Accelerationism Workshop, Goldsmiths (14 September 2010)

The Grammar o !eoliberalism

"en#amin !o$s (2010)
(A)Moral Critique
!iet%sche amo&sl$ remarked that ' am araid (e are not rid o God beca&se
(e still ha)e aith in *rammar+ What ' am concerned (ith is that altho&*h (e
are (itnessin* a *lobal inancial crisis, and thereore the crisis o neo,
liberalism, that the *rammar o neo,liberalism still dominates o&r thinkin*,
and most pernicio&sl$, as ' pres&me, the thinkin* o &s as those resistant to
neo,liberalism as a speciic orm o *o)ernmental rationalit$, and more
*enerall$ to capitalism as a social orm+ ' am not e-cl&din* m$sel rom this
set, ' claim no imm&nit$ or position o moral s&periorit$. this, ' think, is a
res&lt o one o the tr&ths o /ar-ism, (hich is not, as 0redric 1ameson
constantl$ points o&t, a moral criti2&e, b&t rather a criti2&e that be*ins rom
the act&al and real contradictions, anta*onisms, and tensions o the e-istin*
social orms, (hich is to sa$ capitalist orms+ 'n act, as 1ameson notes a
moral criti2&e all too oten stands in or /ar-ist criti2&e, in the reactionar$
orm dia*nosed b$ !iet%sche as a mechanism o )al&e,positin*,
hierarchisation, and *enerator o a (bad) ressentiment+
1
The Genealogy of Neoliberalism
To criti2&e accelerationism ' (ant to ret&rn to a more precise description o
neo,liberalism as a orm o *o)ernmentalit$ thro&*h the prescient lect&res
0o&ca&lt de)oted to this topic rom 1345,1343+ /isleadin*l$ titled The Birth of
Biopolitics, the$ mi*ht better be named The Birth of Neoliberalism+
2
0o&ca&lt
oc&ses on t(o sites o the emer*ence o neo,liberalism6 German$, irst in the
1320s and 1370s, and then at the centre o post,World War '' German polic$,
1
1ameson, The Political Unconscious+
2
/ichel 0o&ca&lt, The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the Collge de France, 1!"#!, trans+
Graham "&rchell ("asin*stoke6 8al*ra)e, 2005), &rther pa*e reerences in te-t+
1
and American anarcho,capitalism+ What 0o&ca&lt stresses is the no)elt$ o
neo,liberalism compared to classical liberalism 9 #&st p&ttin* Adam Smith on
the :20 note does not claim a real idelit$, b&t merel$ a antasmatic one+
Whereas classical liberalism tried to restrict the states intererence to open &p
a space or the market, &nder the schema o laisse$#faire, neo,liberalism
operates a re,or*anisation o the state itsel (hich is s&perimposed b$ the
market+ We mo)e rom, in 0o&ca&lts (ords6 a state &nder the s&per)ision o
the market rather than a market s&per)ised b$ the state+ (11;)
't (as the e-tinction o the !a%i state that made post,(ar German$ the
ideal site to re,o&nd the state in terms o the economic, in (hich le*itimation
(as achie)ed thro&*h economic *ro(th rather than in political terms+ At the
same time neo,liberalism solidiies a state,phobia, b$ ar*&in* that the
tendenc$ o an$ inter)ention to a state,controlled econom$, plannin*, and
economic inter)entionism (ill lead to !a%ism or totalitarianism+ 'n a
pro)ocati)e series o orm&lations 0o&ca&lt ar*&es that this state phobia
permeates modern tho&*ht, ali*nin* the criti2&e o the spectacle (<ebord)
and one,dimensionalit$ (/arc&se) (ith Werner Sombarts proto,!a%i
criti2&es o capitalism (117,4)+ =ere (e mi*ht sa$ (e can see the emer*ence
o the *rammar ar*&ment, in the sense o a common phobia o the state that
lea)es &s )&lnerable to historical re,inscription &nder the terms o neo,
liberalism, or, as 0o&ca&lt p&ts it6 All those (ho share in the *reat state
phobia sho&ld kno( that the$ are ollo(in* the direction o the (ind and that
in act, or $ears and $ears, an eecti)e red&ction o the state has been on the
(a$, a red&ction o both the *ro(th o state control and o a >stati$in*? and
>statiied? *o)ernmentalit$+ (131,2)
What is the precise nat&re, then, o neo,liberalism@ A co&rse, the
ob)io&s ob#ection to the anti,state )ision o neo,liberalism is that neo,
liberalism itsel is a contin&al orm o state inter)ention, &s&all$ s&mmarised in
