T H E D E A T H O F N E O L I B E R A L I S M :
IS POPULISM THE NEW LIBERALISM ?
TAMARA JACOBS
W e are still witnessing the early days of the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis and its repercussions have only begun to significantly unfold , with 2016 ’ s two key votes : Brexit and Trump . Both have unveiled the deep-rooted divisions within the West , which were exacerbated by the 08 crash , and were ignored by the seemingly wider liberal demographic . Both represent a mark left on the West by the crisis and a crisis for the neoliberal project of the past three decades , which has evidently failed and is on its way to its death .
Neoliberal economics , which have prevailed since the 1980s , takes a Laissezfaire approach to economic development with a reduced role of government , giving more power to the private sector . Arguably , this model brought about widespread prosperity , particularly in Western Europe and the USA . However , as indicated by 2016 ’ s rise of populism , many sectors in those societies were , particularly the white working class , as they refer , ‘ left behind ’, and did not reap the benefits of the modern ‘ rugged individualism ’. But during the financial meltdown of 2008 , what was insignificant inequality , became a huge wave of dissatisfaction and disillusionment from the government and financial institutions . In Europe , the hard-hitting recession transformed meagre campaigns against immigration and globalisation into powerful movements from all sides of the political
20 spectrum . We saw the upswing in popularity of the Danish People ’ s Party , the Spanish Podemos , and even the Front National in France , which was given a complete makeover by its new leader Marine Le Pen . In the UK , slowly but surely , we also saw the rise of UKIP . These political movements were shaped by the forces of populism , which as seen in Europe , comes from all ends of the political spectrum ; it is a political logic rather than an ideology . This logic fundamentally undermines the existing political system and demands a change from it , assuming this request is indefinitely rejected by the system , causing the system to succumb to these demands , essentially evolving into what the populists wanted .
With the European Union operating a neoliberal agenda , with one central bank controlling the monetary policy of its 19 member states , all at different levels of economic development , it can be argued that perhaps this was doomed to fail . Anyone at the ECB will know the underlying truth that an economy like that of Greece cannot be put on par and share an identical monetary policy with a country like Germany . This arrangement may have been doomed to fail from the start , simply because it operates against basic logic . This ongoing problem became majorly apparent in 2008 , when the ECB would need to implement austerity measures in all of its member states , but again , such different economies could not be