On 23 September 2022, the then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwateng, presented in the House of Commons the so-called mini-budget which was in many ways the most unreformed expression of the ideology we call neoliberalism, exposing a system disguised as an invisible set of natural laws as an open and contemptuous class war.
KwaTeng’s plan included £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts, slashing rates for high earners and the wealthiest corporations. The most radical free market advocates openly licked their lips and glee. But almost immediately the economy collapsed and Liz Truss became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history.
This article was first Revival and the Ecologist magazine.
A wonderful booklet by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison Invisible Doctrine It tells the story of how this destructive ideology has come to dominate our economy, society, politics and even our inner lives.
Comprehensive
Neoliberalism teaches us to see all human beings as essentially competitive individuals driven by self-interest. This idea has taken hold in nearly every area of our lives, from education to employment, to the point that even obvious institutional and societal failings are now perceived as individual failures.
The subtitle of this book is The secret history of neoliberalism – implies an orderly chronological structure following the intellectual roots of the ideology as it was formed in the postwar period, its initial forced introduction into the economy through the 1970s, its progression through institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, and its emergence in contemporary life.
The story contains all these elements, but in a somewhat scattered approach, from the epidemic of loneliness to the billionaire backers who espouse neoliberal ideas.
These kinds of sudden handbrake turns can happen within the confines of a single chapter, even though each chapter is only a few concise pages long.
One chapter on shady lobbyists segues into a discussion of the policy programs of U.S. presidents; the next traces the origins of the Institute of Economic Affairs. At times, it reads like listening to an album on shuffle.
And yet the breadth and scope of this book is impressive — especially since, even though it’s a hardcover, it can slip into an ordinary trouser pocket — it’s such a comprehensive, accessible introduction to the ideology that has taken over everything, and to summarise it so succinctly is no easy feat.
Contradiction
The book finds a clearer structure in its final chapter, concluding with the customary gesture towards a way out of this mess. For Monbiot and Hutchison, economic theory, which has taken on the hegemonic nature of a totalizing ideology, must not simply be replaced by an alternative economic theory, but primarily by a new narrative. “Only narratives can replace narratives,” they say.
No doubt they are right to focus on the hegemonic power of neoliberalism and its ability to shape the very stories we tell ourselves about our lives, and to conclude that it cannot be erased by simple reason or the ordinary forces of reaction.
Fortunately, they spell out a vision for a new politics, economy and society based on “private sufficiency and public luxury” and a return to the commons. But the roots of neoliberalism in contemporary life are so deep that optimism is hard to summon or sustain.
Neoliberalism has weathered many crises before, only to become more entrenched, enriching the rich even more and narrowing the path to alternatives even further. The 2008 financial crisis. COVID-19.
The collapse of markets due to the mini-budget of 2022. All of this was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin of a broken system, its flaws and contradictions finally exposed, and yet the system continues to march forward.
This author
Russell Warfield is head of communications at climate charity Possible. Resurgence & The Ecologist Magazinewhere This article was first. The invisible doctrine: the secret history of neoliberalism This book by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison is published by Allen Lane. ISBN: 9780241635902.