the phrase socialism or the rich, capitalism or the poor+ 0o&ca&lt notes that
neo,liberalism concedes this6 neo,liberal *o)ernment inter)ention is no less
dense, re2&ent, acti)e, and contin&o&s than in an$ other s$stem+ (14B) The
dierence, ho(e)er, is the point o application+ 't inter)enes on societ$ so that
competiti)e mechanisms can pla$ a re*&lator$ role at e)er$ moment and
e)er$ point in societ$ and b$ inter)enin* in this (a$ its ob#ecti)e (ill become
2
possible, that is to sa$, a *eneral re*&lation o societ$ b$ the market+ (14B)
Thereore, (e miss the point i (e simpl$ lea)e a criti2&e o neo,liberalism at
the point o sa$in* neo,liberalism is as statist as other *o)ernmental orms+
'nstead, the necessit$ i to anal$se ho( neo,liberalism creates a ne( orm o
*o)ernmentalit$ in (hich the state perorms a dierent &nction6 permeatin*
societ$ to s&b#ect it to the economic+
The state inter)ention o neo,liberalism is %antian. it is desi*ned to act
on the conditions o the social to create the possibilit$ o competition and
enterprise+ !eo,liberalism is opposed to the spectre o the passi)e cons&mer
#&st as m&ch as )ario&s orms o letism and anarchism, instead it (hat to
brin* orth the person o enterprise and prod&ction+ At the same time, and
0o&ca&lt traces the roots o German neo,liberalism in the ollo(ers o =&sserl,
this competition does not emer*e nat&rall$ b&t onl$ as an essence that has
to be constr&cted and ormalised6 neo,liberalism is &usserlian+ Cnlike in
classical liberalism, (e cannot ree market rom the state and e-pect
competition to emer*e nat&rall$+ 'nstead, the state constantl$ inter)enes to
constr&ct competition at all le)els, so that the market econom$ is the *eneral
inde- or all *o)ernmental action (121)+
A te-t b$ the German economist Wilhelm DEpke rom 13B0 sets o&t the
ob#ecti)es o *o)ernment as allo(in* access to pri)ate propert$, red&cin*
&rban spra(l, to be replaced (ith pri)ate ho&sin*, the de)elopment o crat
and small enterprises (described b$ DEpke as non,proletarian), and the
or*anic reconstr&ction o societ$ on the basis o comm&nit$, amil$, and the
local.
7
as 0o&ca&lt sa$s6 Fo& (ill reco*ni%e this te-t. it has been repeated
2B,000 times or the last 2B $ears+ (145) We co&ld add its bein* repeated
no( as (ell, as the bi* societ$+ At the heart o this )ision, (hich is (hat
makes it neo,liberal is this m&ltiplication o the >enterprise? orm (ithin the
3
' (ill list the ob#ecti)es he i-es6 irst, to enable as ar as possible e)er$one to ha)e access to
pri)ate propert$. second, the red&ction o h&*e &rban spra(ls and the replacement o lar*e
s&b&rbs (ith a polic$ o medi&m,si%ed to(ns, the replacement o the polic$ and economics o
lar*e ho&sin* blocks (ith a polic$ and economics o pri)ate ho&ses, the enco&ra*ement o
small arms in the co&ntr$side, and the de)elopment o (hat he calls non,proletarian
ind&stries, that is to sa$, crat ind&stries and small b&sinesses. third, decentrali%ation o
places o residence, prod&ction, and mana*ement, correction o the eects o speciali%ation
and the6 di)ision o labor. and the or*anic reconstr&ction o societ$ on the basis o nat&ral
comm&nities, amilies, and nei*hborhoods. inall$, *enerall$ or*ani%in*, de)elopin*, and
controllin* possible eects o the en)ironment arisin* either rom people li)in* to*ether or
thro&*h the de)elopment o enterprises and centers o prod&ction+
7
social bod$ is (hat is at stake in neo,liberal polic$+ 't is a matter o makin* the
market, competition, and so the enterprise, into (hat co&ld be called the
ormati)e po(er o societ$+ (145)
0o&ca&lts point, (hich is *ermane to m$ anal$sis, is that critics o
standardi%in*, mass societ$ o cons&mption and spectacle, etcetera, are
mistaken (hen the$ think the$ are critici%in* the c&rrent ob#ecti)e o
*o)ernment polic$+ (143) !eo,liberal *o)ernmentalit$ is not Ge$nesian, and
contemporar$ societ$ is not orientated to(ards the commodit$ and the
&niormit$ o the commodit$, b&t to(ards the m&ltiplicit$ and dierentiation o
