SITUATING THE NEOLIBERAL: THE POLITICS OF JOE BIDEN

Abstract

Neoliberalism is one of the most contested terms not only in academia, but also in mainstream media and society. In recent months, the current US President Joe Biden has been accused of being both a “neoliberal shill” and a “socialist puppet”. Compounded by the lack of academic studies on his politics, contemporary discourse fails to promote an accurate understanding of Biden’s ideology that will shape his executive actions in the next 4 years of his term. This thesis project first seeks to clarify the manifold theorisations of neoliberalism. To understand whether Biden is a neoliberal, I begin by constructing a theoretical framework with Wendy Brown’s Foucauldian conception of neoliberalism as a governmentality. After applying the framework to six of Biden’s policy actions across the realms of economy, healthcare, and culture, this paper argues that Biden is not a neoliberal. Across his policy actions, none perpetuate neoliberal rationality through the dual processes: devolution of federal authority and responsibilisation of the individual. Instead, common themes across his policies include an expansion of federal responsibility to resolve collective problems, a focus on uplifting marginalised communities, and the empowerment of workers to take collective action. Tying this finding back to Brown’s literature, while non-neoliberal policies do not equate to a non-neoliberal society, I argue that Biden’s policies will strengthen American democratic life. Given his break away from the characteristics of neoliberalism, this thesis serves to add a significant data point to the larger academic debate on global neoliberalism’s trajectory.