Goran	Kauzlarić Faculty	of	Political	Sciences,	University	of	Belgrade New Age: A Modus of Hegemony "The expression 'spiritualities of life' refers to all those 'teachings' and practices which locate spirituality within the depths of life. Spirituality is identified with life-itself, the agency which sustains life; spirituality is found within the depths of subjective-life, our most valued experiences of what it is to be alive ... 'Life' is what lies at the heart of the so-called 'New Age movement'." - Paul	Heelas, Spiritualities of life "Capitalism is the celebration of the cult sans rêve et sans merci. Here there is no 'weekday', not a day that would not be a holyday in the awful sense of exhibiting all sacred pomp – the extreme exertion of worship [...] this is a cult that engenders blame. Capitalism is presumably the first example of blaming, rather than of repenting cult." - Walter	Benjamin, Capitalism as Religion To	assure	the	reproduction	of	capitalism	neoliberal	culture,	as	Barthes would	put it, needs to "transform	history into	nature"	and	present bourgeois	ideology	as	an	innocent	speech	–	from	which	signification and	politics	are	absent.	This	means	that	neoliberal	creative	rejuvenation	of	hegemonic	structures,	as	a result	of specific	historical	class struggles, involves	various	instances	of	myth	building.	For	this	purpose,	capitalist	apparatuses	in	the	first	instance	deploy	schemas	inherited from	economic theory.	However,	while these schemas	may permit	defence	of	the	principle	of	capital	accumulation	in	abstraction from	all	historical	specificity,	they	are	deficient	in	terms	of	mobilizing power.	This is	why,	each	historically	specific	mode	of	accumulation GORAN KAuZLARIĆ176 demands	an	equally	specific	worldview	embedded	in	common	sense and	deployed in	everyday	governmental	practices. "To	maintain its powers	of	attraction,	capitalism	therefore	has	to	draw	upon	resources external	to	it,	beliefs	which,	at	a	given	moment	in	time,	possess	considerable	powers	of	persuasion,	striking	ideologies,	even	when	they are	hostile	to	it,	inscribed	in	the	cultural	context	in	which	it	is	developing" (Chiapello	and	Boltanski	2005:	20).	To	understand fully the contemporary	imposition	of	capitalist	class	power,	we	therefore	need to	consider not	only social relations	and	neoliberal economic	doctrines,	but	also	academic	and	vernacular	cultural	contexts,	including social	critique,	within	which	neoliberalism	has	been	ideologically	tailored	and	practically	applied.	Among	the	vernacular	cultural	contexts, religion	–	related	to	deepest	human	identifications,	feelings	and	ideas about	the	nature	of	reality	–	certainly	represents	such	an	unavoidable political	resource,	inseparable	from	secular	ideologies	of	a	given	social	world.	Though	speaking from	completely	different	perspective, Carl	Schmitt	is	partially	right	when	he	points	out,	paraphrasing	Edward	Caird, that "metaphysics is the	most intensive	and the	clearest	expression	of	an	epoch"	(Schmitt 1985:	46).	Taking	this into	account,	we	will	try	to	show	how	neoliberalism	was	built	in	a	specific context,	developing	governmental	approaches	relative	to	elements	of progressive	critique,	and	has	eventually	succeeded	to	legitimize	new mechanisms	of	capitalist	accumulation, linking	them,	among	other things,	with	specific	religious	"externalities".	We	will	suggest	that	the satisfactory	explanation	of	profound	changes	in	the	contemporary	religious	life,	referred	to	as	the	emergence	of	"New	Age	spirituality",	is only	possible if	we	understand	them	as	an integral	part	of	the	processes	of	neoliberalization.	This	does	not	mean	that	we	are	trying	to reduce	a	complex	multitude	of	contemporary	spiritual	practices	to	a simple	one-dimensional	reflex	of	neoliberalization,	but	rather	to	suggest	that	only	such	an	approach	can	complement	the	omissions	and correct	the	misconceptions	of	various	inquiries	that	analyze	New	Age spirituality	using	the	frameworks	of	postmodern	culture	and/or	consumer	society.	In	this	endeavor,	we	will	rely	primarily	on	Michel	Foucault's	analysis	of	neoliberalism,	and	will	try	to	point	out	some	of	its 177NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY shortcomings.	Hopefully,	this	will	lead	us	to	a	better	understanding	of the	neoliberal	political	theology	itself. Limited concessions to which the bourgeoisie agrees within the frameworks	of	capitalism	can	function	as	reversal	through	which	the working-class	gets	some	space	for	realization	of	historically	specific desires	at	the	expense	of	losing	previously	won	social	rights.	Learning	in	the	process	of	class	struggle	power	structures	redefine	themselves	so	that	each	"glorious	defeat"	of	progressive	forces	results	in	a new	dispositif.	Social	movements	of	the	sixties	and	the	seventies,	and subsequent	collapse	of	the	socialist	project,	are	certainly	a	prime	example	of	this	kind.	The	long	march	through	the	institutions	of	power, proclaimed	by	the	participants	in	the	uprisings	of	'68	turned	out	to	be a long	march	of	neoliberalization.	Starting	from	the	mid-seventies, the	rise	of	neoliberalism	was	accompanied	with	profound	change	of the	religious	landscape;	as	rational	choice	theorists,	in	an	attempt	to explain	the	emergence	of	New	Age	spirituality	often	point	out,	unrealized social ideals of the baby boom generation have gradually transformed	into	religion.	What	started	as	spiritual	shelters	and	alternative	education	institutes	(such	as	Esalen	or	Findhorn)	or	simply as	countercultural	attitudes,	has,	in	the	last	third	of	the	20th	century, undergone	a	market	explosion	in	the	form	of	self-help	industry	and spiritual	literature	(McGee	2005:	188).	During	this	period	alternative forms	of	religiosity	have	transformed	from	marginal	phenomena	into an	increasingly	central	element	of	everyday	life	with	a	rising	influence in	societal	institutions.	Similar	to	what	Thomas	Luckmann	called	invisible religion,	elements	of	New	Age	spirituality	"are	usually	camouflaged	behind	other	forms	of	religiosity	or	in	one	way	or	another	almost	unconsciously	recognized	and	included	in	the	habits	and	beliefs of	people"	(Đorđević	2001:	54). New Age discourse New	Age	is	usually	perceived	as	a	fuzzy	combination	of	various	beliefs, a	mishmash	of	eclectic	elements	from	world	metaphysical	traditions, GORAN KAuZLARIĆ178 self-help psychology	and alternative	medicine.	