How Neoliberalism Profits Off Uselessness | Neil Vallelly | TMR

In Futilitarianism, Neil Vallelly explores how neoliberalism has transformed the relationship between maximizing utility and the common good. He uses contemporary examples to demonstrate how the practice of utility maximization in neoliberalism traps people in useless and repetitive behaviors that foreclose the possibility of collective happiness. The book maps the historical relationship between utilitarianism and capitalism, develops an original framework for understanding neoliberalism and recounts the lived experience of uselessness in the early 21st century. It argues that countering the futility of neoliberal existence is essential for building an egalitarian, sustainable and hopeful future.

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And we are joined Now by Neil Vallelly researcher and economic and social research note Aurora and also a lecturer of Sociology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Sorry if I butchered any of those pronunciations. Neil and also the author of the book that we're discussing today utilitarianism neoliberalism and the production of uselessness. Neil thanks so much for coming on. Hi Emma thanks so much for having me. of course and we should say joining us from New Zealand where it is Friday which is blowing our minds here at the studio. But coming from the future Neil talks about his book. Your book really touches on so many things that we try to discuss here in the majority report. You put it you know more eloquently than I could. But what I love is how you really were born. It's out of your personal experience with budget slashing to Humanities divisions at your University like social studies Etc. We've talked about this on the show before about how they're deemed indulgent or unimportant and you know go into something that'll make you money essentially because they don't sufficiently serve capitalism and in fact, they challenge many capitalist Notions. So what did You observe in your own personal experience with your profession that led you to explore this a bit more? Yeah, thanks, Emma that's very kind. Yeah yeah so basically that that's where the book started for me I finished my Ph.D. in 2015 here in New Zealand. And about six months after I finished my Ph.D. The humanities division at my University went through a series of huge cuts where lots of staff were fired. And it really made me start to reflect on basically the idea of the humanities as deemed somehow useless by in a social context or political context. And I started to think about what not simply you know to buy into that kind of rhetoric of you know we need degrees or useful to get jobs on and so forth. It was to think about how something become constructed as useless. And I spent a lot of time now you know teaching students about the kind of contemporary University. and so say in New Zealand where I'm based you know I'm teaching students whose parents would have gone to University where it was free and would have got a bursary to go to university. and I'm teaching colorful people who are paying these crazy fees to go to university and they're all in debt. And that's a completely radical transformation of what education is.

[dangerousd]

another talk that should be shown in schools. i really appreciate finding you guy’s channel

[HandmadeDarcy]

Never let anyone get away with the neoliberal lie that is, "I'm socially liberal, but fiscally conservative." Call them out and tell them, "If you don't support paying for socially liberal policies, you don't support socially liberal policies. You're a conservative."

[mdb]

I did all this at university but had mostly forgotten it all. Thx for the re-education

[Mikidy]

Got a flashback to my College Econ courses, intro level and intermediate level, learning all about Hayek and other forms of Austrian Economics. It's crazy how much these ideologies have lead us to this point, and how they're still aspoused today by our (US) political leaders. I can't fathom actually believing these economic ideologies anymore after astronomical rise in income inequality.

[EvolutionWendy]

Thanks, compelling ideas. I was also thrilled, by the Clara Mattei interview treat two weeks ago

[thewhitefalcon]

Explaining neoliberalism to people is like explaining water to a fish. They can't even comprehend that it exists at all

[quinto]

Neoliberalism sucks balls.. gonna read his book, thanks

[snowythompson]

I think this conversation is important, different ways of working within economic systems, but I don't think I've ever heard of Utilitarianism being used as an Economic Lens. I've only ever heard of it as a system of Ethics.

I'm willing to understand that Ethics tends to be outside of the perception of Economics, save for discussions around exploitation and the like, but I wish there was a short preamble about the differences or similarities of the two.

[__-ndqi]

Utility and usefulness is basically all nature is what

[jonasuriel]

Emma is interview bae. She always has an amazing rapport with every guest. It's nice see her do more of this kind of stuff ❤️

[blackplague-xy]

"Utilitarianism" seemed to have succeeded in defining American life values. The uncertainty of daily survival creates a panic and anxiety. No wonder so many youth are crippled by anxiety. If you're not a high achiever your on the verge of homelessness. Thats so evil.

