Presentation of self in the neoliberal society: comparing an elite- and a working-class community in Sweden

ABSTRACT In this article, we ethnographically explore the neoliberal society from two contrasting social and economic perspectives in Sweden: an elite community characterised by well-educated people, full employment and affluence and wealth and a former working-class community with high unemployment rates, poverty and poor education level. Analysing rich and varied field data from 2010 through 2023, the theoretical framework is rooted in Erving Goffman's ideas on self-presentation, providing a lens through which to study the shifts in societal structures and expectations. More specifically, we examine the enactment of the neoliberal society through three interlaced practices: (a) aesthetic self-presentation, (b) behavioural self-presentation, and (c) attitudinal self-presentation. We suggest that the neoliberal society, driven by the ethos of market rationality, contributes to primarily strengthening the ‘employable self’ among residents in the elite community through such expressions as leadership, commitment, energy and activity. In the working-class community, however, we show how an emphasis on modesty, perseverance and loyalty is framed as ‘unemployability’. Despite radically different socio-economic conditions, we suggest how the two communities share significant commonalities in the way individuals’ self-presentations of employability are shaped by the cultural and communal contexts in which they reside.