A Brief History Of Neoliberalism

In Chapter 6, Harvey analyzes the effects of neoliberal policy on society, the environment, and human rights. He begins with an observation that the two largest economies since the 2001 economic recession, the United States and China, have engaged in Keynesian spending programs in the military and infrastructure, respectively. This points to a tension between sustaining capitalism, on the one hand, and the goals of the ruling class to maintain its power, on the other. He argues that historically the ruling class will pursue its self-interests even if it crashes the economy.

In the section “Neoliberal Achievements,” Harvey analyzes the extent to which neoliberalism has been successful at “stimulating capital accumulation” or generating wealth (154). He uses data to state that economic growth globally under neoliberal policies has been limited and that well-being has declined. Inflation has, however, been reduced. Harvey argues that the reason neoliberalism has remained so popular is because its uneven geographic development allows for pockets of wealth to be created and because it has strengthened or formed upper-class power. The persistence of poverty and inequality is explained as a failure of people to be sufficiently hard-working.