Neoliberalism, the rise and the opposition

Reem Fa
Reem Fa
Nov 7 · 3 min read
Iraqis mourn the rising death toll of protestors (Baghdad, Iraq).

Nations across the globe from Iraq and Lebanon to Chile and Ecuador are in a pattern of a rise against neoliberalism, a system that favours individual private property rights, a strong rule of law and defence, and free markets and trade. Neoliberalists believe in markets that are regulated at a minimum in order to not distort the free market economy.

The rise of neoliberalism started in the 1980s, heavily in the west, with Reagan in the U.S taking office and Thatcher in the UK serving as PM. Deregulation and Privatization policies were a large part of the neoliberalist agenda that was implemented during the decade.

in other parts of the world, the rise of neoliberalism can also be observed in countries like the USSR and China. the liberlization of their markets can be seen as a surrender of the new world order, Neolibralism.

For example, the restructuring Gorbachev has implemented, also known as the ‘Perestroika’, was a political reformist movement to transition the USSR to a new, more open economic system, which was opposed by the traditionalists in the country, yet celebrated in the west. Gorabchev loosened government control of agriculture and manufacturing businesses allowing them to decide on what to make and what to charge for them, this incentived businesses to jack-up prices to aim for profits, which soviets struggled to afford. He also introduced foreign investment, the popular Pizza Hut commercial in the USSR was a clear distinction of the old and the new Soviet Union.

Similarly, the Chinese economic reform, often called ‘’neoliberalism but with Chinese characteristics’’, has significantly risen the growth of the Chinese economy, putting them head to head with the U.S, however the benefits of growth quickly became clear that will only be reaped by urban residents and government party officials. These reforms only transformed to huge disparities in income among classes, social status and regions.

The rise of social inequality can also be found in the UK and the US, the standard living of the labour force has been declining since the 80s, and the upper class and the elites were evidently becoming more well-off. If the neoliberalist state project was to restore power to the elite, then the neoliberal state for the past 50 years has succeeded.

The pressure (and the desire) of many other nations’ elites to imitate the growth of the U.S economy by implementing ‘’trickle-down economics’’ has driven many countries to carry out the neoliberal project. The direct influence of American foreign policy on Latin America and the Middle East disrupted many attempts of the working and middle class to diminish parts of the economic and social inequality that was created by the ruling elite.

We now however see a global uprising triggered by increased fares and taxes to waken a deeper anger of the economic system that has ignored the masses. Would these mass protests change the global status quo is ambiguous, but we can see a rise of the likes of Sanders in America and Corbyn in the United Kingdom that are well-aware of the anger and are willing to somewhat give the power back to the majority of people.

Written by

Reem Fa

Bored student that writes about current world events for fun.

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