Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies: Communicative Capitalism and Left Politics

(Duke University Press) The author calls for the realization of a progressive left politics in the United States, criticizing the left for capitulating to conservatives and failing to take responsibility for the extensive neoliberalization implemented during the Clinton presidency. Dean argues that “communicative capitalism” — a constellation of consumerism, the privileging of self over group interests, and the use of the language of victimization — has undermined the left’s ability to develop a collective vision of equality and solidarity. Dean is a professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith colleges and Erasmus Professor of the Humanities in the Faculty of Philosophy at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

(Duke University Press) The author calls for the realization of a progressive left politics in the United States, criticizing the left for capitulating to conservatives and failing to take responsibility for the extensive neoliberalization implemented during the Clinton presidency. Dean argues that “communicative capitalism” — a constellation of consumerism, the privileging of self over group interests, and the use of the language of victimization — has undermined the left’s ability to develop a collective vision of equality and solidarity. Dean is a professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith colleges and Erasmus Professor of the Humanities in the Faculty of Philosophy at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.