Discourse, Power and Society

The Discourse of Neoliberalism: An Anatomy of a Powerful Idea by Simon Springer is a welcome addition to the scholarly body of literature that now traces the intellectual development of an idea and policy platform from the viewpoint of geography. It is a passionate account that works through an approach taking the best of Marx and Foucault to understand the emergence of the most powerful and enduring discourse of the postwar era. Highly recommended. -- Michael A. Peters, Professor, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Simon Springer applies his analysis of neoliberalism as a highly fruitful amalgamation of critical political economy and poststructuralist approaches. He shows how neoliberalism is about a productive and destructive complex of power that is enacted through manifold dimensions. For emancipatory social forces, the "Discourse of Neoliberalism" is important because it helps to formulate ways out of the crisis of capitalism and beyond an increasingly authoritarian neoliberalism. Respective tales and strategies must always start with a clear understanding of what exists and its contradictory dynamics. As the search for alternatives intensifies, this book is a must read. -- Ulrich Brand, Professor of International Politics, University of Vienna
In this significant work of social and political theory, Simon Springer once again sets the standard for contemporary geographical thought. For anyone who has read Springer's work before then you know what to expect; for those who haven't, then you're in for a treat. Insight, rigour, thoughtfulness, wisdom, and, most important, passion, all too often missing from academic writing; Springer's new book, The Discourse of Neoliberalism, has got it all, and in abundance. In thinking through neoliberalism as a discourse, Springer provides the surgical tools to not only dissect neoliberalism as a violent and degrading project, but also excise its intellectual threads when and where we find them woven throughout our everyday political rationalities. -- Kean Birch, Associate Professor, York University, Canada
In The Discourse of Neoliberalism, Simon Springer wields a wrecking ball through the hollow edifice of the neoliberal project. Behind its monolithic facade, neoliberalism is revealed as a miserable rag-bag of perniciously performative discourses that persist despite their ideological putrefaction. Yet beneath the undead hand of the market and the hidden fist of the state, Springer unearths a deeper reality of cooperation, voluntary association, and mutual aid. -- Japhy Wilson, University of Manchester, author of Jeffrey Sachs: The Strange Case of Dr Shock and Mr Aid