The Contemporary Neoliberal Globalization

Introduction

The conjunction of late capitalism and the spread of new technologies have fostered the contemporary neoliberal globalisation, which is often perceived as a new period in world history, having – according to neoliberal proponents – brought about a very different international order. The essay will first explain the neoliberal narrative, presenting the reasons alluding to the perception that neoliberal globalisation is a new era, with the arguments that the world has been significantly reshaped, by being far more interconnected, ‘flattened’ and ‘decentred’ than ever before. The essay will then discuss globalisation and interconnection in the past, showing rather a continuation than a sharp contrast between past and modern times.

In this period, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan implemented a full range of policies, intended to curb the power of labour, to deregulate markets and to liberate the powers of finance . This new model was in total break with previous practices – usually dubbed ‘Keynesian’ – in which the state had a preponderant role in controlling markets to ensure full employment, economic growth and the welfare of its citizens . Neoliberalism gradually penetrated ‘common-sense’ understandings, and was increasingly being seen as a necessary, and even ‘natural’, evolution of modern societies – Margaret Thatcher bluntly stated that there was ‘no alternative’ to it . Neoliberalism is thus also an ‘end of history’ doctrine, branded as the culminating point of capitalism, after having defeated all collectivist mirages – the communist regime and the social-democratic welfare state . Even critics of neoliberalism adopt a Manichean language, in which neoliberalism is the worst and final avatar of capitalism. Sherry B. Ortner observes a shift in terminology around the year 2000 from ‘late capitalism’ to ‘neoliberalism’ and attributes it to a change in the story

Liberals argue that this age, through free trade and new technologies, has brought a truly interconnected and decentred world, in opposition to previous ages in which the world is presented as far less interconnected and much more uneven. It must be noted, as pointed by A. Hopkins , that modern globalisation is too contemporary for historians to properly assess its impact on human history , meaning that its proximity might overstate its significance. Without wishing to belittle the tremendous impact of new technologies and neoliberal globalisation, there are indeed some nuances to be