Abstract

This essay explores the rhetorical qualities of neoliberalism through an analysis of economic and rhetorical theories of conventional wisdom and common sense. I analyze Barack Obama’s health care advocacy to demonstrate how neoliberal language animated his arguments for reform and frustrated his appeals to community. I argue that neoliberalism maintains its influence on political culture in large part because of its deep embeddedness in political language. The essay concludes with a discussion of how rhetors might operate within a culture marked by this prominent and often problematic discourse.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2017-08-08
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2016.1273378
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  2. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. Advances in the History of Rhetoric

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