The originator of the term ‘neoliberalism’, Alexander Rüstow, had already noted that a society governed entirely by the laws of the neoliberal market would become inhumane and create social fractures. Accordingly, he points out that neoliberalism must be augmented by a ‘politics of vitality’ [Vitalpolitik] that brings about solidarity and community spirit. Without this politics of life as a corrective, neoliberalism results in insecure, fear-driven masses that can easily be co-opted by ethno-nationalistic forces.
