NEO-LIBERALISM
=è
A POLITICAL ORIENTATION ORIGINATING IN THE 1960S; BLENDS LIBERAL
POLITICAL VIEWS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH.
[[NEOLIBERAL
POLICIES, VARIOUSLY LABELLED AS THATCHERISM, REAGANISM, NEOCONSERVATIVISM,
AND THE NEW RIGHT AGENDA, BEGAN TO BECOME VISIBLE BY THE MID-1970S AND
BECAME FORMAL GOVERNMENT POLICY IN MANY COUNTRIES BY THE END OF THAT DECADE.
THEY WERE THE POLICY SIDE OF THE “NEW REALITY;” THEY REPRESENTED THE POLITICAL
REQUIREMENTS OF CAPITAL INTERNATIONALIZED, HIGHLY CENTRALIZED, AND GLOBAL IN
PERSPECTIVE =====> IN ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFORM ALL FORMS OF STATE
INTERVENTION INTO MARKET FUNCTIONS, THESE POLICIES ARE INTENDED TO LEVEL
NATIONAL DISTINCTION FOR GLOBAL INVESTMENT =====> BECAUSE OF THEIR
ACCEPTANCE, THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL BARRIERS TO PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
AROUND THE WORLD {EX. FTA; NAFTA [NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT} WILL
HAVE BEEN MINIMIZED. WITH THEIR ADOPTION THEY IN EFFECT “HARMONIZE” THE
NATIONAL WITH THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.]]
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
THE TERM
NEOLIBERALISM IS USED TO DESCRIBE A POLITICAL-ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY [[[AGAIN,
THAT HAD MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT POLICIES BEGINNING IN THE 1960S
& 70S – AND INCREASINGLY PROMINENT SINCE 1980]]] – THAT
DE-EMPHASIZES OR REJECTS POSITIVE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE ECONOMY,
FOCUSING INSTEAD ON ACHIEVING PROGRESS AND EVEN SOCIAL JUSTICE BY ENCOURAGING
FREE-MARKET METHODS AND LESS RESTRICTED OPERATIONS OF BUSINESS AND
"DEVELOPMENT".
===> A
COMPREHENSIVE SET OF POLICIES, PRESENTLY BEING ADOPTED BY GOVERNMENTS AROUND
THE WORLD, THAT SEEKS TO CHANGE EVERY ASPECT OF STATE INTERVENTION IN
SOCIETY INTO A MARKET FUNCTION, WITH THE GOAL OF PRIVATIZING
ALL FORMS OF PROPERTY THAT EMBRACE COLLECTIVE OR CO-OPERATIVE
ELEMENTS
IT ALSO
REFERS TO A SET OF ECONOMIC POLICIES THAT HAVE BECOME WIDESPREAD DURING THE
LAST 25 YEARS OR SO. ALTHOUGH THE WORD IS RARELY HEARD IN THE UNITED STATES,
YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE EFFECTS OF NEO-LIBERALISM HERE AS THE RICH GROW RICHER
AND THE POOR GROW POORER....AROUND THE WORLD, NEO-LIBERALISM HAS BEEN
IMPOSED BY POWERFUL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
(IMF), THE WORLD BANK AND THE INTER- AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK.{EX:
“STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS”}
SOCIOLOGICAL
NOTE: NEOLIBERALISM IS A POLITICAL
AND ECONOMIC PHENOMENON THAT IS CLOSELY TIED TO “GLOBALIZATION”
THEREFORE:
ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICE AND STATE FINANCE ULTIMATELY HAVE TO BE ANALYSED IN THE
CONTEXT OF THE GROWING GLOBALIZED, NEO-LIBERAL POLITICAL ECONOMY.
IN A NEOLIBERAL SOCIETY, THE POLICIES OF SYSTEMIC
PRIVATIZATION ARE BECOMING COMMONPLACE {EX. “BILL 107 – HUMAN RIGHTS} =èTHE LEAST VISIBLE AND YET WIDELY EMPLOYED
PROCESS OF PRIVATIZATION IS THE POLICY OF INCREMENTAL DEGRADATION OF
BENEFITS AND SERVICES. PPUBLIC SERVICES AARE INCREASINGLY RESTICTED BY
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, CANCELLATION, DISENTITLEMENT, CONTRACTING OUT,
REDEFINITION TRANSFERRED RESPONSIBILITY, OR DECLINING QUALITY =è UNDECLARED POLICIES OF EROSION – THE
ELIMINATION OF BENEFITS AND SERVICES FORMERLY ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL
CITIZENSHIP.
EX: BILL 107 – ONTARIO’S NEW
HUMAN RIGHTS “DIRECT ACCESS” LEGISLATION