Owen Marsden-Readford
Today, with the rise of identity politics, people are increasingly encouraged to embrace their identities. For neoliberal capitalism, this is attached to a worldview of hyper-individualism. Now we’re encouraged to register our individuality on the market by buying things – buy paper straws to demonstrate how much you love the environment, buy rainbow packaged vodka to express your sexuality. This session will argue that the ‘wokeness’ of the capitalist market has nothing in common with the struggle for liberation and will explore the relationship between liberalism and the marketisation of identities.