[How About This Book] Sorry Ricky, Neoliberalism Is So Fascinating

Today's 'Performance Society' Efficiently
Turns Workers into Self-Managing Managers Without Oppression or Domination,
Making Them Feel 'Free' While Enabling Limitless Exploitation
There Will Be No Revolution Resisting the System

The introduction of Ken Loach's 2019 film Sorry We Missed You is impressive. It shows the main character Ricky interviewing with the boss of a delivery company to get a job.

"I'm diligent, but my colleagues are so lazy it's frustrating. I want to work on my own and run my own business." The boss replies, "That's great, Ricky," and explains the job. "It's not employment, it's joining us. We call it 'on-boarding.' You work with us, not for us, becoming a service provider rather than an employed driver. There's no employment contract or performance targets. You don't get a wage but receive delivery commissions. No punch cards; you manage your own work. Once you sign, you become an 'owner driver franchisee.' You are the master of your own destiny. Only warriors survive."

For Ricky, who wants to run his own business, the term 'owner driver franchisee' must have sounded very sweet. However, the film ultimately reveals the harsh reality that Ricky is merely an exploited, employed worker. Ricky takes on many tasks to earn more money, but this leads to family discord and eventually puts him at risk of being fired from the company.

[How About This Book] Sorry Ricky, Neoliberalism Is So Fascinating

Han Byung-chul, former professor at the Berlin University of the Arts and author of Why Revolution Is Impossible Today, points out that the neoliberal regime is 'seductive.' Therefore, he argues, unlike in past disciplinary societies, it is difficult for revolutionary resistance against the system to arise.

The book begins with the author debating with Italian political philosopher Antonio Negri. Both are critical of the neoliberal system, but their outlooks are completely opposite. Negri expects the neoliberal regime to collapse under global resistance. The author counters that this is naive and unrealistic. He explains that in past disciplinary societies, factory owners oppressed workers, which provoked resistance and rebellion. But the neoliberal system is not oppressive; as Ricky’s delivery company boss says, it is seductive.

The neoliberal regime described by the author aligns closely with the words of Ricky’s company boss. "Neoliberalism turns oppressed workers into free entrepreneurs, managers of themselves. Now everyone is employed by themselves and exploits themselves. Everyone is both master and slave. Class struggle becomes an internal struggle with oneself. Those who fail today blame and shame themselves. Instead of questioning society, people question themselves."

The author majored in metallurgical engineering at Korea University and went to Germany at the age of twenty-two without a plan. He wanted to study philosophy, literature, and theology. In 2010, he published Mudigkeitsgesellschaft (The Burnout Society) in Germany, which caused a stir. The book was published in Korea in 2012 and became a bestseller. In an interview included in Why Revolution Is Impossible Today, the author explains why The Burnout Society sold well: "Because people resonated with the fundamental claim that today’s performance society is a voluntary self-exploitation society, and that exploitation is possible even without domination."

The author argues that while exploitation of others occurred in disciplinary societies, self-exploitation occurs in the neoliberal system. Self-exploitation is more efficient because it comes with a feeling of freedom. Therefore, self-exploitation has no limits, and we voluntarily exploit ourselves until we collapse, the author claims.

The writing is not friendly. The author expresses his thoughts bluntly without explaining the reasons or background. The term 'disciplinary society' appears frequently throughout the book, but its meaning is not explained. Readers must infer the author's intellectual background and seek out sources themselves. 'Disziplinargesellschaft (disciplinary society)' is a concept proposed by Michel Foucault in his book Discipline and Punish. Foucault explained that in the modern era, the ruling class controlled people by applying surveillance and repression systems in schools, factories, the military, and prisons.

The book contains 15 essays and 3 interviews. The essays are columns published in German newspapers and magazines such as Der Spiegel and Die Welt. Since they appeared in various media, the topics covered are diverse, including the system, refugees, emptiness, and digital issues. There is even an essay reflecting on why modern people take many photos of themselves jumping.

The original title of the book published in Germany is Kapitalismus und Todestrieb (Capitalism and the Death Drive). The death drive is a psychoanalytic term used by Sigmund Freud. The author argues that we are currently experiencing a production and growth intoxication akin to a death ecstasy, which conceals the impending catastrophic collapse.