Neoliberalism, language and governmentality

Abstract

This chapter examines how the concepts of neoliberal governmentality and political rationality contribute to the understanding of neoliberalism as a contemporary form of governance of populations, institutions, practices, language, and subjects, focusing on the key elements addressed in Foucault’s governmentality: the population as a target; the notion of “political economy” as the predominance of market mechanisms and hence limited state involvement; and the “apparatuses of security” as the specific techniques involved in the management of populations. The chapter analyses how governmentality is constructed in discourse as a form of rationality, the knowledge thus generated (such as neoliberal principles and models of subjectivity), and the technologies of power mobilised to govern subjects and their behaviour. The discourse-knowledge-power triad is illustrated by reference to two powerful ways in which neoliberalism colonises social and personal life, apart from its impact on the economy: the neoliberalisation of institutions and the creation of neoliberal subjects. In each of these dimensions, language plays a key role. Thus, neoliberal rationalities shape our understanding of language, impacting on social classes and ethnic groups, and producing neoliberal speakers trained to accumulate language skills and capital in order to survive in a world of competition, life-long education, and unceasing demands for greater productivity.