Abstract
From what has been described so far, it may be clear that one of the basic premises of the ideology of (economic) neoliberalism, and hence of the societies that are organized in accordance with its theories, is that every human being is on its own and should act accordingly.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
As explained in Sect. 2.2.2.2.1, this theory is known as trickle-down-economics”-theory.
- 2.
See United Nations Special Rapporteur professor Philip Alston’s comments on how many Americans, after decades of being brainwashed by neoliberal doctrine, blindly belief and share this neoliberal viewpoint:
I have been struck by the extent to which caricatured narratives about the purported innate differences between rich and poor have been sold to the electorate by some politicians and media, and have been allowed to define the debate. The rich are industrious, entrepreneurial, patriotic, and the drivers of economic success. The poor are wasters, losers, and scammers. As a result, money spent on welfare is money down the drain. To complete the picture we are also told that the poor who want to make it in America can easily do so: they really can achieve the American dream if only they work hard enough.
(See Alston (2017), n° 10.)
- 3.
On a more philosophical level, one has however to admit how well the attack on the welfare state model by economic neoliberalism has succeeded in accomplishing its general objective of completely turning around the historical hierarchy of values referred to in Sect. 2.2.2.1 above, and through this in shaping global societies in accordance with a world view where altruism is considered being “bad” and egoism is endorsed as the highest possible virtue (see in an extreme manner in Ayn Rand’s book “The virtue of selfishness” (See Rand (1992)).
- 4.
See in general World Health Organization (2014), p. 5.
- 5.
Compare Alston (2018).
- 6.
See Byttebier (2018).
- 7.
See Lipman:
Neoliberalism reframes all social relations, all forms of knowledge and culture in the terms of the market. All services established for the common good are potential targets of investment and profit-making. In the discourse of neoliberalism, the society becomes synonymous with the market, democracy is equated with consumer choice, and the common good is replaced by individual advantage.
(See Lipman (2006), p. 51.)
- 8.
See already above, the aspirations of corporatocracy (see Sect. 2.2.2.5).
- 9.
See also Brown (2003).
Ross and Gibson have defined the goals of neoliberalism as follows:
Neoliberalism is embraced by parties across the political spectrum, from right to left, in that the interests of wealthy investors and large corporations define social and economic policy. The free market, private enterprise, consumer choice, entrepreneurial initiative, deleterious effects of government regulation, and so on, are the tenets of a neoliberalism. Indeed, the corporate-controlled media spin would have the public believe that the economic consequences of neoliberal economic policy, which serves the interests of the wealthy elite, is good for everyone. In fact, neoliberal economic policies have created massive social and economic inequalities among individuals and nations.
(See Ross and Gibson (2006), pp. 1–14, especially p. 2.)
- 10.
On these disastrous consequences, see furthermore Chap. 4 of this book.
- 11.
See furthermore Byttebier (2018), p. 62 a.f.
- 12.
Needless to say that this policy implied an important stimulus for the so-called “credit economy” (on its own turn, one of the main factors attributing to the severe financial crisis of 2007–2008).
- 13.
It is hereby hardly surprising that (especially by neoliberal authors) the collapse of the communist economies has often been upheld as an argument that “there are no alternatives” for the free markets (= the so-called “TINA-argument”). (See for instance Rand (2008), p. 26).
- 14.
Neoliberal measures that undoubtedly have contributed to this extreme degree of globalization have been the creation of the European (Economic and Monetary) Union in 1992, the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and the replacement of the GATT by the World Trade Organization in 1995. (See Field (2018), p. 46).
- 15.
Field (2018), p. 44.
- 16.
Bush (2016).
- 17.
Bush (2016).
- 18.
Bush (2016). Sasha Bush here further refers to Trump’s plan for the first 100 days specifying “a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.”
- 19.
Bush (2016).
- 20.
Bush (2016).
- 21.
Bush (2016).
- 22.
An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018 (Public Law 115-97; 131 Stat.2054).
- 23.
- 24.
Anonymous (2017).
- 25.
- 26.
See DM/RC (2018) and McKenna (2018). For the text of this bill, after it having been approved by the American Senate on 14 March 2018, see S. 2155: Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2155/text/es (last consulted on March 5 2019). For the text as of 24 May 2018, after having passed Congress, see https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2155/text. (last consulted on March 5 2019).
- 27.
See DM/RC (2018) and McKenna (2018).
It may be expected that as a result of the Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections (see https://www.nbcnews.com/decision-2018; last consulted on March 5 2019), the plans of Trump to further “neoliberalize” the American economy will be slowed down.
- 28.
See Alston (2018).
- 29.
See, as regards the UK, Alston (2018).
Needless to say that it is for any individual author quite impossible to map the current socio-economic situation of every country in the world in order to further illustrate the abovementioned.
Probably only international institutions such as the OESO and the IMF could be capable of performing such task, the question being if they would ever show a sufficient willingness to do so, as also their own operation has during the past decades also been increasingly contaminated by the spirit of economic neoliberalism which seems to grip the entire world.
Nevertheless, the anecdotic proof speaks for itself, even by merely consulting press reports.
