Death of Liberalism: The Exhaustion of Democracy

Death of Liberalism: The Exhaustion of Democracy

In this episode, Xiang Biao talks to Olaf Zenker, a leading anthropologist whose work spans Southern Africa, Germany, and Northern Ireland. Together, they explore one of the most urgent questions of our time: What happens when people lose faith in liberalism — not because they reject its ideals, but because they feel it has failed them?  Zenker highlights the importance of understanding people's concerns and addressing them in a way that is relevant and accessible. The approach involves engaging with people in their everyday lives, listening to their concerns, and using anthropology to make sense of them. He emphasizes the need to move beyond traditional academic language and to use plain language that resonates with people's experiences. He also emphasises the importance of collaboration and collaborative research, in which researchers work alongside the communities they are studying to develop solutions and make their findings more accessible and relevant to the public. Parts of Zenker's work focus on the dynamics of reunification in Germany, the refugee crisis, and the rise of populist movements. He argues that these movements are driven by a sense of fatigue, dissatisfaction, and resentment This post-liberal fatigue is a deep, relational exhaustion with systems that promised justice, equality, and democracy, but delivered only delay, disillusionment, and fragmentation.

Moral Immunity: Debt as a Moral Shield

In this episode of the “Common Concerns” podcast, Xiang Biao and Ferda Nur Demirci discuss the concept of “moral immunity” in relation to the indebtedness of miners in Soma, Turkey. In her research, Ferda examines how miners use debt to regulate their intimate relationships and to achieve a sense of moral immunity. This concept is characterised by a desire to be immune to the demands and pressures of family and friends, enabling the individual to maintain a sense of independence and self-discipline. She argues that the miners’ use of debt is not driven solely by consumerism or the desire for material goods, but rather by the need to regulate their relationships and attain a sense of moral immunity. This is particularly evident in the context of marriage payments, where debt is used to establish a sense of independence and self-reliance. Ferdas’s research highlights how the miners’ indebtedness has created a new form of class consciousness, in which people identify as members of the same group, yet without a sense of concrete, direct connections. This is characterised by empathy, but not necessarily by a willingness to act on behalf of others or to intervene. The podcast also explores how the miners’ relationships have changed, with a shift from a culture of sharing and solidarity towards separate households and nuclear families. Whilst some forms of solidarity, such as the sharing of agricultural produce, still exist, debt management has become the norm in the region. Overall, this episode offers a nuanced examination of the complex relationships between debt, morality, and intimacy in the context of neoliberal capitalism.

Hidden Histories: Use Value and Theories from the East

In this episode, Biao Xiang interviews two extraordinary thinkers: Don Kalb, whose new book "Value and Worthlessness" has been hailed as a landmark in Marxist anthropology, and Xenia Cherkaev, a scholar whose work bridges Eastern European social history with contemporary existential questions. Together, they reimagine ethnographic research by centering hidden histories, relational use values, and the emotional weight of being “worthless” in a world obsessed with exchange and performance. They further explore how Post-Socialism reveals the limits of the left and why the right isn’t just “Xenophobia”, but a response to abandonment.

Fragile Cosmopolitanism: Failing of the Engineered Life

In this episode, Xiang Biao and Siqi Tu discuss the Common Concerns approach in the context of a research project on Chinese students who send their children to the US for private high school education. Siqi presents her findings on the complex and often contradictory experiences of these students, who are caught between their desire for a global education and the harsh realities of being a minority in the US. Siqi notes that many of the students she spoke to expressed a sense of fragility and uncertainty about their choices, and that they often struggled to reconcile their idealized visions of a global education with the actual experiences of racism and exclusion they faced. The conversation also touches on the concept of "fragile cosmopolitanism," which Siqi uses to describe the complex and often contradictory experiences of these students. Siqi notes that while the students may idealize a global education, they often struggle to achieve it in practice, and that their experiences are shaped by a range of factors, including their social class, family background, and personal aspirations. The conversation also explores the ideas of "micro-political economy" and “engineering life,” which concern how individuals and families allocate their resources and attention to achieve their goals. Siqi notes that the parents she spoke to were often trying to engineer their children's lives to secure their future success, but that this approach often led to feelings of anxiety and stress, and that they often felt pressure to provide their children with the best possible education to secure their future success. Throughout the conversation, Siqi and Biao engage in a nuanced and thoughtful discussion about the complexities and challenges of the Common Concerns approach, and about how research can be used to co-create concepts and perspectives that help individuals and families reflect on their experiences and challenges.

Corruption Talk: Challenging the Common Concerns Approach

Xiang Biao and Insa Lee Koch, Professor of British Culture at the Universität St.Gallen (HSG), discuss how people in working-class communities in the United Kingdom tend to perceive corruption as a moral failure of institutions and individuals in positions of power rather than as a technical or bureaucratic problem. Koch argues that this perception stems from mistrust and disillusionment with the political system, which is viewed as corrupt and self-serving. She also explores the concept of a ‘popular political ontology’, which refers to the way people in these communities think about power and politics. She argues that this ontology is characterised by a personalised and moralised understanding of corruption, which differs from the more abstract and systemic understanding of corruption found in academic and political discourse. The conversation also touches on Biao’s concept of “double alienation”, which refers to the way in which people in these communities feel disconnected from both the state and the market. This sense of alienation is a key driver of perceptions of corruption and the desire for a more inclusive and participatory form of politics. During the conversation, Koch emphasises the importance of listening to and understanding the perspectives of people in working-class communities, rather than imposing solutions or theories on them from the outside. She argues that this approach is essential for building a more inclusive and democratic politics that takes into account the concerns and experiences of all citizens. The conversation also touches on the idea of ‘grounding’ as a way of thinking about politics and society. Koch argues that this approach highlights the importance of linking abstract ideas and concepts to the concrete experiences and concerns of people in different contexts. Overall, the conversation offers a nuanced and insightful examination of corruption and its relationship to power, politics, and society. Koch questions the foundations of the ‘Common Concerns’ approach. This is a critical conversation. Can we really speak to people using these new concepts, or are we merely reinforcing the very systems we claim to criticise?