Duggan and Mohanty Respon

According to Dugan, falling profits and global competition during the 1970s led to a counter-movement against the progressive social movements that had been sweeping the country. A "pro-business activism" slowly took control of the primary institutions of the state over a period of roughly two decades. The overall goal of this activism was to reconstruct the everyday life of capitalism; it supported the upward redistribution of resources and was tolerant of widening inequalities. Basically, this is neoliberalism, and it has relied on identity and cultural politics during the construction of its policies and politics. According to its supporters, neoliberalism is supposed to provide stability and facilitate business investment; however, it actually causes instability.
The costs of neoliberal policies are longer working hours, reduced income, fewer private and government services, poor health care, competitive consumption, a diminished community, and the spread of money culture values. Neoliberalism is simply an incarnation of classic Liberalism; according to Duggan, both "conservative" and "liberal" perspectives withing U.S. politics are simply positions within classic Liberalism. She argues that neoliberalism organizes "material and political life" in "terms of" race, gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, etc but classifies human activity in ways that actively obscure the connections between these terms. Basically, it destroys any chance of intersectionality. Neoliberalism is generally associated with trade and economic policies, with its cultural politics being discussed rarely, and when they are its only in terms of Western cultural imperialism. Neoliberal policies have an effect on and shape public discussion of and policies regarding an array of social issues, but that fact is obscured. Neoliberalism's biggest goal is to change "global cultures" into "market cultures." It uses "privatization" and "personal responsibility" to do this; these concepts are the link between its economic vision and its culture. Neoliberalism promotes competition, self-esteem, and independence, claiming these are the root of personal responsibility; it claims dependency, entitlement, and irresponsibility are the root of social problems. The focus is on the "private" behavior of individuals rather than the "public" behavior of society or the state. It becomes up to the individuals to fix their lives; the problem is that people aren't being "responsible" and "independent' so there's no need for progressive social movements.
Attacking things like the women's studies conference Duggan discusses are part of neoliberal "cultural wars." They strengthen opposition to progressive curricula and activism within the academy. According to Mohanty, the academy has "always been a site of feminist struggle", but these cultural wars are trying to dismantle that struggle. Duggan argues the attacks against CUNY were framed so as to characterize the students as "lazy and undeserving" because of the students' class and racial make-up. Attacks against SUNY, where there are more white, middle-class students, were framed so as to be about sex and focused on misusing the NEA. Both used cultural and identity politics in an attempt to silence progressive struggle/voices. Mohanty asserts that the academy/university is one of the few spaces that offers a "semblance of a public arena" for dialogue and action, and it is this public arena that is being threatened by the privatization of the university. It particularly affects feminist work, and Mohanty argues antiracist feminists need to find a way to work "in relation to" this change. Knowledge becomes a commodity when privatization occurs; the university is no longer public and democratic, but rather, a corporate and entrepreneurial entity. Its focus is selling a product (knowledge/degress) and making a profit. Mohanty links the privatization of the university of the privatization of other public services/arenas, which is a link Duggan also makes. Both seem to be saying that neoliberalism and privatization policies work to create "citizen-consumers."
Neoliberalism promotes a multicultural diversity; its a "narrow, formal, nonredistributive form of equality." "Gay normality," "color-blind anti-affirmative action" and "equality feminism" are some of the things promoted by some supporters of equality politics who have embraced the neoliberal brand. These don't really seem to be doing that much, at least, not in the way of real social change, and their tactics are corporate. The focus on separating the "private" from the "public" obscures the ways the public influences (creates?) the private. The personal is no longer political, but rather, something that has no place in public. The original intention of gay rights activists was to ensure they had full access to public life as well as a free, safe private life. Isn't that, in some ways, what civil rights activists and feminists were seeking as well? Neoliberalism makes that impossible. By pushing the new "homonormative" as Duggan calls it, these activists are removing everything about gay rights that threatens the dominant power structure.
Duggan asserts that economic disasters and collapsing social support throughout the world can expose neoliberalism as a ruse, showing that it is not a program for peace, democracy, and prosperity, but rather, that it does indeed cause violence, inequality, and instability. However, that will only happen if progressive social movements take the opportunity. They have to engage in "deeper and broader analysis" of noeliberalism and how it works, but these two factions actually need one another if any real change is to happen.