The Manosphere fills a void created by neoliberalism which has been largely ignored by progressives
Over the weekend just gone I took some time to watch the latest Louis Theroux documentary – Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere – which relates how far we have gone in reverse with attitudes that men hold towards women. This blog post is not intended to be a review of that film but rather my thoughts on where it sits in the history of neoliberalism. The proposition is that neoliberalism creates voids where individuals are left behind and constructed as miserable failures. It also promotes an idea that an individual’s prosperity is a function of their own diligence and that the state fails to advance our well-being. Increasingly, these ideas are then embedded in misinformation and conspiracy theories and movements emerge to give voice to the anxieties that we face. The manosphere serves that purpose and allows young men to gain a sense of purpose and worth – notwithstanding that it is the world of scammers and oppressors. But it is another way in which neoliberalism is driving our societies into system-failure.