The era of neoliberalism, which was inaugurated with the Volcker shock of 1979[1], should have concluded with the financial crisis of 2007. Not only did the crisis begin in the United States, the country that was the foremost advocate of neoliberalism and was provoked by the actions of hedge funds, stock brokers, and investment banks, the privileged subjects of neoliberalism, but the actions taken to save the global economy from a total collapse, massive deficit spending and bailouts, were completely antithetical to the supposed tenants of neoliberalism.[2] The edifice of neoliberalism was only preserved then by being temporary disregarded. During the initial shock of the crisis it appeared impossible that neoliberalism could continue as the guiding paradigm for global economic policy. Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, one of the foremost advocates of neoliberalism prior to the crisis, was perhaps the most forthright in expressing these sentiments, declaring that, “Another ideological god has failed. The assumptions that ruled policy and politics over three decades suddenly look as outdated as revolutionary socialism.”[3] Yet rather than a turning away from neoliberalism, we have instead witnessed its intensification, with massive cuts in government expenditures, and talk of a decade of austerity.[4] In a sense Martin Wolf is correct on both counts, neoliberalism is an outdated ideology, whose connotative dissonance was clearly exposed for all to see in the most recent crisis, yet there are no creditable alternatives which could replace it[5], socialism at least in the form that it existed in the 20th century, is a discredited and spent force. What should have been an ideal situation for the Left, with the hypocrisy of neoliberalism clearly exposed for all to see has instead demonstrated its weakness, due to its inability to press for the dismantling of neoliberalism.[6] In this paper I will grapple with why neoliberalism remains the dominant ideological framework, even though it has been widely discredited. The reason for this paradox is that while the cognitive dissonance of neoliberalism has been clearly revealed, the objective conditions which it spawned remain in place and have not been effectively challenged. Comprehending how a totalizing ideology like neoliberalism is constructed and how it operates to transform reality is crucial if we wish to overturn it. While this paper offers a theoretical analysis and a critique of neoliberal ideology, it also strives to demonstrate the impact of neoliberalism upon real social processes. This is done through an examination of how neoliberalism was a reaction to the new social conditions which prevailed after the 1960s and through an overview of contemporary conditions, revealing the important role that social movements have played in challenging and curtailing the effectiveness of neoliberalism. My argument will draw upon the Frankfurt School’s critique of ideology, specifically the work of Adorno and Marcuse, and posit neoliberalism as an ideology of political economy, that provided a construct which allowed the world to be understood and provided a basis for action within it. I will begin my analysis by defining what I consider to be an ideology, arguing that ideologies are compelling interpretations of actual lived existence and therefore expecting an ideology to be a coherent and consistent framework for understanding the world or a manifestation of false consciousness created solely to delude people are both incorrect interpretations. I shall then root neoliberalism within the social conditions in which it emerged and its existence as an objective reality, demonstrating that it was a particularly brilliant response to the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s as it succeeded in encapsulating many of the demands of social movements of that era within its own framework, illustrating anew the relevance of the pessimistic assessment by the Frankfurt School of the ability of capitalism to absorb and subvert potential challenges. In the heyday of neoliberalism after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s it was no longer even considered to be an ideology, but was simply self-enacted without any consideration of its elements, becoming, in effect, common sense. Neoliberalism became the creator of its own objective reality, setting the language and parameters which defined existence. I will conclude with the gradual weakening of neoliberalism as a social force, which began at the end of the 1990s with the landmark Seattle protest and the cycle of anti-globalization struggles which it inaugurated. Although these protests did not succeed in overturning neoliberalism, they were important because they unmasked neoliberalism as just another ideology, allowing for a substantive critique to be launched. Yet critique on its own not enough, social forces opposed to the dominance of neoliberalism must in their activities create the conditions which give rise to alternative formulations of reality. This has not yet occurred in a systemic and sustained manner, although perhaps the early stages of this process may now be emerging, which the rise of the occupy movements around the world. Concealing contradictions: The ideological framing of society The term ideology has been interpreted in such a manifold and contradictory number of ways that it becomes necessary when employing it as a tool of analysis to define how one conceives of it in order to avoid confusion.[7] Ideologies are both a response to social process and a social process in and of themselves. While ideologies serve the ruling class within a society, to be successful they must present themselves as equally benefiting all aspects of society, a characteristic of ideologies which Marx noted. “For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it is compelled, merely in order to carry through its aim, to present its interest as the common interest of all members of society, that is, expressed in ideal form: it has to give ideas the form of universality, and present them as the only rational, universally valid ones.”[8] This requirement means that ideologies are not simply a tool wielded by the ruling classes to mislead the masses. Ideologies are not a purely fictional creation. Instead they reflect society back onto itself, but in a manner that privileges a certain reading of reality, elevating certain elements of human existence, while ignoring and repressing others. Read more... ow.ly/miVRW
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 18:01:28 +0000
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