Training the Public: Advancing Neoliberal Reforms Through Model Experiences

ABSTRACT

The realisation of some neoliberal reforms depends on the public’s behaviour. Given that, how do neoliberal elites operate to advance behavioural changes in the public? This question is particularly acute for neoliberals, who concurrently emphasize individuals’ ‘right to choose’ and their obligation to ‘make the right choice’. While the literature commonly focuses on either ideational persuasion or on practice-based measures (nudge), this paper identifies an additional instrument: the construction of ‘model experiences’ – experiences that provide common citizens with a model for their future behaviour. By constructing model experiences, neoliberal elites aim to influence mass behaviour on two interrelated levels: first, through the practical training offered by the experience itself, and second, through the wider lessons that can be conveyed to the participants who reflect on the experience. We illustrate this argument with a case study of a model experience of household financialisation: Israel’s Saving for Every Child program.

KEYWORDS:

• Neoliberalism
• nudge
• persuasion
• financialisation
• Israel

Acknowledgements

For their insightful comments and suggestions, we would like to thank Jens Beckert, Zeev Rosenhek and the participants of the research workshop 'Materiality, imaginaries and subjectivities: Bringing economy and culture together in sociological research', held at the Open University of Israel on February 28, 2019, as well as Daniel Beland, Michal Koreh, Tami Oren and Michael Shalev.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The full details of the interviews and media sources are available in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2. Throughout the article, media sources are denoted by MS#x.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Israel Science Foundation [grant number 740/18].

Notes on contributors

Amit Avigur-Eshel

Dr. Amit Avigur-Eshel is a lecturer at the Department of Public Administration & Policy at Sapir College. He studies the integration of the masses into neoliberal political economies as well as neoliberal legitimisation.

Ronen Mandelkern

Dr. Ronen Mandelkern is a faculty member at the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University. He studies economic liberalization processes and the neoliberal economy and focuses on the influence of experts, ideas and institutions on their evolution.