Down on Decon

Where can we turn for a model of architecture conducive to the cultivation of life outside neoliberalism? This is distinctly challenging given the profound ability of this most contemporary form of capitalism to incorporate all it touches while evading fixed definition. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy cites David Harvey to the effect that “neoliberalism values market exchange as ‘an ethic in itself, capable of acting as a guide to all human action, and substituting for all previously held ethical beliefs,’” as well as a Guardian article which insists that neoliberalism “sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers.” Books like Jenny Odell’s bestseller How to Do Nothing attest to the skill of neoliberal social formations at hijacking even our capacity for paying attention. We desperately need to think of alternatives to neoliberalism, but how can we do that when we’re sapped of energy and concentration?

Deconstruction emerged as a candidate for a movement capable of resisting the absorptive powers of n…