In	various	other	definitions	it	is	conceived	as	a	type	of	Western	Buddhism,	a	culture	of	positive	thinking	or	a	new	holistic worldview	which	unifies	science	and	religion.	Majority	of	authors	emphasizes	sharp	opposition	in	which	this form	of	spirituality	stands	against	both	"reductionist"	Cartesian	rationality	and	traditional	religiosity	and	its	institutions:	New	Age	subjects are	often	described	as	"spiritual	but	not	religious",	suggesting	a	widespread	attitude	towards	life	in	which	traditional	religion	is	not	understood	as	most	valuable	tool	for	spiritual	development	(Fuller	2001:	6). It	is	viewed	as	spirituality	of	self-authority,	obsessed	with	self-realization	through	spiritual	search,	psychological techniques	and	market acquisition.	The	interest	in	environmental	issues,	meditation,	yoga	or astrology,	frequent	jargon	taken	from	quantum	mechanics,	plethora of	gurus	and	spiritual teachers, the	absence	of fixed	organizational structures,	as	well	as	persistent idea	of	upcoming	global	change	(to which	this	movement	owes	its	name),	further	complicate	the	already cluttered and confusing	New	Age image.	However,	when	observed closely,	it	becomes	clear	that	New	Age	is	similar	to	any	other	coherent religious	system,	insofar	as	it	has	a	theoretical	core,	composed	of	common	religious	conceptions	but	rearranged	and	tuned	in	its	own	way2. Accordingly,	this	type	of	spirituality	is	more	correctly	understood	as	a certain	"pan-syncretism"	rather	than	as	a	simple	eclecticism,	because between	all	the	elements	that	we	can	identify	as	constitutive	of	New Age	there is	a fundamental	bond.	Understanding	of	physical/social reality is related to personal development techniques, inseparable 2.	New	Age	has	a long line	of	predecessors in	western	esotericism. "There is in	fact	very	little	in	contemporary	spirituality	that	was	not	already	present	and available in	the 1920s	and 1930s, in	the	Edwardian	era,	at the	fin-de-siècle or even	earlier."	(Sutcliffe	and	Bowman	2000:	8).	Many	authors	therefore	deny	its novelty,	or	emphasize	that	this	notion	reduces	the	irreducible	multiplicity	of contemporary	religious	phenomena.	However,	there	is	a	sort	of	lingua franca that	allows	us	to	identify	this	confusing	mix	of	beliefs,	activities	and	ways	of life	as	a	unique	discursive	formation	(Heelas	1996).	Global	awareness,	immersive	elements	of	a	philosophical	system,	and	the	aforementioned	correlation between	spirituality	and	neoliberal	globalization justify the thesis	about the distinctive	historical	phenomenon. 179NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY from	the	belief	in	constantly	rising	levels	of	collective	awareness	and evolution of humanity, and again, these concepts are inextricably linked	with	individual	daily	troubles	and	the	perceived	illness	of	the modern	world.	So,	we	will	first	try	to	outline	this	structure	in	an	extremely	compressed	form. New	Age	is	primarily	a	form	of	perennial philosophy	which	takes	that all	world's	religious	traditions	have	the	same	divine	source.	This	provides	it	with	high	translatability:	an	ontological	universalism	resulting	in	practical	pluralism	(Drury	2004).	First	and	basic	New	Age	belief is	that	all	that	exists	is	a	Universal Consciousness.	Universe	is	understood	as	a	higher	form	of	Intelligence,	the	flow	of	omnipotent	energy	or	life force	that	connects	everything	(sometimes	as	vibrations	on quantum	level);	duality	between	spiritual	and	material	world	is	considered illusory,	as	well	as	our	separation	from	God.	Problems	with our	civilization	arise	because	people	are	not	aware	of	this	unity,	they have	forgotten,	due	to	a	tendency	of	our	egoistic mind	to	imagine	an identity,	as	a	separation	of	the	individual self	from	the	universal	Being. Here	we	identify	a	distinct	understanding	of	alienation/fall	of	man, and	this	is	also	how	self-help	comes	into	play,	as	a	rejection	of	this	illusion,	and	a	road	to	salvation/enlightenment.	New	Age	is	profoundly optimistic.	It	claims	that	humanity	is	in	the	process	of	spiritual	evolution	that	will	take	us	to	the	higher	state	of	existence,	which	is	also understood	as	a	return	to	universal	consciousness	and	organic	unity with	nature,	and thus, it represents	a form	of	millenarianism.	This change (sometimes	named	a	quantum leap)	will	happen	when the consciousness	of	a	sufficient	number	of	people	reaches	a	certain	level so	that	they	are	freed	from	the	ego	and	enlightened.	The	evolutionary	process	does	not	require	us	to	change	the	circumstances:	precisely	this	is	the	trap	of	our	neurotic	mind	which	tries	to	control	everything	projecting	its	imperfect	rationality	in	space	and	time	–	which	is what	creates	the	problem	at	the	first	place.	Given	that	our	personal consciousness is	actually	a	part	of	the	universal	consciousness, it is held	that	our	thoughts create	physical	and	social	reality.	If	we	want to	change	society	or	our	personal	life	it	is	necessary	to	recognize	the GORAN KAuZLARIĆ180 power	of	acceptance:	to	stop	resisting	the	world	and	surrender.	"Letting go"	equals	comprehending that	only true	reality is the	Eternal Now,	and	becoming	capable	of	continually	conscious	presence.	In	a sense,	heaven	is	already	here,	all	that	is	needed	is	a	change	of	perception,	transition	to	a	higher	vibration.	This is	why	all individual	and collective	problems	are	perceived	as	a	result	of false	consciousness, manifested	as	personal	negativity	or	as	an imperfect rationality inscribed	in	institutions.	This	rationality	is	the	historical	result	of	the hubris	of	the	human	mind	and	its	reductionist/mechanistic	reasoning,	which, transmitted	generationally through	social	conditioning, undermines	a	fair	balance	of	cosmic	forces,	producing	dehumanization, illness,	alienation,	political	terror,	totalitarianism,	natural	and social	devastation	and	so	on.	But,	everything that	exists, inorganic and	organic,	is	conscious	in	some	way	and	this	consciousness	is	developing	through	humanity.	By	our	personal	self-improvement, the universal Being	is	getting	to	know	itself3	–	as	in	a	form	of	monism or personal	reality	–	so	that	the	world	is	being	healed and	natural	balance	restored.	New	Age	is	therefore	imbued	with	ecological,	psychiatric,	devotional	or	medical	therapeutic ethos	leading	to	sacralization	of psychology	and	vice versa (Đorđević	2001) (drawing	influences	from psychoanalysis, humanism, "transpersonal" psychology and, less, Gestalttheorie and	behaviourism).	