Manfred B. Steger and Ravi K. Roy, "Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2021)

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Jul 30, 2023

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ANECDOTE

First Wave of Neoliberalism

The first wave of neoliberalism, led by Reagan and Thatcher, reacted to the 1970s economic stagnation.
They implemented deregulation, privatization, tax cuts, and reduced social spending, epitomized as "Reaganomics."

INSIGHT

Second Wave of Neoliberalism

The second wave, under Clinton and Blair, adopted neoliberal economics while maintaining progressive social views.
This led to "New Labor" and the "New Democratic Leadership Council," signifying a shift within center-left parties.

ANECDOTE

Scandinavian Neoliberalism

Scandinavian countries, despite their social welfare systems, have adopted neoliberal economic policies.
Their lower business taxes and privatization examples like Volvo demonstrate this shift, though they retain a "human face."

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Anchored in the principles of free-market economics, neoliberalism emerged in the 1990s as the world's most dominant economic paradigm. It has been associated with political leaders from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Bill Clinton, to Tony Blair, Barack Obama, and Manmohan Singh. Neoliberalism even penetrated deeply into communist China's powerful economic system. However, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the related European Sovereign Debt Crisis triggered a decade of economic volatility and insecurity that boosted the fortunes of the 1 per cent while saddling the 99 per cent with stagnant wages and precarious work. As a result of this Great Recession, neoliberalism fortunes have waned considerably. This downward trend further accelerated with the recent surge of national populism around the world that brought to power outspoken critics of neoliberalism like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro, and Narendra Modi. Is neoliberalism doomed or will it regain its former glory? And what are the major types of neoliberalism, and how did they evolve over the decades?

Responding to these crucial questions, Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford UP, 2021) explores the considerable variations of neoliberalism around the world, and discusses the origins, evolution, and core ideas of neoliberalism. This new edition brings the story of neoliberalism up to date, and asks whether new versions of neoliberalism might succeed in drowning out the rising tide of national populism and its nostalgic longing for a return to territorial sovereignty and national greatness.

Manfred B. Steger is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel.

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