O sujeito do desempenho em busca da performance: ética e prática das psicociências no contexto neoliberal

Abstract

The present study seeks to understand how the "psycho-sciences" have become tools of neoliberal subjectivity, driving the performance-oriented individual in sustaining neoliberalism. The research in question aimed to review the construction process of the neoliberal subject, highlighting individualism and competition as intrinsic traits of this subject, as well as the hegemonic narrative of entrepreneurship as a solution to structural unemployment. Furthermore, it was observed that work precarization, flexibilization, and more recently, platformization, have led individuals to pursue high performance to survive in an increasingly scarce formal job market. The growing supply of professionals in psycho-sciences serves the performance-oriented individual, who, in turn, relentlessly seeks tools and enhancement and reprogramming practices. Narcissism as a social psychopathology resulting from this context is reinforced by contemporary therapeutic culture and spiritual practices. The analyses conducted contribute to questioning the ethics of psycho-sciences in the current context and highlight the importance of collective action and social organization as a counterpoint to the epidemic individualism of our times.