Lecture 3: Cooper (2015) Entrepreneurs of the self

Question 1

Interpretive or critical?

Answer 1

Critical

Question 2

What is Cooper investigating?

Answer 2

• Reviews the literature through the lens of Foucault
• Based on a notion of Neoliberalism and the idea of the entrepreneurial self
• “Humans are reconfigured from being waged employees to entrepreneurs of the self”

Question 3

What are the main points from the theory and literature review?

Answer 3

Explains Accounting is a technology for constructing “entrepreneurial selves”

Resistance towards accounting (Neo-liberalism)

Talks about the “power struggle” between the classes

Question 4

What is the main conclusion?

Answer 4

Human capital = Produce return on oneself

“the neoliberal vision of humanity as individual enterprise units whose sole value is in their ability to produce an income stream is horrific”

Human characteristics as “Empathy, compassion, sexuality etc” is NOT considered valuable unless someone is willing to pay for them.