In the Biden Era, Neoliberalism Is Alive and Kicking
The past few years have seen widespread speculation about the death of neoliberalism and a restoration of the state to a larger role in society. But the evidence isn’t there. Instead, market-based approaches are redefining themselves for a new era.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his “Trucking Action Plan” with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the South Lawn of the White House on April 4, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Since the beginning of the pandemic, commenters across the political spectrum have suggested that neoliberalism is on its last legs. Yet it has proven to be a resilient political and economic ideology in past crises, capable of adjusting to continue the form of capitalist governance originally forged in the 1970s.
In this interview, originally recorded for the podcast of the University of Pennsylvania’s Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, Rafael Khachaturian sat down with Martijn Konings, associate professor of political economy at the University of Sydney, to discuss neoliberalism’s ongoing appeal for both elite and mass politics, the responses of the Democratic center and the Republican right to current circumstances, and whether this global, American-backed order is now under threat.
Rafael Khachaturian
Perhaps we can begin with some of your thoughts about the present conjuncture. The pandemic has created a ripple wave of crises across the entire world. It also led some to claim that this marks the end of the neoliberal framework, characterized by the return of the state and the revival of post-Keynesian approaches.
Martijn Konings
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