Skip to Main Content

The Origins of Neoliberalism: Modeling the Economy from Jesus to Foucault

Online ISBN:
9780231541749
Print ISBN:
9780231177764
Publisher:
Columbia University Press
Book

The Origins of Neoliberalism: Modeling the Economy from Jesus to Foucault

Dotan Leshem
Dotan Leshem
University of Haifa
Find on
Published online:
19 January 2017
Published in print:
4 June 2016
Online ISBN:
9780231541749
Print ISBN:
9780231177764
Publisher:
Columbia University Press

Abstract

Dotan Leshem recasts the history of the West from an economic perspective, bringing politics, philosophy, and the economy closer together and revealing the significant role of Christian theology in shaping economic and political thought. He begins with early Christian treatment of economic knowledge and the effect of this interaction on ancient politics and philosophy. He then follows the secularization of the economy in liberal and neoliberal theory. Leshem draws on Hannah Arendt’s history of politics and Michel Foucault’s genealogy of economy and philosophy. He consults exegetical and apologetic tracts, homilies and eulogies, manuals and correspondence, and Church canons and creeds to trace the influence of the economy on Christian orthodoxy. Only by relocating the origins of modernity in Late Antiquity, Leshem argues, can we confront the full effect of the neoliberal marketized economy on contemporary societies. Then, he proposes, a new political philosophy that re-secularizes the economy will take shape and transform the human condition.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close