Rethinking Neoliberalism: Resisting the Disciplinary Regime

Neoliberalism remains a flashpoint for political contestation around the world. For decades now, neoliberalism has been in the process of becoming a globally ascendant default logic that prioritizes using economic rationality for all major decisions, in all sectors of society, at the collective level of state policymaking as well as the personal level of individual choice-making. Donald Trump’s recent presidential victory has been interpreted both as a repudiation and as a validation of neoliberalism’s hegemony.

Rethinking Neoliberalism brings together theorists, social scientists, and public policy scholars to address neoliberalism as a governing ethic for our times. The chapters interrogate various dimensions of debates about neoliberalism while offering engaging empirical examples of neoliberalism’s effects on social and urban policy in the USA, Europe, Russia, and elsewhere. Themes discussed include:

Relationship between neoliberalism, the state, and civil society Neoliberalism and social policy to discipline citizens
Urban policy and how neoliberalism reshapes urban governance
What it will take politically to get beyond neoliberalism.

Written in a clear and accessible style, Rethinking Neoliberalism is a sophisticated synthesis of theory and practice, making it a compelling read for students of Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, Geography, Urban Planning, Social Work and related fields, at both the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.