The Origins of Neoliberalism: An Arendtian Genealogy of Neoliberal Disaster

Abstract

This article contends that current neoliberalism merges the same tendencies that, according to Arendt, made possible the arise of the totalitarian phenomena back in its time. First, the contemporary neoliberal subject is interpreted as a culmination of Arendt’s animal laborans, distinguished by his or her cult for the economic utilitarian logic and by his or her social isolation. Second, it is explained how in neoliberalism there is a coexistence between the radical and the banal evil that Arendt linked, in different moments of his work, to the totalitarian phenomena. The proposed dynamics is exemplified with the case of neoliberalism in Peru, particularly in its fujimorist form, well known for its use of violence and its abuse of corruption.