The Neurobiology of the Forced Separation#
Human beings are ultra-social mammals whose brains process social pain—such as rejection or isolation—using the same neural circuits as physical pain. We are wired to respond to one another, yet the neoliberal era has been defined by the extreme individuation of human life. This forced separation is not just a social trend; it is a health crisis. Chronically lonely people have higher rates of heart disease, dementia, and strokes, with one study suggesting that loneliness has a physical impact comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In the United States, “deaths of despair”—suicides, overdoses, and alcohol-related illnesses—have skyrocketed as our social bonds have been systematically dismantled.
The Thesis of the Broken Social Contract#
By promoting a war of “every man against every man,” neoliberalism has destroyed the sense of community and economic security that once acted as a firebreak against fascism. The resulting humiliation and resentment have created a “spiritual void” that authoritarian demagogues—the “killer clowns”—exploit by channeling public fury toward vulnerable scapegoats.
The Three Rings of the Political Circus#
The Rise of the Killer Clowns#
The “gray” technocratic politicians of the 1990s have been replaced by a “three-ring circus” of exhibitionists like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Javier Milei. These “killer clowns” come to power by stoking outrage and promising to disrupt a corrupt order, yet they primarily serve the interests of “warlord capitalists”. Unlike “housebroken” corporations that desire stability, warlord capitalists thrive on chaos and the “deconstruction of the administrative state”. Every rupture—be it a government shutdown or the chaos of Brexit—is used by these billionaires as a profit multiplier to seize assets while the public is distracted by manufactured scandals.
The Strategy of Political Atomization#
Margaret Thatcher famously claimed there is “no such thing as society,” a core tenet of neoliberalism intended to persuade us that we are alone in our struggle for survival. This strategy of “atomize and rule” is designed to strip us of our collective power. As individuals, we can do nothing to change environmental or social outcomes; as a citizens’ movement, we can do almost anything. By framing any attempt to solve problems collectively—through unions or protest—as immoral, the doctrine ensures that we blame ourselves for our own precarity while the rich grab a greater share of the common wealth.
The Portal of Conspiracy Fictions#
When facts and arguments are replaced by “anti-politics,” conspiracy fictions become the fuel for the far right. These stories, like the “Great Replacement” theory or QAnon, act as a “lullaby” for the disenfranchised by telling them that their problems are caused by a shadowy “other” rather than a structural system. This robs the public of agency, allowing them to wash their hands of civic responsibility while providing cover for the genuine conspiracies of power. The Koch brothers, for example, used “dark money” to engineer the Tea Party movement, making a bankers’ revolt look like a spontaneous grassroots uprising.
Synthesis: The Democratic Recession#
The “disenchantment of politics by economics” has irradiated our democratic structures, leaving the facades standing while shifting real power to corporate lobbyists and offshore tribunals. As people lose faith in a system that no longer meets their needs, they become susceptible to the “tough leader” who promises a return to traditional values while crushing dissent. A 2022 poll revealed that 56% of Americans believe the only way to get through the coming crisis is to put a “strong ruler” in power and “silence the troublemakers”. Neoliberalism, which claimed to fear totalitarianism, has accelerated its arrival by destroying the social safety net that was once the best defense against fascism.