Therapy	is	understood	in	a	holistic	and/or	connectionist	way,	or	as	a	mind-body-spirit	activity.	This also	means,	as	Hanegraaff	shows,	that	New	Age	discourse	functions as Naturphilosophie	(Hanegraaff	1996),	and	tries	to	change	the	paradigm	by	linking	mystical	concepts	with	scientific	findings.	In	doing this	it	draws	inspiration	from	various	theories	such	as the 'holographic	paradigm'	(David	Bohm,	Karl	Pribram),	which	proposes a	model	of	the	universe	in	which	its	whole	is	implicit	in	each	of	its	parts (and	also	the	model	of	the	human	brain,	according	to	which	fragments	of memory	are	not	stored locally	but	are	distributed in	similar fashion).	As 3.	This	often	includes	various	levels	of	reality,	or	higher	beings,	such	as	angels or	aliens. 181NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY well	as from the 'paradigm	of self-organization' (Ilya	Prigogine), the	hypothesis of 'formative causation' (Rupert Sheldrake), 'hypothesis Gaia' (James Lovelock), according to which the universe is a self-organizing system	moving from	chaos to	order, living	organisms inherit	a	collective memory,	and	the	planet	Earth	is	a	self-regulating	living	organism.	New	Age expands	these	concepts	in	different	ways,	claiming	for	example,	that	subatomic	physics	confirms	the	findings	of	ancient	wisdom	about	the	nature of reality, the	planet	Earth	has	consciousness	and intelligence,	quantum mechanics	show	that	the	basis	of	reality	is	a 'pure	consciousness',	or	that our	memory	is	"stored	in	aether"	[...]	thoughts	get	buried	somewhere	in	the universe	and	determine	our	destiny	(the	law	of	attraction)	[...]	or	appropriates	notions	such	as	self-actualization	(Abraham	Maslow)	and	synchronicity	(Jung)	as	acausal	connectedness	that	relies	on	the	collective	unconscious	(Kauzlarić	2015:	43). Mass Society In	order	to	respond	to	our	task	of	understanding	the	relation	between neoliberal and	New	Age narratives,	we	must first highlight certain specificities	of	their	historical	and	cultural	background.	What	we	will try	to	sketch	here,	with	a	tremendous	simplification,	is	a	set	of	causally	interwoven	motifs,	typical	of	this	period,	continuously	recurring	in complex	exchange	between	various	emancipatory	movements,	countercultural	groups	and	Marxian	critical theories	of	society,	as	a	critique	of	capitalist	mass	society	along	the	line	of	psychology or consciousness and its	connectedness to	processes	of	massification and rationalization.	We	find	this	sort	of	emphasis for	example in	situationist	critique	of	the	Spectacle,	the	counter-cultural	obsession	with Eastern	religions	and	altered	states	of	consciousness,	shared	rebellion against	inauthenticity,	uniformity	and	conformism,	related	to	opposition to	war and	authoritarianism, as	well as in romanticized image	of	nature	and	general	anti-bureaucratic	sentiment	which,	again, is found in libertarian	and	democratic student	movements, Italian Autonomism	or	French	Maoism,	but	also	in	Marxian,	psychoanalytic	and	other	approaches	dealing	with	alienation, repressed	desires, GORAN KAuZLARIĆ182 one-dimensionality, false-self and false-consciousness, fascist psychology	and	neurosis,	related	to	technological	rationality,	mass	society	and	consumerism,	rising	danger	of	mass	destruction,	etc.	As	an informed	reader	will	easily	see,	New	Age	texts,	besides	being	a	mutation	of	counterculture,	often	function	as	a	continuation	of	this	same thematic	structure	found	in	critical	theory,	but	reorganized	and	devoid	of	its	Marxian,	revolutionary	framework.	However,	what	is	usually	not	taken	into	account, is	that	neoliberalism	itself	was	also	developed in	a response to the same range	of problems that	we find in critical theory, relying on shared academic and historical background.	It	is	not	hard	to	see	that	there	is	a	shared	interest	in	individual	and	mass	psychology	and	its	relationship	to	rationalization	and social	devastation,	between	for	example	Erich	Fromm's	Escape from Freedom	(Fromm	1994)	and	Eckhart	Tolle's	The Power of Now (Tolle 2004),	just	as	there	is	the	organic	interfusion	of	New	Age	holism	and neoliberal social-philosophy (similar to those	of	Hayek, Polanyi or Röpke)	in	books	such	as	Spiritual Capital (Zohar	2004)	or	Conversations with God (Walsh	1996).	These	discursive	bridges	allow	for	"free slide"	between	political	economy	and	New	Age	perennial	Naturphilosophie,	or	as	Foucault	puts	it,	these	seemingly	distant	corpora,	are all	situated	at	line	of	critique	of	mass	society,	that	intersects	humanities	from	"Sombart	to	Marcuse".	Already	in	Sombart,	we	find	the	wellknown	critique	according	to	which	capitalism	has: produced	a	society	in	which	individuals	have	been	torn	from	their	natural community	and	brought	together	in	the	flat,	anonymous	form	of	the	mass [...].	Capitalism	and	bourgeois	society	have	deprived	individuals	of	direct and	immediate	communication	with	each	other	and	they	are	forced	to	communicate	through	the	intermediary	of	a	centralized	administrative	apparatus.	[They	have]	therefore	reduced	individuals	to	the	state	of	atoms	subject to	an	abstract	authority	in	which	they	do	not	recognize	themselves.	Capitalist	society	has	also	forced	individuals	into	a	type	of	mass	consumption	with the	functions	of	standardization	and	normalization.	Finally,	this	bourgeois and	capitalist	economy	has	doomed	individuals	to	communicate	with	each other	only	through	the	play	of	signs	and	spectacles.	(Foucault	2008:	113) 183NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY Precisely	inside	this	long	line	of	thought,	neoliberals	performed	a	"judo-like"	reversal,	an	ideological	ruse,	which,	when	politically	applied in	"appropriate	surroundings",	has	responded	to	mass	desires	and	enabled	the	conversion	of	countercultural,	anti-capitalist	and	other	participants	in	the	uprisings	of	68'	–	sometimes	highly	informed	by	the critical	theories	of	the	time	–	to	neoliberal	side,	integrating	them	into capitalist	state	apparatuses,	while	simultaneously	leaving	basic	structure	and	sensibility	of	their	critical	attitudes	virtually	intact.	