Part VI: Neoliberalism and Inequality (Neoliberalism and stratification in Canada—A race to the bottom?) Flashcards
What is classical liberalism?
Based on:
- Classical economics
- Free trade
- Laissez-faire government
- Balanced budgets
What is the quote by Losurdo?
“Liberalism expressed the self-consciousness of a class of owners of slaves or servants that was being formed as the capitalist system began to emerge and establish itself, thanks in part to those ruthless practices of expropriation and oppression implements in the metropolis, and especially the colonies.”
Who was John Maynard Keynes?
The man who created Keynesian economics after WW2 to 1970’s and the SER.
He said that:
-The market is imperfect and not self-sustaining.
-Equilibrium may include unemployment. negative growth.
-Consumer income stimulates demand which causes economic growth.
-When economic growth is lacking the government should stimulate demand.
What is John Maynard Keynes SER? and the characteristics of SER.
Standard employment relationship (SER) dominated:
- Employment with a single employer
- Standardized working time
- Permanent employment
What happened in 1984?
The reform, privatization, ‘deregulation’ of labour markets, austerity measures, today casualisation of employment, bank bailouts… etc.
NEOLIBERALISM
What is Neoliberalism?
A liberal intellectual/ideological project: Hayek.
A politcal project: Pinochet, Regan, Thatcher.
A way of governing, and institutional programme ("New public management"), of growing global reach.
A new class project, coming out of the end of a crisis of accumulation?Who was Friedrich Hayek and what did he believe?
What are the two phases of neoliberalism?
- Roll-back neoliberalism
2. Roll-out neoliberalism
What is Roll-back neoliberalism? (1980s to 1990s)
- Shift from the philosophical project of Hayek to the era of neoliberal politics of the 1980’s (Thatcher and Regan).
- Destruction and discreditation of Keynesian-welfarist and collective institutions.
- Shallow neoliberalization - destructive and reactionary.
- Widening of social, economic, and spatial inequalities.
What happened with neoliberalism in the 1980’s?
- Union power curbed
- Cut away worker protections
- Pruned back the welfare state
What is roll-out neoliberalism?
- Political and institutional response to the fallings of the Thatcher/Reagan project.
- Outcome was not the death of neoliberalism but its metamorphosis into more socially acceptable forms.(“Third-Way” of Clinton and Blair)
- Robust and pervasive Neoliberalization.
- Containment of those marginalized by the neoliberalization of the 1980’s.
What does neoliberalism do?
‘The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute, rather than to generate, wealth and income’ - David
- The weakening of labour
- capital’s revenge?
- Neoliberalism = capitalism with the gloves off
- Undirected but growing discontent
What does Kuznets curve represent?
How income inequality increases in developing economies but then reaches a turning point and the money begins to trickle down to the rest of us
When was the second largest surge of poverty in Canada?
Mid 90’s - mid 2000’s after a 20 year decline
What was the neoliberal impact on BC?
- when the neoliberal government introduced personal income tax cuts by an average of 25 % (Insurance/Tuition)
- Reduced the minimum wage for new workers from $8 to $6 per hour.
- Privatization of hospital cleaning services.
- Increased tuition fees for post secondary education
- Deregulating the labour market, introducing greater “flexibility”, and shifting the balance of power between employers and employees.
