Social Contract Theory Vs Neoliberalism Essay

Just as with social contract theory, homo economicus in neoliberalism is rarely discussed in gendered terms, but the theories and implications of neoliberalism are nonetheless gendered. How Pateman frames the sexual contract informs how we can further analyze the Brown’s discussion of the gender of homo economicus. Brown observes that neoliberalism intensifies the “old gender problem” of liberalism (106). With the work of Pateman in mind, the subordination of women under social contract theory and neoliberalism are alike in many ways. Similar to social contract theory, the subordination of intensifies, and is built into neoliberalism through state divestment and responsibilization, and this subordination is framed as if it natural and not constructed. …show more content…
In the Fraternal Social Contract, Pateman discusses how “the social contract is a fraternal pact that constitutes civil society as a patriarchal or masculine order” (45). As many feminists would argue, the public sphere is patriarchal and framed “in opposition to womanly nature and the ‘private’ sphere” where women are confined and excluded from any political power or representation (46). By excluding women from the public sphere, restricting them from acting as homo politicus or having any political agency, the social contract subordinates women under liberalism. Pateman further explains that “political power” lies in the “conjugal or sex right” (48). In other words, the political power of a man derives from the conjugal right of the subordination of women creating a fraternal contract between all men while excluding women. The subordination of women was built into the social