The Curious Career of Economic Rationalism: Government and Economy in the Current Policy Debate

The passionate polemics of the recent debate on 'economic rationalism' have concealed the fact that many of the key arguments on both sides of the debate are animated by a similar view of economic rationalism as an ideology struggling to come into reality. This paper argues that, on the contrary, economic rationalism is best understood as a distinctive style of government, often with only a limited resemblance in its governmental techniques to the claims of neoliberal discourse. Further, the paper contends that the picture of economic rationalism as a form of anti-government is fantastical. Intense and complex techniques of government are an indispensable part of the governance of modern Western economies and societies. Economic rationalists may claim to have reintroduced 'natural' market mechanisms in place of the activity of government, yet these 'quasi-markets' are themselves for the most part highly governed phenomena.