The global hegemony of the neoliberal worldview—privatization, deregulation, financialization, and the individual as a market actor—to the point where it is the unchallengeable, "common sense" backdrop of all political and social life. There is no alternative (TINA). All institutions, from schools to hospitals, are remade in the image of the market. Resistance is framed as irrational, inefficient, or nostalgic. The totalitarianism is economic: your value is your market value, and your life is a portfolio to be optimized.
Example: "Neoliberal totalitarianism is when your public university stops being a place of learning and becomes a 'student customer service center' selling 'credential packages.' When your local hospital's priority isn't health, but 'patient throughput efficiency.' When you're told to solve climate change not by regulation, but by 'voting with your dollar' for green products. The market isn't a tool; it's the only permitted reality."
by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026
Get the Neoliberal Totalitarianism mug.