptic populism willing to destroy the world rather than endure a future in which this supremacy disappears.


Book Synopsis In the Ruins of Neoliberalism by : Wendy Brown

Download or read book In the Ruins of Neoliberalism written by Wendy Brown and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across the West, hard-right leaders are surging to power on platforms of ethno-economic nationalism, Christianity, and traditional family values. Is this phenomenon the end of neoliberalism or its monstrous offspring? In the Ruins of Neoliberalism casts the hard-right turn as animated by socioeconomically aggrieved white working- and middle-class populations but contoured by neoliberalism’s multipronged assault on democratic values. From its inception, neoliberalism flirted with authoritarian liberalism as it warred against robust democracy. It repelled social-justice claims through appeals to market freedom and morality. It sought to de-democratize the state, economy, and society and re-secure the patriarchal family. In key works of the founding neoliberal intellectuals, Wendy Brown traces the ambition to replace democratic orders with ones disciplined by markets and traditional morality and democratic states with technocratic ones. Yet plutocracy, white supremacy, politicized mass affect, indifference to truth, and extreme social disinhibition were no part of the neoliberal vision. Brown theorizes their unintentional spurring by neoliberal reason, from its attack on the value of society and its fetish of individual freedom to its legitimation of inequality. Above all, she argues, neoliberalism’s intensification of nihilism coupled with its accidental wounding of white male supremacy generates an apocalyptic populism willing to destroy the world rather than endure a future in which this supremacy disappears.