Making sense of (post)neoliberalism

Laruffa, Francesco (2023) Making sense of (post)neoliberalism. Politics & Society. ISSN 0032-3292

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Abstract

The many contradictory interpretations of neoliberalism raise doubts about the value of this concept. This article discusses the literature on neoliberalism for identifying a “minimum common core” that warrants preserving this concept. I argue that neoliberalism entails an ideology and a political practice that aim to subordinate the state and all social domains to the market—to its logic and to the economic powers within it—thereby undermining democracy. This conceptualization emerges as a “common lowest denominator” among many otherwise incompatible scholarly definitions of neoliberalism, reflects central neoliberal ideas (despite their own inconsistencies), and illuminates crucial features of contemporary neoliberal society. I discuss the implications of this interpretation for established democracies and for those countries that experienced democratization processes during the neoliberal era, for the debates on postneoliberalism, and for the political identity of the Left.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/PAS
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2023 09:00
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 20:45
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119833

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