The	postwar	economic	boom,	as	well	as	the	specific	nature	and	some	shared characteristics	of	Cold	War	states	on	both	sides	of	the	wall, led	this kind	of	reasoning	to	a	boiling	point,	producing	at	the	same	time	a	climate	in	which	it	was	possible	to	argue	how	fascism,	welfare capitalism and	state	socialism,	to	a	greater	or lesser	extent,	all	share	the	aforementioned	characteristics	of	the	bourgeois/mass	society.	In	this	sociointellectual	context	neoliberals	posed	a	question	that	allowed	them	to resurrect	the	long-buried	liberal	principles:	how	is	it	possible	that	societies	that	rationally	intervene	in	order	to	eliminate	the	harmful	effects	of	market	economy,	or	are	even	trying	to	abandon	completely	the frameworks	of	capitalism,	produce	these	same	or	even	worse effects? So	the	neoliberals	proposed	a	simple	answer: these	effects	are	not	a product	of	capitalism	and	market	economy	at	all.	On	the	contrary,	they result	from	attempts	to	interfere	in	economic	mechanisms,	they	are	the product	of	a	society	that	economically	does	not	accept	liberalism,	"a state,	that	has	chosen	a	policy	of	protectionism	and	planning	in	which the	market	does	not	perform	its	function"	(Foucault	2008:	114).	This single	reversal	enabled	them	to	amortize	temporarily	both	reactionary and	progressive	attacks	on	capitalism	by	appropriating	their	ideological	weapons.	However, to	make	such	a	reversal	possible,	neoliberals not	only	had	to	reprogram	liberalism	from	the	root,	but	also	to	create	an	entirely	new	epistemology,	anthropology	and	social-philosophy. Epistemological turn As	Mirowski	argues,	the	most	important	neoliberal	belief	is epistemic, it	is	about	the	mind	(Mirowski	2013).	For	neoliberals,	market is not just GORAN KAuZLARIĆ184 a	tool	for	efficient	allocation	of	resources	that	sometimes	spontaneously	brakes	down	and	that	has	its	place	in	a	pre-constituted	political society.	On	the	opposite,	as	defects	are	delegated	to	the	realm	of	the state,	market	is	conceived	as	a	complex	spontaneous	order	which	always	strives	for	best	possible	results,	it	is	promoted	to	a	sort	of	higher intelligence,	a	super-human	information	processor	smarter	than	any human	being,	which	organizes	socially	dispersed	and	fragmentary	human	knowledge,	and	as	such	can	(and	should)	provide	a	general	regulatory	principle	of	society	and	political	rationality.4	This	epistemological	conviction	is	then	translated	into	something	akin	to	theory	of	the subject,	radically	different	from	both	Cartesian	subjectivity	and	a	liberal	idea	of	a	unique	inner	self.	At	the	same	time,	it	constitutes	an	understanding	of	what	it	means	to	be	a	person	most	famously	expressed in	Becker's	notion	of	Human	Capital5.	Starting	from	an	assumption that	we	are	fundamentally	flawed	thinkers	and	demanding	the	omnipotence	of	the	market,	neoliberalism	simultaneously	excludes	the possibility	of	economic	planning	and	does	not	allow	for	the	existence of	an	autonomous	self.	What	we	have	to	do	instead	is	to	accept	the	little	"packages	of	truth"	coming	from	the	market	and	adjust	ourselves to	them.	In	this	way	the	self	is	re-conceptualized	as	a	set	of	arbitrary investments	continuously	reshaped	in	relation	to	market	forces.	This profound	change	towards	fragmentation	and	fluidity	is	analogous	to late-structuralist	and	postmodernist	developments	in	understanding of	subjectivity, but	with	one important	difference:	neoliberal theory leaves	room	for	the	existence	of	truth	and	with	it	the	entire	repertoire	of	humanist	topics,	such	as	creativity.	If	we	leave	aside	completely	the	question	of	what	Truth	actually	is,	and	stay	on	the	level	of 4.	According	to	Hayek's	critique	of	central	planning	we	"need	a	social	mechanism,	which	would	be	capable	of	rationally	and	efficiently	connecting	the	imperfect	and	fragmentary	knowledges	of	the	market	agents.	Only	a	price	system in	the	free	market	is	able	to	achieve	that"	(Krašovec	2013:	66). 5.	Here	wage is understood	as revenue resulting from investments in skills, personal	characteristics,	health,	etc.	This	is	an	anthropology	that	takes	the	liberal	conception	of	property	to	its	ultimate	conclusion,	people	"are	the	owners of	themselves	–	not	by	natural	right,	but	inasmuch	as	they	are	the	product	of	a labor	of	self-fashioning"	(Boltanski	2007:	154). 185NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY strictly	formal	analysis	of	strategic	advantages	and	integrative	capabilities	of	an	ideology,	then	we	can	say	that	this resembles	something we	might	call	a	market	model	of	species-being.	As	a	regime of truth, market is	a	site	of	creation	and	revelation,	the	mechanism	through which	the logos	reveals itself; it is	the	only	human	artifact	that	can even	begin	to	comprehend	the	complex	way	in	which	nature	is	evolving.	This	has	a	twofold	consequence.	First,	it	means	that	market-mediated	entrepreneurial	experimentation	is	humanity's	only	hope	for progress,	and	second,	that	a	restoration	of	our	lost	connection	with (human)	nature	is	possible	only	if	society	in	its	totality	is	disciplined by	market	mechanisms.6	Hence,	neoliberal	appeal is	not	exhausted in	the	idea	of	"lesser	evil"	or	"the	best	of	all	possible	worlds",	but	has a	strong	utopian	dimension	and	draws	its	vitality	from	an	ability	to shift	between	these	various	interpretations,	and	to	flirt	with	an	image	of	the universe in	which	everything	is	organized	as	a	spontaneous	order.7	As	Mirowski	explains,	neoliberal	views	penetrate	the	fields 6.	We	could	be intellectually "witty"	and	say, for	example, that in	neoliberal philosophy	only	entrepreneurialism	leads	to	progress,	because	entrepreneurial	subjects	constitute	themselves	as	an	effect	of	the	market-truths,	following fragmentary,	but	nevertheless	creative,	entrepreneurial	procedures	in	fidelity to truth-events	produced	by the	market.	Of	course, this	would	demand the further	elaboration	on	the	exact	nature	of	these	"truths"	and	"truth-knowingsubjects". 7.	The	still	ongoing	crisis	of	the	labor	movement,	resulting	in	the	absence	of a progressive project, is theoretically expressed as a crisis of	modern grand narratives	(the	discourse	about	the	"death	of	the	subject")	and	is	manifested culturally	in	the	language	of	human	resources	and	sustainability,	in	which	the political	horizon	gives	way to the	universal	pragmatism (Kauzlarić 2015: 51). As	Krašovec	puts	it,	the	neoliberal	agent	"wastes	no	time	dwelling	on	higher truths	or	grand	narratives,	but	possesses	and	uses	only	a	tiny	socially	necessary	quantity	of	specialized	knowledge,	which	allows	her	to	adapt	quickly	to ever	changing	economic	circumstances	without	any	redundant	reflection	on rationality	and justness	of said	circumstances.	