Rationalization against Victims of Neoliberalism

Explaining neoliberal harms through a lens of technocratic inevitability and complex global dynamics. It uses the language of “there is no alternative” (TINA), “global realities,” and “market confidence” to make social devastation seem like the result of impersonal, expert-managed forces, not political ideology.

Rationalization against Victims of Neoliberalism Example: A news analyst explaining pension cuts: “With an aging population and global bond yields under pressure, reforms were mathematically unavoidable to avoid a sovereign debt crisis.” This rationalization replaces ideology with a narrative of mathematical and economic destiny, removing human agency and choice from the equation.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Critical Theory of Neoclassical Microeconomics

The application of Critical Theory to neoclassical microeconomics—examining its assumptions, its methods, and its role in justifying capitalist social relations. Critical Theory of Neoclassical Microeconomics asks: Why assume rational actors? Why treat preferences as given? Why focus on equilibrium rather than power? How do these assumptions serve to naturalize markets and obscure exploitation? It doesn't reject economics but insists that neoclassical economics is one framework among many—and one that systematically ignores power, history, and inequality. Critical theory demands an economics that actually explains how economies work, not just how they're supposed to work in theory.

"Neoclassical economics assumes rational actors making optimal choices. Critical Theory of Neoclassical Microeconomics asks: rational given what information? Optimal for whom? Under what constraints? The model describes a fantasy, not reality. Critical theory insists on economics that studies power, inequality, and exploitation—not just idealized markets. Economics that ignores power is just apologetics."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026

Logicalization against the Victims of Neoliberalism

Applying a stringent, market-based logic to human life to “prove” that neoliberal outcomes are not just efficient, but morally correct. It uses metrics like GDP, shareholder value, and productivity to construct arguments where any deviation from market logic is inherently irrational and costly.

Logicalization against the Victims of Neoliberalism Example: “Logically, a factory must close if its return on capital is below the global benchmark. Keeping it open is an irrational misuse of resources that harms overall wealth creation.” This logicalization elevates a single financial metric to the status of a universal law, making human communities and their livelihoods seem like sentimental inefficiencies.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Trivialization against the Victims of Neoliberalism

Mocking or belittling the human cost of neoliberal policies as the complaints of the “uncompetitive,” the “resistant to change,” or those who “can’t keep up.” It portrays the gig economy, student debt, and housing insecurity as lifestyle choices or youthful struggles, not structural traps.

Trivialization against the Victims of Neoliberalism Example: Calling millennials struggling with debt and rent “the avocado latte generation,” suggesting their precarity is a result of frivolous spending, not stagnant wages and asset inflation. This trivialization turns a systemic economic condition into a moral failing and a punchline.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026