20 theses on psychology and neoliberalism: from mainstream psychology to critical psychology

Abstract

In this article, we present and discuss 20 theses to characterize the relationship between psychology and neoliberalism on the one hand, and neoliberal psychology and society on the other. These theses consist of three overarching themes which are psychology education, clinical and counseling psychology in practice, and the psychological profile of the neoliberal subject. With regard to psychology education, our discussion revolves on privatization of psychology degrees, commodification of higher education, quantity fetishism, studying to get rich, double-edged popularization of psychology, customerization of psychology education, clinical chauvinism, and packaged and pacified psychology. Under the title of clinical and counseling psychology in practice, factory models of psychological services, financialization of success, privatized life-long training, psychologization of the social and political, neoliberal psychology as the guardian of status quo, fake psychologists, and the claim of universality are presented and discussed. Finally, under the theme of the psychological profile of the neoliberal subject, we develop our arguments with reference to precarization of the population, inherent depression in neoliberalism, debt psychology, artificial needs and permanent dissatisfaction, marketing, persuasion and psychology. However, this article does not recommend to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We recognize and appreciate critical voices within and outside of psychology. An anti-capitalist psychology will be the alternative to neoliberal psychology with an eye to alternatives to neoliberal capitalism.

Keywords

• Neoliberalism,neoliberal psychology,mainstream psychology,critical psychology,anti-capitalism,alternative psychologies

References

1. Arfken M, Yen J. (2014) Psychology and social justice: theoretical and philosophical engagements. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology 34(1):1-13.