Neoliberal Ideology versus Humanist Ideals: Political, Social, and Fantasmatic Logics

Abstract

Presented is a multi-level framework of normative social forces, integrating critiques of neoliberalism, (psycho-)analytic social psychology, and radical humanist ethics. Extending a model of political, social, and fantasmatic logics of neoliberal ideology, societal, organizational, and psychological dialectics are analyzed. Dimensions of economistic ideology are positioned against humanist ethical ideals on three levels (macro, meso, micro) and with respect to three domains of relatedness (identity, interactions, institutions). On the societal macro-level, political logics of individualism, competition, and instrumentality negate humanist ideals of individuation, solidarity, and emancipation. On the organizational meso-level, social logics of neoliberal workplaces prescribe self-reliance, competition, and rationalization, whereas humanistic management advocates self-actualization, community, and transformation. On the individual micro-level, psychoanalytic theorizing positions fantasmatic neoliberal logics of success, superiority, and submission against humanist consciousness of evolution, equality, and empowerment. Drawing on social character theory, neoliberal ideologies influence modes of relatedness towards oneself, others, and authorities, resembling ego-oriented, market-driven, and authoritarian tendencies. Humanist ideals are positioned as re-civilizing ethical forces. Linking different streams of theorizing, the model offers a dynamic framework of the corrosive effects of neoliberal Ideology as well as a basis for mobilizing potentials for radical humanist transformation.