An acute analysis of neoliberalism.

"Exploring the genesis of neoliberalism, and the political and economic circumstances of its deployment, Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval dispel numerous common misconceptions. Neoliberalism is neither a return to classical liberalism nor the restoration of "pure" capitalism. To misinterpret neoliberalism is to fail to understand what is new about it: far from viewing the market as a natural given that limits state action, neoliberalism seeks to construct the market and make the firm a model for governments. Only once this is grasped will its opponents be able to meet the unprecedented political and intellectual challenge it poses"--

"The New Way of the World is the best modern realization of Foucault’s pioneering approach to the history of neoliberalism. It wonderfully explores the European roots and branches of the neoliberal thought collective over the twentieth century, and warns that unthinking misrepresentations of its
political project as espousing ‘laissezfaire’ has had the effect of allowing the Left to submit to its siren song. Philip Mirowski, author of Science-Mart and Never Let a Serious Crisis go to Waste

“To understand these debates [on neoliberalism], the book by Christian Laval and Pierre Dardot on the ‘neoliberal society’ offers us analytical keys. This monument of scholarship draws on the history of ideas, philosophy and sociology.” —Le Monde

“Extremely scholarly, this book is an insistent invitation to push theoretical and social critique of the present order beyond the standard analyses.” —Le Monde diplomatique