Neoliberal democracy? An investigation of the transformation of democratic discourse in an era of globalization

Over the past several decades "globalization" has become central to discussions about the contemporary world. In contrast to other arguments, this thesis suggests that the dominance of "globalization" must be understood in its interrelations to neoliberalism. It is in the connection to neoliberalism that "globalization" has become a concept of both reverence and disdain, making it inescapable in contemporary social discourse.;Nevertheless, most scholars have failed to fully recognize the power of neoliberal globalization as a hegemonic discourse in contemporary society. Treating globalization as simply an economic project, or a technological wonder, scholars and critics have been unable to account for the power of this discourse to speak as a democratic promise.;Drawing on articulation theory, this thesis attempts to address this neglect through the construction of a theoretical understanding of communication as the means of production. Through this lens attention is drawn to the way in which neoliberal globalization is the product of a discursive combination of an economic logic, a technological force, and a democratic promise.;This democratic promise of neoliberal globalization is further investigated through an analysis of the debate in Congress over U.S. corporate involvement in Chinese Internet censorship. Centered on the interrelations between economics, technology, and democracy, this debate provides a fruitful cite for the examination of the particular vision of democracy suggested in neoliberal globalization. This particular vision is interrogated through an examination of the concepts of the citizen as consumer and the free flow of information as evident in this debate.;The final chapter seeks to examine what this vision of neoliberal democracy may mean for contemporary conceptualizations of social justice. Examining current treatments of social justice, the thesis argues that the continued dualism which seperates economic from cultural issues is unable to present an adequate avenue for proposing alternatives to neoliberal globalization. Rather, it is only through an integrated notion of social justice, made possible through the concept of communication as means of production, that we can address the challenges of the citizen consumer and the free flow of information that mark neoliberal globalization as a powerful, but problematic, vision of democracy.