/326/ What Did Capitalism Do Next?
Added 2023-03-07 14:40:52 +0000 UTCOn what comes after neo-liberalism.
[Patreon Exclusive]
After 40 years of neo-liberalism, governments are inching their way to some new settlement, under the pressure of repeated crises, as well as populist upsurges. In this episode we try to take a political, not academic, approach to the question. This is not about categorising and labelling, but about understanding what the stakes are in saying a new arrangement is emerging, and grasping how it informs political practice.
What are the main "post-neoliberal" arrangements being pushed by different sides of the spectrum? What do they say about the interests of their constituencies? If successful, what sort of political playing field will they present the masses? Will it be a world of greater or fewer opportunities for emancipatory politics?
Readings:
- TCS Special Issue: ‘Post-Neoliberalism?’, Various, Theory Culture & Society
- End of the Neoliberal Era?, David Kotz, NLR
- The new rules for business in a post-neoliberal world, Rana Forfoohar, FT
- What's beyond "beyond neoliberalism"?, Amy Kapczynski, LPE Project
- Reading the post-neoliberal right, Amy Kapczynski, LPE Project
Comments
This was an unusually frustrating episode (enough to provoke an unusual comment from me). Contrary to George and Phil's scepticism the question of whether we are transcending neoliberalism seems essential, especially for this podcast. But the answer will depend entirely on what is meant by "neoliberalism". Define your terms, then you can have a coherent discussion. See also my comment on #327 which extends this point. For the record I am more with George: what we're seeing at the moment is movement within a moribund neoliberalism rather than a genuinely new historical phase of capitalism.
Lee Jones
2023-04-18 16:29:49 +0000 UTCI don't know about the US case, but equating Catholic belief and pro-life positions seems a little stereotypical. The examples of Italy and Ireland demonstrate that a vast majority of formally Catholic population does not necessarily equate with anti-abortion positions. Ireland is an awfully recent case but Italy legalized abortions in the 70s with an historic popular referendum, when the country was much more Catholic than today. One can discuss about the fact that that right has been seriously hampered by a well attested Catholic Church strategy of making the government allow doctors to refuse to perform the procedure with the reason of a religious belief, and the church pushing Catholic gynecologists to fill those positions so that in certain not well served places it is practically impossible to have an abortion. But polls still find most Italians of both genders overwhelmingly in favour of free abortions (two thirds of the population in favor of the current law, plus another 20+% who wants to extend the right further), making outright and explicit opposition to it political suicide.
Andrea
2023-03-14 00:24:55 +0000 UTC
