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Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions pp 1–3Cite as

Neoliberalism and New Age

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The link between New Age spirituality and neoliberal discourses and practices can be best described by the Weberian concept of elective affinities. Firstly, both phenomena share a focus on the individual, who is thought to be responsible for his/her own destiny in all realms of everyday life. In addition they share the defense of autonomy and the promotion of entrepreneurship as means of achieving personal success both in economic and religious life.

The study of the link between neoliberalism and a religious movement requires, first, the definition of the former as a process of production of subjectivities involving the growing influence of certain values rather than an order imposed to passive social agents. Neoliberal reforms around the world were synchronic to transformations in the hegemonic values that constitute social practices. Many authors have highlighted the marketization of social relations as well as their organization around the idea of self-enterprise as two...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Laborales, Saavedra 15, C1083ACA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Maria Eugenia Funes

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  1. Maria Eugenia Funes
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Correspondence to Maria Eugenia Funes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland Univ Sociology/Anthropology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Henri Gooren

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Funes, M.E. (2016). Neoliberalism and New Age. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_336-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_336-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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