enterprises+ (143) We can then *ro&p to*ether this series o orms to note
that neo,liberalism poses a mode o inter)ention that proo&ndl$ re,shapes
social orms b$ actin* on the conditions, especiall$ the le*al conditions, &nder
(hich societ$ operates, and (hich pa$s no heed to the nat&ralness o
markets orms, b&t rather treatin* them as somethin* to be constr&cted+
Accelerationism=Neo-liberalism
3
To ret&rn then to the s&b#ect o accelerationism, a term (hich ' coined as a
means o identiication and criti2&e, b&t (hich has oten been adopted in a
)alorisin* ashion, ' (ant to note ho( closel$ it conorms to these elements o
neo,liberalism+ 't incarnates a state phobia, it a*rees (ith the necessit$ to
s&b#ect all elements o societ$ to the market, and it prom&l*ates a )ision o
the person as a m&ltiple and dierentiated enterprise (in act, (e co&ld note
also 0o&ca&lts 2&asi,ironic, pres&mabl$, reco&rse to the lan*&a*e o the
<ele&%o*&attarian machinic in his lect&res)+ At least it (o&ld be hard to read
this statement b$ !ick Hand (2&oted in the conerence bl&rb) in an$ other
ashion6
/achinic re)ol&tion m&st thereore *o in the opposite direction to
socialistic re*&lation. pressin* to(ards e)er more &ninhibited
marketi%ation o the processes that are tearin* do(n the social
ield, still &rther (ith the mo)ement o the market, o decodin*
and deterritoriali%ation and one can ne)er *o ar eno&*h in the
direction o deterritoriali%ation6 $o& ha)ent seen an$thin* $et+
4
4
!ick Hand, /achinic <esire (1337), in Fanged Noumena (orthcomin*), p+12;+
4
Accelerationism, (hich it mi*ht (illin* concede, in this instance &ll$ *oes (ith
the tide o the present+
The corollar$ is that, in the lan*&a*e o /ar-, this acceleration o neo,
liberalism (ill lead to a point o incompatibilit$ (ith the capitalist inte*&ment,
(hich (ill then b&rst as&nder+
B
't pres&mes a &ndamental incompatibilit$ o
the market (ith capitalism, deri)in* this rom a "ra&delian position, and oten
also tends to pres&me a &ndamental incompatibilit$ o technolo*ical orces,
especiall$ c$bernetic and ne&robiolo*ical, (ith capitalism+ A co&rse, markets
ha)e pre,e-isted capitalism and co&ld post,date it and, o co&rse, there is no
simpl$ essential or necessar$ reason (h$ c$bernetic or ne&robiolo*ical orces
are capitalist, or co&ld not be re,assembled (to &se !icole 8epperells
orm&lation) or socialism or comm&nism+
That said, it seems to me accelerationism, and the critical and
theoretical reso&rces it dra(s &pon, &ndamentall$ mis&nderstand neo,
liberalism, as a partic&lar orm o capitalist *o)ernmentalit$, and capitalism
itsel, as a social orm, and so reproduce them (or their o(n idealised ima*e)+
The &ndamental schema, (hich ob)io&sl$ also e-tends to people like !e*ri
and others, is to s&ppose that capitalism, in the st$le o the $o&n* /ar-, is
&ndamentall$ parasitic, and, in the st$le o the late /ar-, that it has
penetrated thro&*h real s&bs&mption into the )er$ biolo*ical and ph$sical
s&bstrates o h&mans and the earth+ 'n a sense, (hich betra$s a debt to /ar-,
capitalism is presented as the sorcerers apprentice that &nleashes orces it
cannot control, not in the i*&re o the proletariat, b&t (ithin its o(n prod&cti)e
orces+ Ance (e ha)e sh&cked,o this parasite (e can *et on (ith the
b&siness o &ll$ inhabitin* inh&man capitalist 'ouissance+
What this kind o ar*&ment radicall$ &nderestimates is that the
domination o capitalism operates thro&*h the )al&e,orm, (hich is not simpl$
an e-ternal parasite b&t rather the sel,positin* o capitalism as real
abstraction+ 't does so b$ constantl$ proposin* capitalism as an e-ternal
po(er or, in Hato&rs orm&lation, as a ormattin* re*ime, that tries to act on
and *rab pre,e-istent ontolo*ical richness+ This is not to ar*&e a*ainst the
orm&lation that capitalism is a constant p&mpin*,o&t o )al&e, b&t it is to
5
/ar-, Capital (olume )ne Ihapter 726 =istorical Tendenc$ o Iapitalist Acc&m&lation,
/ar-ists 'nternet Archi)e, http6JJ(((+mar-ists+or*Jarchi)eJmar-J(orksJ15;4,c1Jch72+htm+
