The Limits of Neoliberalism

William Davies is a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Centre.He is author of The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Wellbeing (Verso, 2015) and The Limits of Neoliberalism: Authority, Sovereignty and the Logic of Competition (SAGE, 2014). His writing is available at www.potlatch.org.uk.

Some books describe the neoliberal project using the neoliberals’ own terms; others promote more profound understanding by bringing in other intellectual resources. Will Davies is one of the best of the latter. In this fascinating book he inverts the conventional neoliberal practice of treating politics as if it were mere epiphenomenon of market theory, demonstrating that their version of economics is far better understood as the pursuit of politics by other means.

• The Disenchantment of Politics: Neoliberalism, Sovereignty and EconomicsThe Promise and Paradox of Competition: Markets, Competitive Agency and AuthorityThe Liberal Spirit of Economics: Competition, Anti-Trust and the Chicago Critique of LawThe Violent Threat of Management: Competitiveness, Strategy and the Audit of Political DecisionContingent Neoliberalism: Financial Crisis and beyondAfterword: Critique in and of Neoliberalism