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Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Revisiting How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic Against Workers (with Elizabeth Anserson)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

News, Business, Government, Politics

4.71.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Americans have been told that working harder is the path to dignity, security, and success. But what if that promise was hijacked? This week, we’re revisiting our episode with Professor Elizabeth Anderson, where she exposes how neoliberalism weaponized the “work ethic” — transforming a moral tradition that once honored workers into a system that blames them, exploits them, and rewards extraction over contribution. Drawing from her new book Hijacked, Anderson traces how today’s economy punishes labor, glorifies predatory wealth, and rigs the rules against working people — and what it would take to take the work ethic back. Elizabeth Anderson is the Max Mendel Shaye Professor of Public Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at University of Michigan. She is the author of Value in Ethics and Economics, The Imperative of Integration, and Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It). She is a MacArthur Fellow and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Social Media: @UMPhilosophy Further reading:  Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic Against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0

The rising inequality and growing political instability that we see today are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory.

0:10.6

The last five decades of trickle-down economics haven't worked.

0:14.7

But what's the alternative?

0:16.3

Middle-out economics is the answer.

0:18.6

Because the middle class is the source of growth, not its consequence.

0:23.1

That's right.

0:28.7

This is pitchfork economics with Nick Hanauer, a podcast about how to build the economy from the middle out.

0:36.9

Welcome to the show.

0:38.3

Hey, Pitchfork listeners. I'm Freddie, producer at Pitchfork Economics.

0:48.3

We've been told for decades that if you just work hard enough, the economy will meet you halfway.

0:54.4

But today, we're revisiting an episode called How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic Against

0:59.2

Workers, and it shows how that promise was flipped on its head.

1:03.5

Professor Elizabeth Anderson explains how neoliberalism rewired our moral language, turning

1:08.1

ideas like responsibility and self-reliance into tools for blaming

1:11.7

workers for a system that was never designed to work for them. If you've ever felt like you're

1:16.4

running faster but falling further behind, this episode explains why. You know, Nick, one of the

1:25.1

things that I missed during the pandemic is that, you know, since it came on, you've delegated our annual reviews.

1:32.9

So I don't really get your feedback.

1:36.1

And I know you love my work, the quality of my work, else you wouldn't be putting up with me.

1:42.2

But I'm curious what you think of my work ethic.

1:46.6

Yeah, it's medium.

1:50.5

Medium.

...

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