One is no longer required to know	why,	only	how.	For	everything	else,	there	is	the	market."	(Krašovec	2013: 69).	However,	since	we	see	that	neoliberalism	functions	as	a	grand	narrative	par excellence,	with	its	own	theory	of	"progress"	and	surrogates	of	emancipation,	it seems	that	what	we	have	in	practice	is	a	crisis	of	workers'	grand	narratives,	and not	grand	narratives	as	such. GORAN KAuZLARIĆ186 of	evolutionary	psychology,	sociology	of	networks,	ecology,	ethology, linguistics,	cybernetics,	and	even	science	studies	which	is	why	neoliberalism expands and becomes a comprehensive	Weltanschaung (Mirowski,	internet). We	find	early	examples	of	this	propensity	to	expand in	Hayek's	psychology	or	Michael	Polanyi's	epistemology	and philosophy	of	science	in	which	Hayek's	idea	of	the	spontaneous	order	is	transformed	into	an	independent	higher principle	not	limited to	economy	proper	(Krašovec	2013:	72).	Not	just	that	Polanyi's	view	of knowledge	production,	which	relaxes	the	opposition	between	science and	religion,	can	in	itself	be	seen	as	a	form	of	"perennial"	social	philosophy	reminiscent	of	New	Age	millenarianism8,	but	it	seems,	taking	into	account	its	main	features,	that	the	New	Age Naturphilosophie more	than	readily	"jumps	on	a	bandwagon"	of	neoliberal	culture in its	worship	of	spontaneous	orders,	"organic	networks"	and/or	higher principles. The State Resultant	from	the	epistemology	we	discussed	above,	the	neoliberal understanding	of	the	state	reveals	another	politico-theological	commonality	with	New	Age.	Along	the	psychology-cum-consciousness ⇄ massification-cum-rationalization line of reasoning, neoliberalism de facto equates the state	with the	human mind, or	more precisely its tendency to impose the imperfect,	mechanistic, reductionist, technological	rationality	to immense	complexity	of	natural	and	social	world,	bypassing	the	market	and	therefore	alienating	us	from	our 8.	"If	the	intellectual	and	moral	tasks	of	a	society	rest	in	a	last	resort	on	the	free consciences	of	every	generation,	and	these	are	continually	making	essentially new	additions	to	our	spiritual	heritage,	we	may	well	assume	that	they	are in continuous	communication	with	the	same	source	which	first	gave	men	their society-forming	knowledge	of	abiding	things.	How	near	that	source	is	to	God I	shall	not	try	to	conjecture.	But	I	would	express	my	belief	that	modern	man will	eventually	return	to	God	through	the	clarification	of	his	cultural	and	social purposes.	Knowledge	of	reality	and	the	acceptance	of	obligations	which	guide our	consciences,	once	firmly	realized,	will	revel	to	us	God	in	man	and	society" (Polanyi	1946:	69,	70). 187NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY species-being.	The intellectual hubris	of trying to know	what	only the	market	can	know,	activates	the	"cycle	of	rationality	entailing	interventions,	which	entail	the	growth	of	the	state,	which	entails	setting	up	an	administration	that	itself	functions	according	to	technical types	of rationality"	eventually leading to totalitarianism (Foucault 2008:	115).	As	Eckhart	Tolle	puts	it	in	his	New	Age	bestseller: There	is	a	place	for	mind	and	mind	knowledge.	It	is	in	the	practical	realm of	day-to-day	living.	However,	when	it	takes	over	all	aspects	of	your	life,	including	your	relationships	with	other	human	beings	and	with	nature,	it	becomes	a	monstrous	parasite	that,	unchecked,	may	well	end	up	killing	all	life on	the	planet	and	finally	itself	by	killing	its	host.	(Tolle	2004:	38) So	in	both	stories,	the	alienation	is	caused	by	egoistic	rationality	separating itself from	this field	of force	that	connects	everything.	And this	separation,	at	best,	always	ends	up	creating	a	dehumanized	false heaven.	However,	all	this	divination	concerning	the	egoistic-mind	→ totalitarian-state causality	does	not	mean	that	the	neoliberal	state	is withdrawing	or	getting	smaller	–	as	we	will	easily	see,	it	does	not	even refrain	from	intervention,	but	merely	changes	its	object.	Unlike	classical	liberalism,	neoliberalism	does	not	take	the	market	as	a	phenomenon	of	exchange that	occurs	spontaneously.	On the	contrary, it is seen	as	reliable	but	fragile	mechanism	whose	essence,	or	as	Foucault puts	it,	whose	eidos,	lies	in	the	formal	properties	of	the competition9. And	these formal	properties	will	only	appear	and	produce	their	effects	under	certain	conditions	which	have	to	be	carefully	and	artificially	constructed	as	a	historical	objective	of	an	infinitely	active	policy 9.	"This	means	that	what	is	sought	is	not	a	society	subject	to	the	commodityeffect,	but	a	society	subject	to	the	dynamic	of	competition.	Not	a	supermarket society, but	an	enterprise	society.	The	homo	economicus	sought	after is	not the	man	of	exchange	or	man	the	consumer;	he is	the	man	of	enterprise	and production."	(Foucault	2008:	147).	Here	lies	the	difference	which	critics	of	consumerism,	spectacle,	simulacra,	etc.,	often	fail	to	conceptualize	and	therefore to	see	that	neoliberalism	itself	is	formulated	as	a	critique	of	mass	society.	This is	the	reason	why	approaches	that	see	New	Age	spirituality	simply	as	"religion of	consumer	society"	do	not	succeed	to	fully	understand	this	phenomenon. GORAN KAuZLARIĆ188 and	governmental	art. Free	markets	need	a strong	state	as	a	mean of	neutralizing	democratic	power,	the	state	conceived,	not	as	a	countercurrent	to	market	economy,	but	a	social	condition	of	its	possibility (Foucault	2008: 120-146). In	other	words, this is	a	socially-interventionist	state,	which	actively	fabricates	competitive	social	relations; and	maximization	of	competition	is	possible	only	if	the	society	"disappears"	giving	way	to	continuous	multiplication	and	diversification of	enterprises.	As	we	have	already	seen, the fragmentation	of	businesses	descends	to	the	level	of	the	individual,	or	even	deeper,	so	that selfhood	gets	re-conceptualized	as	an	enterprise,	or	an	intersection of	enterprises. To	make	this	market-fiction	consequential,	neoliberal	culture	(state) makes	the	production	of	apropriate	subjectivites	and	collective	representations	an	all-day,	all-encompassing	activity	inseparable	from	the labor	process	and	life	as	such.	