Deconstructing the neoliberal “Entrepreneurial Self”: A critical perspective derived from a global “biophilic consciousness”

Abstract

Purpose – This text aims to shed light on the background of neoliberalism and the basic characteristics that underlie its approach to the “Entrepreneurial Self.” The neoliberal economy, and the concept of entrepreneurship which is driven by it, is defined by a range of perspectives which build its epistemology and explain its current development. It is important to make a critical deconstruction in order to offer an alternative to the neoliberal entrepreneurial self. This alternative involves a new identity. It is reconstructed as a revolutionary, empathic, and global communication technology from the “Internet of Things”, and is consistent with a worldview that makes sense of it. As a result of this review, we propose to reconceive the “Entrepreneurial Self” as a new critical reconstruction of our identity, which empathetically reconnects us with nature, as well as with the whole community of life. This stems from an ethics of care, the value of sharing, and the development of those interdependent networks which constitute our global “biophilic consciousness.” Each of these elements is far removed from the predatory culture of the neoliberal model.

Music students’ workload, stress, and coping in higher education: Evidence-based policymaking

“…To tackle the negative impact of university culture on students' wellbeing, and to be able to acknowledge students' diverse backgrounds and circumstances while studying (Jääskeläinen et al, 2022b), higher education institutions should utilize research on music students' health (Williamon and Thompson, 2006;Ginsborg et al, 2009) and consider certain actions, such as shifting the typically competitive atmosphere toward a more cooperative university culture (Fernández-Herrería and Martínez-Rodríguez, 2016;Fitzpatrick, 2019) and developing the study programs by utilizing more diverse sources of knowledge (Cannella and Koro-Ljungberg, 2017). Our study (Jääskeläinen et al, 2020) of music students' workload and stress, for which the country of study and music students' livelihoods were combined as results predictors, suggested that a neoliberal university culture with high tuition fees that impacts students' livelihoods alongside their studying is likely to increase music students' experienced stress, but not directly impact on the workload associated with their main subject studies.…”

What Citizenship for What Transition?: Contradictions, Ambivalence, and Promises in Post-Socialist Citizenship Education in Vietnam

“…Furthermore, citizens, particularly the youth, are encouraged to become what Foucault (2008) saw as the "individual as enterprise," who should actively make choices to preserve and reproduce their own human capital (p. 226). Through an "enterprise education" (Peters, 2009, p. 66), the entrepreneurial beings are made to believe that they control of themselves by taking responsible for their own success or failure (Fernández-Herrería & Martínez-Rodríguez, 2016;Olssen, 2016). On the other hand, socialist rhetoric maintains that the party-state holds a governing role 37 by sustaining social stability, as well as "taking care of" (chăm lo) and "providing conditions" (tạo điều kiện) for the citizens (see e.g., CPV, 1993;also Section 5.3.3).…”

‘Hitting from the waves’: Public pedagogy and free radio as a counter-narrative to neoliberalism

“…This means an inherently manipulable individual who is receptive to the modifications of his or her environment. ‘This is the behaviourism that is implemented by neoliberal governmentality’ (Fernández-Herrería, Martínez-Rodríguez, 2016: 316). From this point of view, public pedagogy becomes that critical reflection that unveils (makes visible) the hidden face of these processes of individual construction.…”