Surviving with Dignity in a Global Economy: The Battle for Public Goods

This chapter proposes to approach neoliberalism, which is the current underpinning of the global economy, as an issue of justice. It considers neoliberalism just as an economic policy but as an economic system, specifically as a stage of capitalism that is characterized by greater control by financial institutions and large investors over the management of enterprises around the globe, by reduced regulation of the labor market, and by a commodification of goods and services that had recently been matters of public provision. Almost all aspects or neoliberalism would surfer a blow ir there were a successful offensive on behalf of public goods. To see this, consider briefly the origin and nature of neoliberalism. As an economic system, it grew out of the decline in rates of return to capitalist enterprise that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.