ABSTRACT

This chapter considers how models of growth, subjectivity, and consumption (as the central driver of growth) shape one another in contemporary societies. It outlines a shift within the relevant hegemonic subject-programs that is crucial for the critique of growth, namely a shift from the "entrepreneurial self" to the "resilient self". The concept of a way of life is an analytical tool which brings together post-Fordist forms of regulation and everyday culture. The imperial way of life goes together with an acceptance of increasing social inequality, not only at the global level, but also within one's own society. Resilience not only provides a foundation for subjectively dealing with the uncertainty and instability of contemporary capitalist society but also constitutes a core competence in dealing with the social and ecological disasters produced through imperial ways of life. It is essentially an apolitical concept; it is hardly adequate for bringing about a (re-)politicisation of the growth issue.