In The Agony of Eros (2017), Byung-Chul Han suggests, “Thinking demands calm. Thinking is an expedition into quietness”. Han, a Korean-born philosopher based in Germany, has emerged as one of Europe’s most-read contemporary thinkers, tackling urgent topics like stress, depression, information overload, social media, and neoliberalism’s effect on the psyche. For psychologists, Han’s work offers a crucial perspective on the ways neoliberalism shapes modern life, with particular attention to how it manipulates emotions, affects mental health, and distorts our relationships with others and ourselves.

A central theme in Han’s work is his critique of neoliberalism, which he believes has turned emotions into commodities. In Psychopolitics (2017), he argues that neoliberalism no longer controls behavior but has penetrated the psychological realm, turning feelings and emotions into resources to maximize productivity. Han’s idea resonates with the work of scholars like Michael Hardt, who, in his essay “Affective Labor” (1999), describes how emotions have become integrated into capitalist production systems. Both argue that neoliberalism exploits affect, eroding personal boundaries and making individuals feel constantly “on” in personal and professional spaces.

For psychologists, this aligns with current concerns about emotional labor and the rising rates of burnout in a society that demands constant engagement and performance. Han’s portrayal of neoliberalism suggests that individuals are trapped in a cycle of self-exploitation, always striving to be better, faster, and more efficient. This leads to the exhaustion and disconnection he describes in The Burnout Society (2015). This........

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