B
ar*&e that the real or practical abstraction o the commodit$, especiall$ the
commodit$ o labo&r, penetrates and shapes e-istence hori%ontall$ and
)erticall$+ A co&rse, at the same time, accelerationism, in its !e*rian or
Handian orms, accepts this real s&bs&mption, b&t merel$ to ar*&e that
capitalism has no( released orces (hich (e can e-propriate+ =ere, a*ain, '
think nothin* is *rasped o the forms o prod&ction, acc&m&lation, and the
market (hich shape these so,called orces 9 orces, (hich /ar-, noted are
capitalist thro&*h,and,thro&*h6 capital absorbs labo&r, transposes it into
prod&ction, as a orm or relation o prod&ction+
;
Also, in this )alorisation o
prod&ction coded as ontolo*ical po(er, or po(er &nleashed, nothin* is
*rasped o the &ndamental stasis o capitalism. ho( its acc&m&lation is not
&ndamentall$ creati)e, b&t rather an inertial drit+
4
Iapitalism is deflated into
mere inte*&ment, and inflated in its creati)e po(er+
'n terms o the more precise conte-t o neo,liberalism (hat is not
*rasped, as ')e alread$ intimated, is the it or conormit$ bet(een
accelerationism and neo,liberalism+ The dimension o *o)ernmentalit$ is
missed. the market is treated as ne&tral social orm, (itho&t an$ tho&*ht
abo&t its conditions, and the constant action on those conditions, that mi*ht
be re2&ired not to reprod&ce capitalism+ 'n this (a$ the market becomes
h$mned as the social mechanism, (ith its blind idioc$ translated into an
A%athothic immanence+ The state also is re*arded a e-terior parasite, (itho&t
considerin* in an$ real (a$, as (as lon* a*o ar*&ed b$ Garl 8olan$i, ho( it
creates this market orm, (hich penetrates and shapes the commodiication
o mone$, land, and labo&r+ The minimal state is taken as a *i)en, and onl$
retains interest as the harnesser o (ar machines, leadin* to a etishisation
o militar$ ideolo*$ and technolo*$+ 0inall$, the enterprise is )alorised is the
enterprise o sel,deconstr&ction or sel,e-tinction, (hether that is cast in
ne&rolo*ical re,toolin*, biolo*ical re,ormattin*, or c$berspatial redistrib&tion6
a bloated anti,oedip&s+
We are e-pected, in the name o <ele&%o*&attarian anti,ascisms, to
embrace capitalism as nihilist machine that has no p&rpose, beca&se
p&rposeKascism, (hile or*ettin* that neo,liberalism appeared in German$
6
/ar-, *rundrisse, pp+705,3+
7
Gopal "alakrishnan, Spec&lations on the Stationar$ State, Ne+ Left ,e-ie+ B3 (September
J Actober 2003)6 B,2;+
;
as the orm o *o)ernmentalit$ that (o&ld imm&nise &s a*ainst ascism b$
tradin* the political or the economic+ We are e-pected to accept, and
(elcome, state inter)ention to shape social orms to the market (hile
repeatin* the mantra !o !e( <eal, beca&se Ge$nesian social inter)ention is
2&asi,totalitarian, and (ill onl$ reinorce a socialist capitalism, (hile
or*ettin* the birth o neo,liberalism o&t o anti,Ge$nesianism+ !o p&ttin* on
the brakes, o co&rse, as (e can onl$ accelerate to the &t&re+
Alarmin*l$, and co&nter,int&iti)el$, the conte-t o inancial crisis has
done nothin*, seemin*l$, to alter the pop&larit$ o this schema+ Acceleration
ma$ be into the ab$ss, b&t acceleration m&st be maintained+ Social
abstractions ma$ ha)e become ro%en into morbid and mali*nant orms, b&t
the$ m&st be re,started b$ another ro&nd o h$per,creati)e destr&ction+ What
is at a&lt is not capitalism, b&t its imp&rities, in a repetition o the mantra o
those one,time masters o the &ni)erse t&rned temporar$ be**ars or
hando&ts+ Accelerationism takes on the orm o an &nearned nostal*ia or the
)er$ recent past 9 a capitalist ostalgie 9 or neo,Arientalist antasies o Sino,
capitalism, (ith &nrestrained biotechnolo*$ and no 1&deo,Ihristian han*,&ps+
Aperatin* in the mode o a macho hard,ed*ed realism, (hat accelerationism
attests to is the po)ert$ o a theoretical ima*ination &nable to reconstr&ct an$
rationalit$ in the present and instead content to (allo( in the antasmatic
resid&es o capitalisms o(n irrationalisms+
4