The Death of Neoliberalism?

Join us for a lively talk and discussion led by Dr Sean Irving on the past, present, and future of neoliberalism!

Neoliberalism first emerged as an intellectual movement in interwar Europe, developed by theorists who rejected socialism, nationalism and laissez-faire liberalism. In the mid-1970s, the New Right in Britain and America used market liberalisation as a vehicle for reinforcing ‘traditional’ morality and social hierarchies. In this context, neoliberal economic policy became the hallmark of the Thatcher and Reagan governments. Over the 1990s, global institutions like the IMF imposed neoliberalism across the world, and left-liberal governments in the West, such as those of Clinton, Blair, and Schröder entrenched market logics at home.

Recent years, however, have witnessed a new challenge to neoliberal ideology from both left and right populism. Despite this, the marketisation of social life continues apace, and capital remains beyond democratic control. So, is neoliberalism dead?

Dr Sean Irving is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Essex, working on the Leverhulme Trust funded Competition and Competitiveness Project. His book, Hayek’s Market Republicanism: the Limits of Liberty was published by Routledge. His second monograph addressing these issues, Common Power: Republicanism and Radical Political Economy, is in preparation.

His current research examines how republican forms of thought informed the development of radical political economy in the 19th century. He draws on this work in rethinking models of ownership, with a view to extending personal freedom. Other interests include the links between neoliberalism and right-wing rhetoric on immigration and the role of civilisational thinking in Anglophone conservatism.

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