The expression "pensée unique" (French for "single thought") describes the claimed supremacy of neoliberalism as an ideology.
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"Pensée unique" is a critique of mainstream conformism that claims that neoliberalism is the only possible society. Use of the term points at the fact of enforced reduction in political discussion by mainstream politics that, for example, prominently reveals itself in the famous populistic TINA argument ("there is no alternative") of Margaret Thatcher (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) that is widely adapted by other politicians, for instance as Gerhard Schröder's (former chancellor of Germany) argument, translated word-for-word from Thatcher’s (German: "Es gibt keine Alternative...").[1]
The expression was coined in a January 1995 editorial article in Le Monde diplomatique[2] by Ignacio Ramonet, the editor-in-chief and, apart from many other functions and memberships, is a special honorary member of the Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l'action citoyenne (Attac). The pensée unique argument is usually adopted by by political left-wing and alternative parties and organisations like Attac.
La pensée unique, collective work (with Jean Foyer and Jean-Pierre Thiollet), Economica/JM. Chardon & D.Lensel Ed., Paris, 1998. ISBN 2 7178 3745 0