So	in	practice,	neoliberalism	is	a	form	of "therapeutic"	government,	producing	culture	infused	with	therapeutic ethos; a positive sociological liberalism	aiming	at	the	elimination of	all	anti-competitive	psychological,	social	and	political	phenomena that	society	could	produce,	or	as	Margaret	Thatcher	has	famously	said it,	economics	are	the	method;	the	object	is	to	change	the	heart	and soul.	Here,	connecting	it	especially	with	Shultz's	and	Becker's	theories	of	the	human	capital,	Foucault	recognizes	another	example	of	the propensity	of	economic reasoning towards	expansion to	previously non-economic	spheres	of	life.	Theorists	of	human	capital are	led	to	study	the	way	in	which	human	capital	is	formed	and	accumulated,	and	this	enables	them	to	apply	economic	analyses	to	completely	new fields	and	domains	[...]	inasmuch	as	if	you	define	the	object	of	economic analysis	as	the	set	of	systematic	responses	to	the	variables	of	the	environment,	then	you	can	see	the	possibility	of integrating	within	economics	a set	of	techniques,	those	called	behavioral	techniques,	which	are	currently	in	fashion	in	the	United	States.	You	find	these	methods	in	their	purest, most	rigorous,	strictest	or	aberrant	forms,	as	you	wish,	in	Skinner	[...],	in Becker's	definition	which	I	have	just	given,	homo economicus, that	is	to	say, 189NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY the	person	who	accepts	reality	or	who	responds	systematically	to	modifications	in	the	variables	of	the	environment	appears	precisely	as	someone manageable	[...]	someone	who	is	eminently	governable	[...]	all	these	behavioral	techniques	show	how	psychology	understood	in	these	terms	can	enter	the	definition	of	economics	given	by	Becker.	(Foucault	2008:	269,	270) New	Age	progresses	away from "externally"	oriented	behaviorism10, but	what Foucault outlines here – the production of subjectivities through self-entrepreneurial techniques as a form of governmental	practice – is	exactly	an	appropriate	explanatory framework that makes the	correct	understanding	of	contemporary	spirituality	possible.	The	notion	of	"govern(mentality)"	suggests	that	the	subject	becomes	an	interface	in	which	the	institutional	effects	of	power	conjoin with	the	auto-regulatory	"technologies	of	the	self"	and	precisely	this is	where	the	proliferation	of	New	Age	practices	becomes	intelligible as	a	central form	of	everyday	neoliberalism:	a set	of behavioral responses	to	ever-changing	yet	unquestionable	"variables	of	the	environment".	These	techniques	can	include	for	example	learning	to	deal with	negative	emotions	properly, focus	on	objectives	and	develop	a positive	mindset,	instrumentally	use	our	mind	and	avoid	the	expansion	of	its	coercive	neurotic	activity,	destroy	the	ego	and	realize	that	a permanent	identity is	an	illusion,	re-connect	with	the	universal	consciousness	achieving	a	managerial	relation	towards	ourselves	plus	a sense	of	an	ontological	security,	"let	go" and	accept	reality,	respond	to life's	difficulties	systematically	recognizing	the	karmic	opportunities for	self-development	bestowed	to	us	by	the	universe,	stop	projecting our	happiness	over	space	and	time	and	understand	that	enlightenment	equals	the	acceptance	of	an	eternal	here	and	now. 10.	Trivial	but	nevertheless	interesting	fact	is	that	the	famous	psychologist	and author	of	utopian	fiction	B.	F.	Skinner	was	participating	in	the	early	phase	of the	Esalen	institute	(Kripal	2008)	and	that	Skinnerian	behaviorists	during	the seventies	were	making	significant	efforts	in	the	area	of	self-help	culture	(Rutherford	2009). GORAN KAuZLARIĆ190 Production of Happiness No	matter	how	insightful,	Foucauldian	perspectives	of	the	"technologies	of	the	self"	often	fall	into	a	trap	of	not	realizing	that	monolithic market	with	its	properties	and	agents	is	just	an	ideological	construction	built	as	an	interpretation	around	some	consequences	of	capitalist	class	offensive	and	legitimized	in	comparison	to	some	features	of post-fordist	societies,	and	by	no	means,	an	actual	entity	existent in reality.	It	seems	that	the	approaches	that	normally	do	not	permit	the existence	of	truth	as	such,	get	dangerously	close	to	believing	that	the market, a place	of	mystification	and	objective	domination	of capitalism,	really	produces	truths	and	rationally	regulates	social life.	By distancing	themselves from	the	classical	notion	of ideology as false consciousness,	they	slide	from	the	realm	of	critical	theory	towards	descriptive	sociology.	This	prevents	them	from	seeing	that	the	main	peculiarity	of	notions	like	human	capital	or	entrepreneurial	self,	when they	are	understood	as	elements	of	hegemonic	culture, is	that	they conceal	capital-labor	relation,	allowing	for	further	extraction	of	surplus-value by	conceiving	entrepreneurialism	as	a state	of	mind,	an attitude,	a	specific	psychology.	Not just	that	neoliberals	reserve	the right	to	Schmittian	exception	for	themselves	and	that	political	structures developed by todays capitalism slide towards increasing bureaucratization, but the contemporary bourgeoisie excludes itself from	its	own	alleged	imperatives,	relying	heavily	on	various	types	of central	planning	and	economic	interventionism	(such	as	bailing	out private	companies	with	public	money).	Hence,	the	neoliberal	praxis becomes	completely	transparent	only	when	understood	in	the	light	of its	main	objective.	In	Röpke's	words	"task	is	really	to	attack	the	source of	the	evil	and	to	do	away	with	the	proletariat	itself	[...]	True	welfare policy	is	therefore	equivalent	to	a	policy	of	eliminating	the	proletariat."	(Roepke	1991:	225).	Since,	of	course,	it	is	not	possible	to	eliminate proletariat	without	eliminating	capitalism,	what	is	in	question	here	is an	arsenal	of	cultural	approaches	combined	with	economic	restructuring	which	aims	at	making	the	proletariat	unrecognizable	to	itself and	less	capable	of	previous	modes	of	organizing;	being	a	theory	of 191NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY "crisis	management"	in	relation	to	massification/consciousness,	neoliberalism	seeks	to	sabotage	political	collectivity	and	regulate	production	of	subjectivities.	