ABSTRACT
This chapter considers Michel Foucault's critique of neo-liberalism. Foucault was essentially a liberal who believed that liberalism provided a sufficiently fertile problematic for a sustained critique of minimalist neo-liberal individualism. The chapter looks at Foucault's genealogical argument which is designed to show that at least two accounts of political economy were available in the late eighteenth century—those of Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson. Foucault's genealogical argument is designed to show that there is not a steady line of descent from the times of Adam Smith to Hayek and the neo-liberals. Foucault's genealogical argument juxtaposes Ferguson's account of political economy with modern neo-liberalism. The chapter describes some analytical points about neo-liberal concepts. It considers the adequacy of analytic philosophical contestation of neo-liberalism. The chapter explores John Austin's account of performative language, arguing that Foucault and Meuret need to consider such aspects of language for their account to 'go through'.
