The Perils of Radical Subjectivity: A Comment on Antonio’s ‘Ethnoracial Populism: An Alternative to Neoliberal Globalization?’ (expanded version)

Robert Antonio’s association of authoritarian ethno-racial nationalism with neoliberal venture capitalism, and the broader matter of how neoliberal democratization opens the way to right-wing populism and illiberal capitalism (Antonio 2019: 280), seem particularly pertinent. The recourse to Hayek’s political theory to explain the neoliberal roots of populism (Antonio 2019: 287-8) allows for a better understanding of the political, philosophical and ideological ideals that encompass the economic nature of neoliberalism.
While I do not wish to contend with Antonio’s thesis and argumentative strategy, and fully acknowledge the complex relationships between populism, democracy and neoliberalism (some of these are analyzed in the article; see e.g. Hayek’s eulogy of the ‘cultural and spiritual freedom’ of certain autocracies (Antonio 2019: 287)), I do wish to suggest that neoliberal, radical subjectivity and conservatism provide a basis for new arguments regarding the relationship between authoritarian, ethno-racial nationalism and neoliberal venture capitalism. More specifically, while agreeing that neoliberal democratization opens the way to right-wing populism and illiberal capitalism, I would like to develop the claim that neoliberalism’s defence of radical subjectivity stirs up populist, racist and nationalistic tendencies in society.