We go through our lives talking about ourselves: me, myself, I. We seldom wonder whether the self we're talking about is the same as the self that is doing the describing, or if it's the same as the self that is living life.

Surely "I" am a single, constant thing, right?

Right?

Strange as it may sound, that actually isn't the experience any of us has. So, if there are multiple "me"s living my life, then how are they different? What narratives can I use to navigate between them?

Neoliberalism is a narrative like no other. It is not just a story. It is THE framework from which a huge number of other narratives hang.

But where did it come from? And what does it say? And - most importantly - what's next?

Do people all tell themselves the same sorts of stories? Or do rich and poor people, famous and unknown, actually tell themselves different stories? If our stories are meant to explain our realities to ourselves, it would make sense if different realities conjured up different narratives.

The stories we use to explain what makes one person successful and another not are some of the most powerful stories we have. They are a way of reminding ourselves what the rules are. They tell us that our world functions as it should, and that people get what they deserve.

Welcome to The Narratologist.

Who are we? How do we process reality? I believe that the answer to both questions is the same: stories.

This is our first step on that journey, laying out some of the fundamentals that we'll build on in future episodes.