“Free” Not to Engage: Neoliberal Ideology and Collective Action. The Case of the Yellow Vest Movement

Lola Girerd,Virginie Bonnot,Frédérique Anne Ray,Olivier Codou,Daniel Priolo

doi:10.5334/irsp.363

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to test the main hypothesis that the endorsement of neoliberal ideology, comprising beliefs and values such as personal responsibility and hedonism, is negatively associated with the engagement in the Yellow Vest (YV) movement. In a first study (N = 489), analysis of qualitative data shows that most of the YV movement grievances are system challenging. Furthermore, consistent with our hypotheses, the more participants endorsed neoliberal ideology, the less they perceived inequalities against the lower and middle classes, the less angry they felt in the face of such inequalities, the less they identified with the Yellow Vests and finally, the less they engaged in the Yellow Vest movement. In Study 2 (N = 201), the relationship between neoliberal ideology, measured in a different way, and engagement in the movement was replicated amongst a sample of participants who support the YV movement. Moreover, it appeared that this relationship was mediated by a greater sense of personal control, leading to a higher level of system justification. In fact, neoliberal ideology appears to enhance personal control, giving them a heightened sense that the system is just and legitimate. This perception, in turn, appears to undermine the politicized identification with the Yellow Vest and as a consequence, engagement in the movement.

Highlights

Erupting in November 2018, the Yellow Vest (YV) movement has shaken up France
In order to determine whether the grievances given by participants categorized as YVs (N = 197) were system challenging, we first looked at their responses to the open question, where each participant could write down three grievances
Compared to people from the lower and middle classes, people from the upper class could endorse neoliberal ideology to a greater extent insofar as it is more in line with their economic interests, and could be less likely to engage in the YV movement that challenges the status quo

Summary

Introduction

Erupting in November 2018, the Yellow Vest (YV) movement has shaken up France. Demonstrations and strikes are not uncommon in the French landscape (Noiriel, 2018a). The YV movement has been compared to the ‘sans culottes’ denunciation of representativeness, and of the split between ‘the people’ and the ‘privileged’ during the French Revolution (Grunberg, 2019) Concerning its demands, the movement originally started because of a rise in fuel taxes, it has rapidly taken the form of a broader denunciation of the political agenda and of the institutions themselves (Boyer et al, 2019). In this context, we propose to look at the fac-

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Conclusion