Of Halos and Horrors

Drawing on a radical Durkheimian framework, this article analyses neoliberal morals, myths and the politics of ageing, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, in which an inordinate number of elderly persons in long-term care died. Examining prevalent collective representations, we contend that older persons are differentially valued through two opposing yet structurally related sacral logics: the heroic and the abject . These logics express how neoliberal societies assign value to older populations through myths about moral purity and impurity, abjection, and sacredness. The heroic older person embodies neoliberal ideals of autonomy and self-management, while the abject form, defined by dependency, becomes disposable. During the pandemic, these subjective forms were mediated by a moral dynamic that we call fatalistic altruism , in which older persons accept their devaluation while feeling obligated to self-sacrifice. These dynamics reveal a deeper, pathological politics surrounding ‘the cult of humanity’.