A unique and timely study of neoliberal theory through the lens of masculinity.

Much has been written about neoliberalism’s project of deregulation, privatization, and market-based social transformation through the lens of politics and economics. Neoliberal Men offers an alternative, highly original perspective that centers conceptions of masculinity.

Steve Garlick uses diffractive reading—analyzing how texts interact to produce new patterns of meaning—to highlight the position of men and masculinity in neoliberal theorizing. Through close readings of key theorists Ludwig von Mises, Walter Lippmann, Wilhelm Röpke, Friedrich von Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Gary Becker, he demonstrates how each evokes masculinity to ground neoliberal society in a natural order.

Bringing his analysis to bear on recently emerged nationalist populisms, Garlick shows its deep relevance to our contemporary political landscape. In this light, the masculine postures of political figures such as Donald Trump express a mutation of the neoliberal project.