'Third Age' under neoliberalism: From risky subjects to human capital

In this paper, I trace the discursive evolution of the phrase 'Third Age.' Focusing on its increasing appearances in lifestyle articles within popular Anglo-American print media during the past three decades, I argue that 'Third Age' operates as a category of neoliberal governance. More specifically, through the analysis of 'Third Age' I uncover a shift in the kind of subjectivity ageing subjects are called upon to cultivate-from subjects imbued with risk for themselves and for society to savvy entrepreneurs who take risks and diligently maximize their self-worth. This shift from risk-oriented to entrepreneurial subjects, I suggest, is accompanied by a temporal modification relating to the neoliberal imperative to invest in oneself. One of the ways neoliberal governance operates is through a cost-benefit calculus where subjects are encouraged to make investments in the present with the promise of future returns. My analysis reveals that from the mid-2000s onwards this future-oriented approach is replaced with a 'here and now' temporality, whereby ageing subjects are incited to make investments in the present as a form of living in the moment, rendering the future less relevant. This finding challenges existing literature on neoliberal rationality that underscores its future-oriented temporality.