The Governmental Face of Neoliberalism: Theoretical Challenges

Political economists tend to see the global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 as both the moment of the defeat of neoliberalism, because the crisis provided proof of the failure of neoliberal economic policy, and as the great triumph of neoliberalism, because economic policy did not change substantially after the crisis. This article argues that although neoliberalism has survived impressively following the economic crisis of 2008, the important expression of this survival is not the preservation of economic policy, which has undergone significant changes, but rather the preservation and strengthening of the neoliberal structure of government in capitalist democracies, which politically empowers technocratic institutions while limiting the influence of collective interests. The article further argues that any critique of neoliberalism must consider seriously the governmental aspect of neoliberalism: Replacing it is a more complex challenge than the development of alternatives to neoliberal policies.