Resisting the Performative Logic in the Singularised Habitus: Decoupling Romantic Ethics from the Entrepreneurial Spirit.

The focus of this paper is how individuals respond to the contradictions of the "singularised” habitus. According to Andreas Reckwitz, starting from the last quarter of the XX century a new social class has gained relevance within Western societies. This new middle-class’s habitus has as its core the value of “singularity” and is characterized by a fusion of bourgeois values, associated with social status, self-entrepreneurship, and competition, with romantic ideals like expressive authenticity and individual uniqueness. This synthesis has arisen through a process in which Romantic ethic has become "intramundane," meaning it is directed toward practices of consumption and production.In this context, many scholars have noted how work has become a sphere for expressing one’s authenticity. At the same time, sociological literature has highlighted the negative consequences of pursuing this ideal of work, such as depressive symptoms, burnout, exhaustion and frustration. While much has been written about this new configuration of work from both a class perspective and in terms of neoliberal governmentality, there has been less focus on how individuals attempt to cope with these negative effects. This paper specifically examines how this coping is done, and specifically how agents seek to redefine Romantic ethic in ways that are disconnected from work and performativity, attempting to create a normative space where they can achieve recognition beyond the competitive criteria of comparison with others.