Neoliberalism

Cummins, ID

Abstract

From the mid 1970s onwards, neoliberalism has been the most influential political ideology. This influence has been exercised in several ways. In the Global North, neoliberal ideas have underpinned the electoral success of politicians such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Following their successes, progressive opposition parties such as New Labour under Tony Blair shaped their policies in response to a new political, economic and social landscape that had been created. In the Global South, following neoliberal economic policies became a condition of receiving support from supranational institutions such as the World Bank. Finally, the emerging economies of the post Soviet bloc followed key elements of neoliberal ideas. Neoliberal is almost all pervasive. Harvey’s (2007) book A brief History of Neoliberalism has on its cover, alongside Reagan and Thatcher, pictures of the Chilean military dictator, Pinochet and the Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping. Testament to reach, influence and flexibility of this political and economic ideology.

• Publication Date: Nov 27, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 27, 2021
• Publisher: Policy Press
• Pages: 50-62
• Book Title: Social Work and Society: Political and Ideological Perspectives
• ISBN: 9781447344704
• Publisher URL: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/social-work-and-society
• Related Public URLs: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/subjects
• Additional Information: Access Information : This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy edited version of a chapter published in Social Work and Society Political and Ideological Perspectives. Details of the definitive published version and how to purchase it are available online at: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/social-work-and-society.