With governments around the world unable to foresee or address the 2008 financial crash, neoliberalism is confronted with an ontological crisis. This chapter explores the causes and consequences of the crisis, drawing upon analyses provided by Thomas Kuhn, David Harvey, Slavoj Žižek and Mark Fisher, among others. It looks at how the crash exposed the fragile foundations of neoliberal consensus, giving rise to an array of retrograde, nationalist and populist responses, referred to here as ‘alt-neoliberalism’. Domestically, these developments fuel tensions and trigger the erosion of rights and protections previously secured by marginalised groups. Internationally, they coincide with a decline in Western economic, military and cultural dominance, facilitating the emergence of a multipolar world order. Special attention is given to the rise of China and the alternative art of governance pioneered by its communist party. The chapter concludes by identifying the emergence of new knowledges and new forms of power—setting the parameters of a new episteme.