ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book is devoted to the representation of personal relations and identity politics, following our observation that neoliberalism affects not only how we spend our money, but also whom we choose as lovers and spouses and how we define ourselves. In The End of History and the Last Man, published in 1992, Francis Fukuyama pronounced, true to his book's title, that history had reached its end, because humankind had chosen liberal democracy as the dominant political and economic system. Fukuyama's optimistic assessment of the world and his positive attitude to capitalism and globalisation attracted much criticism. However, until recent years there has been the widespread perception that neoliberalism cannot be seriously challenged. The economy, based on the principle of the primacy of the global market over national and local interests, is most damaging to the poor.