Therefore,	the	explanation	of	the	link	between neoliberalization	and	the	popularization	of	New	Age,	has	to	be	situated	somewhere	between	the	market	demand	produced	by	increasingly	precarious labor	force,	as	means	of its	cognitive,	affective	and ideological	adaptation,	on	the	one	side,	and	institutional	production of	entrepreneurial	culture	as	means	of	management	of	populations and	productivity,	on	the	other.	Between	do it yourself of ideology and elaborate institutional	or	written	discourses.	Popular literature	and intimate	conversations	(later	joined	by	YouTube	videos),	visual	identities	of	companies	and	commercial	products,	fitness	and	health,	life coaching,	managerial	and	entrepreneurial	discourse,	institutions	for social/psychological counseling, precisely these	are the	areas	of its widest	dissemination	and	application. The	increasing	proliferation	of	cognitive	labor	conjoined	with	blurred boundaries	between	work	and	leisure	time,	increasing	subordination of life-activity	to	capital	as	a	need for	constant	communication	(itself	productive	of	surplus-value),	learning	and	training,	socialization through	overlapping	of	personal	affective	bonds	and	useful	relationships11	all	add,	to	a	general	material	and	psychological	uncertainty,	an increasing	problem	of	mental	exhaustion	and	saturation	with	various	types	of	social-pathology.	"Accumulation	of	'human	capital'	does not	transform	a	worker	into	a	capitalist	and	class	antagonisms	do	not soften	up	or	disappear",	actually	the	"availability	of	worker's	'body	and soul'	for	capital's	exploitative	needs	is	extended	to	most,	if	not	nearly all,	human	intellectual,	cognitive	and	affective	capacities"	(Krašovec 2013:	80).	The	main function	of	human	resources	management	becomes	the	subjective	assessment	of	the	labor	force	while	the	practice of	meditation,	positive	thinking	and	mood	control,	and	integration	of these	methods	into	an	ideological	construction	that	provides	meaning	and	gives	spiritual	reasons	for	mobilization,	functions	as	another 11.	Or	isolation	as	other	side	of	unemployment. GORAN KAuZLARIĆ192 kind	of	unpaid	labor;	furthermore,	the	problem	of	ideological	reproduction	of	labor	force	is	being	partially	solved	in	a	distinctively	neoliberal	way, by	offering integral	market-solutions.	Notwithstanding the	motivational	role	New	Age	has,	analogous	to	the	one	attributed	to Calvinism	by	Weber,	it	is	formulated	as	a	critique	of	traditional	culture	in	line	with	countercultural	preferences,	and	thus	contains	important	modifications.	Instead	of	predestination,	New	Age	links	salvation	with	karma,	healing	and	self-help,	channeling	social	tensions into	specifically	understood	self-improvement	which	becomes	a	factor	of	de-politicization	of	anxiety.	In	a	sense,	a	"new	spirit	of	capitalism"	contains	a	built-in	brake	against	its	own	20th	century	"excesses" of	political	collectivity	–	it	"heals"	the	personality	from	the	structural effects.	By	expanding	economic	analysis	on	human	psychology	and linking	production	of	subjectivities	to	market,	neoliberalism	targets the subjective residue which	makes the	working class a dangerous kind	of	commodity.	In	doing	this,	neoliberal	culture	resorts	to	a	form of	"power	that	regulates	social	life	from	its	interior,	following	it,	interpreting	it,	absorbing	it,	and	rearticulating	it."12	By	looking	to	neoliberal	texts,	we	discover	that	they	in	itself	call	for	both	holistic	therapy and	psychology	of	religion,	and we	gain	a	new	perspective	once	we	realize	that	the	workers	question is	a problem	of	life	as	a	whole	[...].	Speaking	in	medical	terms,	such	a	program of social reform is, therefore, not a therapy	which	only	deals	with local symptoms	but	one	which	overhauls	the	whole	constitution	and	aims	at	reconditioning"	(Roepke	1991:	227) It	may	be	that	we	could	precisely	calculate	the	relation	between	the decline	of	true	faith	and	the	rise	of	urban	civilization	cut	off	from	nature if	we	knew	more	about	such	mental	processes	as faith (Röpke 1960:	10). 12.	"Power	can	achieve	an	effective	command	over	the	entire	life	of	the	population	only	when it	becomes	an integral,	vital function	that	every individual embraces	and	reactivates	of	his	or	her	own	accord."	(Negri	and	Hardt	2000,	23). 193NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY Return to Nature Foucault	shows	that	the	neoliberal	reconstruction	of	society	is	legitimized	through	a	motif	of	civil society,	as	a	sort	of	cultural-ideological stronghold	of	neoliberalism,	where	the	multiplication	of	companies is	presented	in	the	form	of	a	"Rousseauian	return	to	nature",	embodied	in	notions	of	Vitalpolitik	(Rustow)	and	decentralization	(Röpke)13. It is the ideology	of	civil society that	hypostatizes in	already	mentioned	amalgams	of	spiritual-neoliberalism	where	multiplication	of enterprises	sometimes results in	a	sort	of "organic	collectivism"	almost	as	if	it	was	a	substitute,	redirection	of	communist	desire	(Jodie Dean,	2012)	to	a	phantasmatic	image	of	a	futuristic	return	to	speciesbeing14.	In	organicist	visions	of	Gaia-hypothesis, the	"awakening	of	the Goddess"	is	identified	in	a	global	growth	of	information	and	market networks	which	actually	represents	the	formation	of	a	planetary	cerebral	cortex:	the	people	are	the	neurons	of	this	collective	mind,	whose task	is	to	solve	environmental	crisis. Howsoever	expressed,	the	main	problem	of	mainstream	neoliberalism is	to	render	acceptable	the	disparity	between	the	actual	socialdevastation	and	the	sanctified	image	of	the	market,	which	occupies the	place	of	what	Derrida	calls	transcendental signified,	and	as	such necessarily	requires	a	theodicy, i.e.	the	justification	of	evil	from	the 13.	This	involves	development	"of	non-proletarian	industries,	that	is	to	say,	craft industries	and	small businesses; [...]	decentralization	of	places	of residence, production,	and	management,	correction	of	the	effects	of	specialization	and the	division	of labor;	and the	organic reconstruction	of	society	on the	basis of	natural	communities,	families,	and	neighborhoods;	finally,	generally	organizing,	developing,	and	controlling	possible	effects	of	the	environment	arising either	from	people	living	together	or	through	the	development	of	enterprises and	centers	of	production.	Broadly	speaking,	Röpke	says	in	1950,	it	is	a	question of	'shifting	the	center	of	gravity	of	governmental	action	downwards'"	(Foucault 2008:	147,	148). 14.	