David Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism
As the writing of my dissertation went on and on (and on and
on), my focus began to shift from the English Language Arts curriculum per se
to the construction of class identity through the politicization of text. One
of the most important sources for my specific focus on Alberta political
economy was A Brief History of Neoliberalism. If you want to understand concepts
like the shrinking of the middle class, the growing gap between rich and poor,
and the destruction of the so-called Nanny State, you need this book. It will
help you recognize both the specific political entity that is neoliberalism and
the historical and philosophical contexts that brought it into being — and that
allow it to remain strong. The retrenchment of economic survival of the fittest following the systemic weakening of the welfare state is not an accident, he explains: it is a deliberate and calculated effort to protect the interests of the power elite around the world.
David Harvey is really, really smart. He doesn't just make a
claim; he makes an argument, and he knows what he's talking about. He's
critical. His analysis of the political economy of developed and some
developing countries is acute (look Harvey up on Youtube if you want to
see/hear him in action). This book, as well of some of his others, gave me both
a model to describe what I perceived in my own location and had read about in
other texts and the analytical tools for situating and connecting various forms
of neoliberal thought. Given my theoretical orientation, the careful parsing of
classical liberal, contemporary liberal, and neoliberal (and of conservative
and neoconservative) is crucial. Harvey's text was, and remains, an important basis
for explaining the significance of my dissertation topic.
But there's another layer to Harvey's book. Following the familiar
paraphrasing of Marx, Harvey does not merely explain the world; he seeks to
change it. He is not arguing for the sake of argument; he is arguing to spark,
to rally, to mobilize. We are best prepared to struggle for change when we can
recognize that this world is structured to benefit one group at the expense of
another and that another world is possible. This perspective is perhaps the
greater lesson of this book, and Harvey provides strong, global systemic analysis
to support your local, specific resistance.
OK, you probably won't read this book. It's dense and
difficult, and many political philosophers have moved beyond class analysis in
the aftermath of George W. Bush and the War on Terror. But I promise you, this
text is worth the effort you'll put into it. And just having it on your
bookshelf may make you feel smarter and stronger — and may remind you that fair
change is possible.
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