Neoliberalism

Politics Power and Resistance: Neoliberalism, Politics and Society

Vincent Brian Quiaem17236616

Neoliberalism

• The ideology of Neoliberalism permeates through global political and social systems resulting in the prevalence of class interest.

• Neoliberalism as a “theory of political economic practices proposing that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty, unencumbered markets and free trade” (Harvey, 2007). Figure 1. David Harvey (Rivlin-Nadler, 2011)

The State

• Market is prioritized over state within Neoliberalism. • State relationship to Neoliberalism consists of the construction and production of

foundations to establish the goals of removing market encumbrance, free trade and security of personal liberty grounded on private property (Harvey, 2007).

• The utilization and implementation of bureaucracy as means for state to reinforce Neoliberal principles (O’Neill, 1986).

Figure 2. Reagan and Thatcher(Verret, 2012)

Class

• The implementation of Neoliberal principles exacerbates the disparities between opposing class interests.

• . The ideology of Neoliberalism has produced conditions for the formations of a ruling capitalist class through the implementation of class exclusive ideologies into state apparatuses (Harvey, 2007).

‘Creative Destruction’ 1

• Privatization: The process of privatization “amounts to the transfer of assets from the public and popular realms to the private and class-privileged realms” (Harvey, 2007).

• Financialization: The deregulation of the financial system as a characteristic of implementation of Neoliberal policy permits the system to become an instrument for wealth redistribution through “speculation, predation, fraud and thievery” (Harvey, 2007).

‘Creative Destruction’ 2

• Management of crises: The production of financial crises as inherent to the financial and capitalist system, creates an environment which facilitates wealth redistribution on a global scale (Harvey, 2007). The manipulation of financial crises to form a surplus in labour capital into low-wage surplus labour is also attributable to the inherent nature of capitalism as well as Neoliberalism (Harvey, 2007).

• State redistribution: Reduction in government expenditure within spheres of social safety nets and through privatizations of public assets and utilities, which include education, demonstrate the extent which the state can be complicit in classist interests (Harvey, 2007).

Reference List

• Harvey, D. (2007). Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 610, NAFTA and Beyond: Alternative Perspectives in the Study of Global Trade and Development, pp. 22-44. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/stable/25097888

• O’Neill, J. (1986). The Disciplinary Society: From Weber to Foucault. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 37, No.1 (Mar., 1986), pp.42-60. doi: 10.2307/591050.

• Rivlin-Nadler, M. (2011). david_harvey-150x150 [Image file.] Retrieved from: http://www.full-stop.net/2011/08/09/blog/max/rsa-animate/

• Verret, C. (2012). Liberalism 2 Reagan Thatcher [Image file.] Retrieved from: http://neoliberalismeducation.pbworks.com/w/page/50845304/The%20Role%20of%20the%20Neoliberal%20State