January 10, Collier's "Post-Soviet Social"

Questions on draft Chapter 1 of Collier's forthcoming book.

What does constitute a totalizing narrative?

In American political development, there is a discussion about America as being illiberal. Any narrative about American Liberalism can be considered a totalizing narrative as soon as we assume an essence of liberalism.

Collier urges that we focus back to neoliberalism itself – but, we see a set of instances of neoliberalism without bringing the focus on neoliberalism itself. Is there a style of reasoning and an accumulation of exemplary experiences (p.36) that contributes to a shared understanding of these instances?

Challenge – Our analyses have to take into account how these rationalities, and apparatuses of thought, travel. This is a difficult task. Does Foucault do this in the 1979 course lectures? Does he show travel between the German and American neoliberalism?

Why does Collier disagree with Harvey and Klein? Isn’t neoliberalism part of biopolitics? Maybe, H&K are insufficiently attentive to welfare, but they are still doing biopolitics (“governing of living beings”). Does he equate biopolitics with social protection? No neoliberal thinker seems to claim that there should be no social protection.

The claim that neoliberal thinkers are blind to social protection does not seem to be true (p.4). A way to solve this tension is to point out that there is no coherence of position – but a coherence of problematization (p.16). We take this to be a good insight in Collier's analysis.

The coherence comes from the way in which the issue, them, practice, site of reflection, etc., is problematized. Once empirical factors are taken into account, there is no unique neoliberal solution (whether one talks about a small Russian town or any other situation).

Methodological question. What does constitute “field work” in anthropology?

Note: See Collier's "Global Assemblages".