Neoliberalism versus the market? Liz Truss, neoliberal resilience, and Lacan’s theory of the four discourses

Abstract

This article uses concepts from Lacanian discourse analysis to examine the rise and fall of Liz Truss, and to draw conclusions about the nature and resilience of neoliberalism. I begin by outlining Lacan’s theory of the four discourses in relation to neoliberalism, distinguishing a ‘neoliberal master discourse’ comprising soaring rhetoric about freedom and prosperity, from a ‘neoliberal university discourse’ grounded in economic science. I argue Liz Truss represented an unusually pure form of the neoliberal master discourse, prioritising notions of freedom and prosperity over the more pragmatic focus on austerity and market discipline. However, when Truss’ discourse failed it led not to the repudiation of neoliberalism, but rather to the return of a neoliberal university discourse of austerity developed by Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt. I conclude that the relationship between the neoliberal master and university discourses is crucial to understanding the ongoing discursive resilience of neoliberalism.