[echolocationn]

Alabama Man Reported Post Report:
1 post reported just in this video for Harassment with his old, dusty alt account, Tom Osborne. It looks like reporting all of his violations of Youtube's ToS is actually working.

[youngwookkwon]

Health care systems cracking on the seams is truly a worldwide issue. I live in Toronto, and it's the same shit as anywhere with a public funded health care system. Of course Doug Ford in Ontario's solution to the current health care malaise is more funding to for-profit private clinics, as opposed to buttressing the public system that has staff shortages etc.

[OrangeStrayCat]

I don't get this conflation of utilitarianism with individualism. The entire split between utilitarianism and something like objectivism or anarchism is that utilitarianism considers the happiness and suffering of all people in determining what is good or evil. I'm not too well read on philosophy, but to the extent that I've been exposed to utilitarians they seem to be largely socialists, with some libertarians thrown in, sadly including John Stewart Mill in the libertarians, who I thought had way more to do with the free market utilitarian nonsense than Jeremy Bentham ever did.

[blackplague-xy]

"Boondoggle" is a word that describes most jobs.

[christophersnyder]

Alabama Man: Me is ready too spew me false claims.

[peace]

A countries greatest asset is the people. The future of a nation is an educated public. To understand and develop different intellectual disciplines gives society broad views to use in the development of a nation to meet the needs of the citizens. When education is limited to just a few disciples to serve the corporatist, you lose education and it just becomes training. This is confinement of your freedoms to pursue intellectual desires is a sly way to get you to conform. The rich and wealthy have created a culture where they confine you and your freedoms with the grip of debt. They trap you in the addiction of credit. Your credit report keeps you in line, you may find that fine for the material glory it gives you. They market guns as freedom, to keep you from seeing how they have enslaved you in a system they control with their money. This class keeps diluting your rights and freedoms, giving power to corporations, even though they are not mentioned in the constitution. Be careful people, you are no longer free in the consumer world.

[glennisholcomb]

Now the thing that I would say which is a paradox on utility utilitarianism when it comes to the liberalism and the broader society, but we have to ask question and that is what we think in utilitarian sense are these actions that we are forced to take that society fives value in or because You can say that I can do what I love and I can be utilitarian or I can be a value to society but when society tells you look this, these are the things that we value and we need you to do this or are you individualized that down to your marriage to where your wife your husband tells you OK well I need you to do thisOK that’s where you get into conflict get into the conflict area

[samuelrosander]

One of the most important things for the left to take from this is that focusing on creating State programs for social welfare is not the answer, but part of the problem. Just like unions, social welfare programs run by the State are just a bandaid to slow down the bleeding of the working class by the elite, whether they be capitalists or party leaders or union leaders. Anything that is given from above can be taken away from above by the "wrong" people gaining power, and republics are all about centralizing power into the hands of a few with the vain hope that the "right" people will be elected and become "wise rulers." The left should reject that as anything but a lie meant to make people more complacent, and instead use it as a stepping stone towards building up truly democratic systems of governance focused at the community level.

As Marx (paraphrased) said, real freedom is attained through the community, not from State intervention on behalf of the people against those who seek to exploit them; the State is often in bed with those exploiters, and when those exploiters are completely overthrown, becomes takes over their role as both State and exploiter. In contrast, democracy that is focused at the community level puts the working peoples themselves in the position of ruling class, not by "one person, one vote, " but by using small forums for people to come together and discuss the issues that they will eventually have to make decisions on; not "one person, one vote, " but direct and meaningful participation in the ENTIRE process of making decisions, including discussing the problems, possible solutions, compromises, and revisiting the issue to see if the agreed-upon solutions were effective or need tweaking.

Democracy or bust. Republicanism and parliamentarism are half-measures that are easily coopted by the elite against the masses.

[varanaut]

Atomization is cool. Why would I want to not be atomized