Threats of Neoliberalism to Western Democracies and the Efficacy of Neoliberal Critiques

Authors

Anis Zaman, Portland State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Abstract A neoliberal market-based governance system has engulfed Western democratic societies. Since it surfaced in the 1980s, neoliberalism remained the dominant governing system. The pervasive neoliberal governance logic has become deeply entrenched in our society in ways that make it less democratic. More so, market-based neoliberal dominant economic and political logic has caused a problematic drift in democratic political discourse by turning progressive political forces less progressive. While there is a superficial agreement between neoliberalism and democratic values at a deeper level, the two are in conflict. In contemporary governance practices, we can see the neoliberal takeover in most sectors of the American public and private spheres. The neoliberal takeover of Western democracy adversely impacts our society by weakening accountability and representation, promoting corporate monopoly, constricting individual freedom, and shrinking the space for democratic participation. In this article, I argue that neoliberalism is taking over Western democracy in a way that drifts democratic political discourse, contributes to the erosion of democratic values, and makes society and the market more fragile economically and politically. I also argue that though apparently, the effectiveness of neoliberal critiques is unclear, they effectively contribute to challenging neoliberalism.

Keywords: neoliberalism, western democracies, neoliberal critiques, neoliberal takeover, democratic political discourse.

Publication Date

6-12-2024

DOI

10.15760/hgjpa.2024.8.1.9

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42037

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Zaman, Anis (2024) "Threats of Neoliberalism to Western Democracies and the Efficacy of Neoliberal Critiques," Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs: Vol. 8: Iss. 1, Article 9.
https://doi.org/10.15760/hgjpa.2024.8.1.9