Abstract

MAS, Fernando Francisco. “Entrepreneur of himself” or “enterprise form”? Competition and managerial subjectivity. Trab. soc. [online]. 2021, vol.22, n.37, pp.459-476.  Epub July 01, 2021. ISSN 1514-6871.

Many contemporary sociological approaches are inspired by Michel Foucault's research on "neoliberalism”. As it is known, at the end of the seventies the author analyzed neoliberalism’s main microeconomic theories and ventured that the program of a “governmental rationality” was present in them. Furthermore, he suggested that the subjectivity encouraged by such rationality was an individual “entrepreneur of himself”. In this article I will explain the “origin” and the methodological use of both this concept and "enterprise form" (also presented by Foucault in this research, although briefly). With this, I seek to argue that the latter can be used, in a more “finished” and “plastic” way than the former, to think neoliberal subjectivity. This is because “enterprise form” is not confined only to the classic economic investment-return formula and might allow the inclusion of other actions, such as competition. In fact, neoliberal microeconomics itself defined competition as its general principle, but the notion of “entrepreneur of himself” leaves it aside. Likewise, I will point out that “enterprise form” offers the possibility of outlining other neoliberal subjectivities, those related to the field of management, which from the eighties to our days have also made competition the focus of its thought.

Keywords : Neoliberalism; Enterprise Form; Entrepreneur of Himself; Competition; Subjectivity; Management.

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