Abstract
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s rhetorical agency seemingly challenges neoliberalism. His public statements supporting tax increases on the rich and carrying for the poor seemingly denounce free-market capitalism. But Meister and Platt convincingly argue that Buffett’s rhetorical agency bolsters neoliberalism rather than opposing it. Grounding their analysis in epideictic ethos and celebrity status, Meister and Platt argue that Buffett symbolizes both wealth earned and the self-restraint to retain it, exemplifying neoliberalism as a system that maintains wealth among the wealthy. Buffett’s rhetorical agency fuses epideictic ethos with philanthropic celebrity; a type of neoliberal humanitarianism that ultimately protects wealth, fosters elitism, and champions wider social and economic distinctions.
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Meister, M., Platt, C.A. (2017). Warren Buffett’s Celebrity, Epideictic Ethos, and Neoliberal Humanitarianism. In: Nguyen, K. (eds) Rhetoric in Neoliberalism . Rhetoric, Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39850-1_3
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