ABSTRACT
The capitalist state uses contemporary discourse to project a position of flexibility and fungibility onto its subjects, who are assigned the duties of endlessly advertising themselves and competing for episodes of work, and made to feel responsible for bringing about their own insecurity or poverty, regardless of the economic conditions imposed upon them. This chapter explores how the language of employability has expanded into an orientation towards work and a relation with the self and others that has superseded the traditional compartmentalised model of employment and is rapidly colonising welfare provision and educational curricula. The discussion focuses specifically on the situation in the United Kingdom, and refers to examples from British institutions. The chapter discusses the two versions of employability – the scholarly and the disciplinary, or the liberating and the incarcerating – have a shared history and a symbiotic relationship.