From the many possible examples, reference can be made to a remarkable observation that was already made in 2015 regarding the socio-economic situation in Israel (based on an interview with economics professor Bernard Avishai). It is hereby in particular mentioned that Israel is marked by an increasing socio-economic injustice, which already in a further past has led to civil protest by hundreds of thousands of people. The article furthermore mentions that, to an increasing extent, the Israeli economy is strongly dominated by a small number of large conglomerates holding monopoly positions which are artificially boosting prices of all kinds of products (resulting in prices that are up to 33% higher compared to other countries). It is, furthermore, reported that the economic added value of the past 6 years has mainly been translated into profits flowing to the capital providers of large corporations, causing serious difficulties for (public) sectors such as education and health care. The article concludes with the observation that the condition of Israel is a result of the socio-economic policy of successive governments, where the open question rises what the near future will offer to Israel it this trend will go any further. (See Descamps (2015), p. 4).
- 30.
Plato (1987), p. 306.
See also the rebuttal of neoliberal authors such as Yaron Brook and Don Watkins (see Brook and Watkins (2012), p. 77):
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates declares “the more men value moneymaking, the less they value virtue.” Rand’s view is exactly the opposite. The value of virtues is its role in promoting your own welfare – including your economic welfare. The more men value money making, the more they value virtue.
The purported “rebuttal” by Brook and Watkins is a textbook example of the complete turnaround of values (in comparison to, for instance, the value scale of Classical Antiquity, or the one of Jesus Christ) that characterizes (economic) neoliberal thinking.
Compare Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1980), p. 306:
Money is such a strange power. And it goes on creating more power (…). And they have turned the whole world into a market: they reduce everything to a commodity, they reduce everything to a certain market value. That too creates a little hatred, because If everything is reduced to money, if everything is reduced to the market and everything becomes a commodity, it creates an ugly world. Then there is no higher value. Then there is nothing more important than money. Then everything is reduced to money.
References
Alston (2017) Statement on visit to the USA, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22533&LangID=E (statement of December 5 2017; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Alston P (2018) Statement on visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?LangID=E&NewsID=23881 (statement of November 16 2018; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Anonymous (2017) Trump’s Tax Bill: another neoliberal policy. https://revisesociology.com/2017/12/27/trump-tax-bill-neoliberal-policy/ (article of December 27 2017; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Brook Y, Watkins D (2012) Free market revolution – how Ayn Rand’s ideas can end big government. Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Brown W (2003) Neoliberalism and the end of liberal democracy. Theory Event 7 (1). https://philpapers.org/rec/BRONAT-5 and http://lchc.ucsd.edu/cogn_150/Readings/brown.pdf. (last consulted on March 5 2019)
Bush S (2016) Trump and National Neoliberalism. And why the world is about to get much more dangerous. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/24/trump-and-national-neoliberalism (article of December 24 2016; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Byttebier K (2018) The unfree market and the law. On the immortality of making capitalism unbridled again. In: Byttebier K, van der Borght K (eds) Economic and financial law & policy – shifting insights & values, vol I. Springer International Publishing, Cham
Descamps F (2015) Israël hoopt op een messias. De Morgen, 18 March 2015, p 4
DM/RC (2018) US House votes to dismantle crisis-era banking rules. http://www.dw.com/en/us-house-votes-to-dismantle-crisis-era-banking-rules/a-43888065. (last consulted on March 5 2019)
Field J (2018) Is capitalism working? A primer for the 21st century. Thames & Hudson, London
Lipman P (2006) No child left behind. Globalization, privatization, and the politics of inequality. In: Ross E, Gibson R (eds) Neoliberalism and education reform. Hampton Press. Inc., Cresskill, pp 35–58
McKenna F (2018) Newly signed bank deregulation law sets stage for Fed to take further steps. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-set-to-approve-bank-deregulation-legislation-2018-05-21 (article of May 21 2018; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Plato (1987) The Republic (trans: Lee D). Penguin Books, London
Rajneesh BS (1980) I say unto you, vol 2. Rajneesh Foundation Ltd, Poona
Rand A (1992) The virtue of selfishness. New American Library (a division of Penguin Group), New York
Rand A (2008) Capitalism: the unknown ideal. New American Library (a division of Penguin Group), New York
Ross E, Gibson R (2006) What is neoliberalism. In: Ross E, Gibson R (eds) Neoliberalism and education reform. Hampton Press. Inc., Cresskill, pp 1–14
Rossi M (2018) Trump’s new neoliberalism. http://new-compass.net/articles/trumps-new-neoliberalism (article of January 7 2018; last consulted on March 5 2019)
Siddiqui S, Jacobs B, Gambino L (2017) Senate approves most drastic changes to US tax code in 30 years. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/19/donald-trump-tax-bill-plan-house-approves-senate (article of December 20 2017; last consulted on March 5 2019)
World Health Organization (2014) The case for investing in public health. The strengthening public health services and capacity A key pillar of the European regional health policy framework Health 2020. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/278073/Case-Investing-Public-Health.pdf (last consulted on March 5 2019)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Byttebier, K. (2019). Neoliberalism. In: The Tools of Law that Shape Capitalism. Economic and Financial Law & Policy – Shifting Insights & Values, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24182-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24182-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24181-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24182-7
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)