The risk of feminist rage: neoliberalism and resentment

Abstract:

Neoliberal reason articulated with control Society has favored the constitution of individual and collective subjects through morality. On the one hand, neoliberalism has promoted the expansion of uncertainty in the lives of the ‘humans-made-capital’, inciting an oppressing individual and familial responsibility. On the other hand, control society codifies and captures perceptions and affects to take ownership of the future, conforming subjects ever more responsive but impotent. In this context, the affects which circulate in feminisms, such as rage and anger, run a high risk of being colonized by moral resentment. This text works to avoid it by bringing the distinction between morality and ethics in the work of Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, and by revisiting Wendy Brown and Sara Ahmed’s debate to shed light over the political practices of contemporary feminisms.

Keywords:
Feminism; Neoliberalism; Emotions; Risk; Resentment