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Financial Literacy as Human Capital: Self-Responsibility in the Age of Neoliberal Governmentality

Sat, May 26, 17:00 to 18:15, Hilton Prague, Floor: LL, Congress Hall II - Exhibit Hall/Posters

Abstract

This paper considers financial literacy in terms of neo-Foucauldian notions of governmentality. It traces the origins and evolution of the term, arguing that the notion of financial literacy is reflective of contemporary neoliberal governmentality. In support of this argument, a close reading is conducted of the entire corpus of The New Times’ articles that include the term financial literacy, from the term’s inception to the present, with special attention paid to the ways in which the meaning of the term has changed over time. Drawing on Thomas Lemke, Wendy Larner, and other scholars of Foucauldian governmentality, this paper concludes that contemporary deployments of the term are reflective of the ascension and hegemony of governmentality. It further suggests that contemporary use of the term serves to naturalize neoliberal values of self-improvement and self-entrepreneurship that are themselves imbricated with a discourse of human capital that underpins neoliberal governmentality.

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