Purpose This paper aims to uncover links, overlaps and influence flows across two seemingly unrelated historical processes – the broadening of the marketing concept and the rapid rise of neoliberal ideology, and associated economic and social policies. Design/methodology/approach Historical examination of the pivotal points in marketing thought, especially since 1960s and 1970s, is juxtaposed with the historical rise of neoliberalism to uncover linkages between marketing and neoliberalism, with a particular reference to Foucault’s analysis of the neoliberal transgression of classical liberalism. Findings While noble intentions were behind the broadening of the concept of marketing, the implicit assumptions reinforced neoliberal ideology and policies that led to rapid rise in inequality and to disastrous financial and economic crises. Research limitations/implications This study, relying on extensive interdisciplinary theorizing, could benefit from empirical and practical extensions. Practical implications Globally pervasive marketing practices – based on the broadening of the marketing concept – have become imbricated in contemporary spiraling crises. To escape such spirals, radical rethinking of marketing theories and practices is required. Social implications To reorient away from serving only the interests of centralized capital and to serve the needs of people the world over, marketing thought and practice need to reorient to innovative ideas that transcend the broadened and generic marketing concepts. Originality/value The paper develops the linkages between marketing theory and practices since the late 1960s and the neoliberal ideology politics and policies, with roots in the 1920s, that rose to prominence in the 1970s. A key contribution is an exploration of, in a marketing context, Foucault’s analysis of the neoliberal eclipsing of classical liberalism.

In the business disciplines such as marketing, when the occasional critical perspectives explore the concept of marketization, it is usually in the spirit of exploring a form of ‘excess’: too much commodification and overreach of marketing methods. This article takes the concept of ‘marketization’ into deeper theoretical territory, exploring in detail how the ideas of the influential social theorist Michel Foucault have shaped the contemporary concepts and realities of neoliberalism and marketization. The article also makes connections to marketing theory and practices, and indicates how these could evolve to keep marketization corralled and part of a large and varied mix of consumption practices.

Consumption practices that are environmentally and socially more conscious have been studied previously; however, consumers who entirely reject market society and the ideologies associated with it in search for alternatives have received little attention. The participants in this study have had the means to enjoy all of the privileges of market society, yet chose to drop out of their well-paid corporate positions in search of more meaningful lives. A framework to understand their motivations for this choice, the alternatives they present, and the challenges they face is developed through a qualitative inquiry using in-depth interviews, secondary data sources and observation. To these individuals, living in market society represents an eventually dreaded path leading to a vast emptiness, contrarily their departure appears to be a decision of "choosing life." In their alternative lives, they find meaning in sharing with and helping others, also through an existence with, not against nature. Choosing to have only occasional marketplace interactions, they exhibit a willingness to exist within and navigate multiple organizations of life, even if preference for the one experimented with is strong. The practices of such members of society show potentials for greater change to alleviate the shortcomings of a solely market-driven way of life.

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