The Happiness Fantasy Quotes

“Oprah is one of the new prophets of capital precisely because she connects an individualistic self-help ethos with the logic of capital, in which the individual, as an obedient neoliberal agent, takes an active role in her own exploitation, meanwhile pretending as though these activities are perfectly attuned with her inner desire – as an expression of her own quest for authenticity.

But there is an interesting paradox at play here: while asked to turn the gaze inwards and discover one’s inner resources, the neoliberal agent is also asked to look outwards for places to sell and promote their resources. Living in the age of capital, we have infinite possibilities hidden inside us insofar as there are infinite possibilities of making them valuable by turning them into commodities.”
― Carl Cederström, The Happiness Fantasy

“More than a route towards personal liberation, the notion of a world without victims is central to the neoliberal fantasy, according to which all people have the same opportunities to become hAppy and successful regardless of their circumstances. It is a notion that is just as popular with right-wing politicians.”
― Carl Cederström, The Happiness Fantasy