Sometimes	these	discourses	function	as	declarative	anti-capitalism	where "capitalism"	is	not	understood	as	a	mode	of	production	but	as	a	result	of	corporate	greed	enabled	by	state	mechanisms. GORAN KAuZLARIĆ194 perspective of unquestionable perfection and benevolence of the spontaneous	order.	This is	where the	New	Age	plays	a	crucial role, as	neoliberal justifications	get	deeply	naturalized,	or	even internalized,	due to	an isomorphism between the market and the universe. The	sameness	of	politico-theological form	demands the	same	kind of	theodicy,	producing	the	same	political	and	ethical	conclusions.	To use	Critchley's	formulation,	the	privately	interested	citizen	is	"compelled to believe that the laws	which	govern	political life have the same	divine source as those	which	govern the universe" (Critchley 2014:	64). Since the	market is	unquestionable	and	benevolent,	and since	we	are	all	self-entrepreneurs,	individual	troubles	should	be	understood	as	a	result	of	a	business	failure,	an	absence	of	appropriate skills,	attitudes	or	psychological	traits.	Since	the	universe	is	also	unquestionable and benevolent, and since thoughts create, individual	troubles	should	be	understood	as	a	lack	of	self-development,	the result	of	psychological	negativity	or	spiritual	unsuitability	–	in	both stories	this	results	in	a	production	of	Guilt. Manifested	as	entrepreneurial	chauvinism	or	working	class	auto-racism,	distribution	of	guilt transforms	the	socio-material	condition	of	a	whole	class,	determined by	its	place	in	the	relations	of	production,	into	a	spiritual	inertia	of entrepreneurially	inferior	individuals.	Resorting	to	this	type	of	(self-) accusing	subjectivity,	Deepak	Chopra	informs	us,	in	his	various	public	statements,	that	the	situation	in	the	Middle	East	is	a	result	of	the negative	energetic	field	of	its	peoples.	So	the	same	goes	for	the	way in	which	the	collective	troubles	are	ideologically	rendered.	All	social and	natural	devastation	is	produced	by	an	egoistic	unconscious mass, fascist	personalities	developed	by	nanny	state,	negative	psychologies whose	pauperization	is	their	own	fault.	They	are	dragging	humanity down	by	projecting	their	negativity,	causing	social	unrest	and	binding our	species-being	in	chains.	On	the	other	hand,	there	is	a	new	stratum	of	awaken	entrepreneurial	selves,	charismatic	Mao-like	leaders and	business-gurus,	taking	humanity	to	a	higher	state	of	existence. This	has	a	wide	ranging	managerial	application	and	usually	fits	well in	Foucault's	analytical	scheme: 195NEw AGE: A MODuS Of HEGEMONY The	Dictionary	describes	an	Entrepreneur	as	one	who	organizes,	manages, and	assumes	the	risks	of	a	business...	What	is	a	bigger	enterprise	than	the organization	and	management	of	one's	own life? It is	your	passion,	your purpose	and	your	own	aliveness	that	generates	growth	in	love,	at	play	and in	your	business	as	well.	(Enkin,	internet) [...]	there	is	a	spiritual	element	that	translates	across	the	boundaries	of	specific	religions.	Entrepreneurs	live	where	this	spirituality	and	business	overlap.	(Levine,	internet) Spiritual	Capitalism	is	a	global	evolution	in	the	way	we	do	business.	Instead of	greed	and	fear,	we	unleash	our intentional	power	of love,	cooperation and	integrity...	Welcome	to	Conscious	Capitalism	–	the	enlightened	way	to do	business.	First	and	Foremost,	what	does	it	mean	to	be	Conscious?	[...]	To live	consciously	means	to	be	open	to	perceiving	the	world	around	and	within	us,	to	understand	our	circumstances,	and	to	decide	how	to	respond	to them	in	ways	that	honor	our	needs,	values,	and	goals	[...]	Corporate	greed, political	corruption	and	religious	scandals	are	coming	to	the	surface.	Believe	it	or	not	this	is	a	good	thing.	Our	collective	consciousness	is	evolving (Murphy,	internet). The	consequence	of	the	interiorization	of	the	guilt	is	not	just	political passivity	and	decrease	in	solidarity,	but	also	a	reinforced	self-entrepreneurial	activity	which	leads	to	further	discipline	among	objectivelaborers/subjective-entrepreneurs,	accelerated	by	a	sense	of	participation	in	an	evolutionary	project	that	overcomes	them,	as	a	part	of an	"imagined	community"	of	spiritual	seekers.	What	is	ironic	is	that while	believing	that	they	fight	against	the	widespread rationalization of life,	New	Age subjects in fact	get	even	more	deeply subordinated	to	instrumental	rationality	of	the	market.	Like	historical	romanticism,	New	Age	holism	abandons	the	standpoint,	introduced	by	German classical philosophy, according to	which there is a difference between	"reason" (Vernunft)	and "mind" (Verstand). In	this	way, in revolt	against	technological	rationality,	contemporary	spirituality	together with neoliberalism, leaves the territory of the self-reflexive GORAN KAuZLARIĆ196 critical instance	of the "mind",	while	the	subject is left to	the	same reifying	force	of	scientific-instrumental	rationality,	or	the	sphere	of "reason"	against	which	the	rebellion	was	launched	in	the	first	place (Gačević	2016). Despite	the	critical	tone	of	this	paper,	we	will	conclude,	that	what	is needed	in	present	day	left-wing	politics,	is	by	no	means	the	critique of	religion.	It	seems	that	the	Left	"has	all	to	easily	ceded	the	religious ground	to	the	right	and it is this	ground	that	needs	to	be	regained in	a	coherent, long	term,	and	tenacious	political	war	of	position,	as Gramsci	would	say"	(Critchley	2014:	25).	While	the	Left	has	been	undergoing	a	schism,	neoliberalism	has	consolidated	itself	ideologically,	overcoming	the	difficulties	and	producing	a	synthesis	in	a	form	of a	genuinely-bourgeois	theory,	capable	of	conceiving	the	subjectivity which	is	de-essentialised,	but	nevertheless	has	an	access	to	Truth.	We would	like	to	propose,	that	this	made	neoliberals	capable	to	both	successfully	adapt	to	an	increasingly	postmodern	world,	and	simultaneously	efficiently	colonize	humanist	and	religious	notions.	Therefore,	it appears	that	authors	with	"synthetic"	approaches,	which	try	to	bridge the	gap	between	structuralism and humanism,	as	Alain	Badiou	does, or	to	reaffirm	the	notion	of "totality"	as	for	example	David	Harvey	is attempting, represent the	most	vital	part	of the	contemporary leftwing	thought,	which	offers	a	possible	way	out	of	the	neoliberal	trap. Bibliography Boltanski,	Luc	&	Chiapello,	Eve	(2005),	The New Spirit of Capitalism,	London: Verso. 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