First Aid Kit against Neoliberalism
– a prototype
Neoliberalism strikes when you least expect it. It is therefore important to have a first aid kit with a little more content than just plasters for the wound. First aid kit against neoliberalism v. 2.0 is amply supplied with everything you need when neoliberalism strikes. The box has newly upgraded contents that are packed functionally equipped with self-explanatory instructions.
Dimensions: H: 11.4 in, W: 15.5 in, D: 5,3 in
First aid kit against neoliberalism v. 2.0 is made of classic brown cardboard and is equipped with a lid that is held in place by two solid elastic bands. The box is lined with silk paper which keeps the content well organized and intact so it is always ready for use. The QR code on the lid takes you directly to the kit's website, where updated and complementary information always is available.
Remember to check the contents of the first aid kit continuously and fill in any missing items.
First aid equipment against neoliberalism must be complete and at hand – always!
Explore the content of the kit here.
Neoliberalism isn’t an economic program – it’s a political program designed to produce hopelessness and kill any future alternatives.
David Graeber
The Arendal week
First Aid Tent Against Neoliberalism
Briefly about The Arendal Week 2023
Arendalsuka is the largest political gathering in Norway held annually since 2012.
At our stand, we presented an updated version of “First aid kit against neoliberalism”, which for the occasion had been upgraded with four new objects: Repair Kit for Tax Loopholes, The Labour for Inheritance Tie, Welfare State Cut Cutter, Housing Tick Remover.
In addition to exhibiting the first aid kit, we also held various practical workshops in the stand tent – including a button workshop and a gingerbread-voodoo workshop. As with the stand in general, the workshops appealed to both adults and children, and formed the basis for good conversations across values and party affiliation.
Full-page advertisements in Klassekampen 12 and 14 August in Klassekampen.
The PhD Disputation
Election Vigil Cabaret at Galleri Sagene Kunstsmie 11.09.23
The PhD disputation of the “First aid kit against neoliberalism” was arranged at Cabaret Standard’s Election Vigil Cabaret at Galleri Sagene Kunstsmie, 2023. The kit communicated via a tin can transmitter and defended its research and findings against criticism from professional opponents within biology, psychology, housing policy and literature.
Background for the project
Although a lot of people have heard of the term neoliberalism they will have trouble defining it. This obscurity is due, among other things, to the fact that the followers of the ideology eagerly deny its existence.
Neoliberalism's anonymity is both a symptom of, and the reason for, it has such a great influence on the society.
This is a smart strategy, because how can one rebel against ideas that constantly appear under different names and thus avoid the possibility of being debated? What lies behind concepts such as ordoliberalism, market fundamentalism or paleo-liberal politics?
The followers of these ideologies make themselves unassailable by using many names. Instead of discussing politics, you end up discussing the various terms and what they contain or try to describe. In this way, neoliberalists create a perfect and impenetrable fog around what they are really doing.
The consequences of neoliberalism, on the other hand, are visible everywhere. We have set out to take a closer look at this phenomenon and, if possible, bring it to light.
The ideology of neoliberalism has played a leading role in a number of crises, including the financial crisis of 2008, the slow collapse of public welfare services such as education and health, it has caused the return of child poverty, led to epidemics of loneliness and a complete breakdown of our ecosystems.
The most serious impact of neoliberalism is not the economic crisis it causes, but the political and the ecological. Those who are considered the architects behind neoliberalism are the economists Hayek, Buchanan and Friedman, who in 1947 established the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) in the village of Vevey in Switzerland. Their stated goals were, among other things, to dismantle the state, crush trade unions and spread contempt towards politicians. Today, MPS is part of the Atlas Network, a worldwide network of approx. 500 conservative think tanks.
Many of these think tanks are sponsored by some of the world's richest and most influential people in economics, politics and academia. Against the background of this sad story, which is unfortunately taken from reality, we have created this first aid kit as a tool that we hope will help against the disempowerment caused by neoliberalism's consequences for society and nature, with a mixture of things for comfort and countermeasures.
