The Entrepreneur as Artist and the Commodification of Life. Realism and Utopia of the Neoliberal Ethos Published by La Nación

Abstract

This paper studies a set of defining characteristics of the neoliberal ethos that is expressed in the figure of the “entrepreneur”, as the latter is staged by the Argentine newspaper La Nación, in a series of notes that the journal itself groups as belonging to the theme “entrepreneurs”. By analyzing and coding a sample (by saturation) of the universe composed of these notes, this paper apprehends the particularities of – what Boltanski and Chiapello call – the “artistic critique” that neoliberalism addresses to the capitalism of the post-war era. A narrative in which the entrepreneur appears as a sort of bohemian artist. But one who, instead of rejecting the generalized commodification, makes it the only way to achieve an authentic, creative and autonomous way of life. Moreover, it provides cultural support to the expansion of this mercantile logic, legitimizing its extension to all spheres of life. Thus, the objective of this paper is to capture such critique, together with the promise contained in the figure of the entrepreneurial artist and, at the same time, to catch its ideological face.