The triumph of neoliberalism and the world dominance of capitalism

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Volume 33, Issue 2

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The triumph of neoliberalism and the world dominance of capitalism

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Author(s): Peter Senker

Publication date (Print): 1 June 2015

Journal: Prometheus

Publisher: Pluto Journals

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Abstract

Neoclassical economics dominates modern economics and provides an important theoretical basis for neoliberalism. Among its inadequacies are failure to take sufficient account either of technological change or of marketing activities, both of which are central features of modern capitalism. Neoliberals believe that the state should be confined to safeguarding individual and commercial liberty and strong property rights. But in practice, corporations' dependence on states has been pervasive for at least 100 years. Corporations aim to secure higher profits. They lobby international organizations, as well as states, both to create conditions more favourable to their own individual interests, and also to increase the proportion of economies in which private corporations are allowed to operate. This may apply, for example, to privatization of health and education services which is not always in the public interest. This paper outlines several examples of interactions among corporations, technological change, marketing, state support and international organizations. Examples include huge state support for road construction, which facilitated the domination of cars over land transport; the role of marketing and technological change in the food and agricultural industries; and state support for scientific and technological change in semiconductors and the Internet, and for the development of biotechnology. In conclusion, the paper suggests an alternative approach to studying the dynamics of the modern world economy, viewing it as complex networks of interlocking systems. This might produce more useful analyses than those based on obsolete theories.

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Author and article information

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Peter Senker

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50022063

Journal ID (jcode): prometheus

Title: Prometheus

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 0810-9028

ISSN: 1470-1030

Publication date (Print): 1 June 2015

Volume: 33

Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.1080/prometheus.33.issue-2 )

Pages: 97-111

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University of East London, London, UK

Article

Publisher ID: 08109028.2015.1070482

DOI: 10.1080/08109028.2015.1070482

SO-VID: 42ca883b-2e9f-4ca8-adfc-1323bc55da98

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Computer science,Arts,Social & Behavioral Sciences,Law,History,Economics

References

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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Branford, S. (2011) Food Sovereignty, Reclaiming the Global Food System, War on Want, London.

[2] Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell, Oxford.

[3] Chadderton, C. (2013) ‘Secondary schools under surveillance: young people “as risk” in the UK. An exploration of the neo-liberal shift from compassion to repression’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.139–53.

[4] Cudworth, E. (2013) ‘Climate change, industrial animal agriculture and complex inequalities: developments in the politics of food insecurity’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.47–60.

[5] Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (2013) ‘Conclusions’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.167–80.

[6] Davis, M. (2007) Planet of Slums, Verso, London.

[7] De Miranda, A. (2009) ‘Technological determinism and ideology: questioning the “information society” and the “digital divide”‘ in Burnett, J., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) The Myths of Technology: Innovation and Inequality, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.23–37.

[8] Dennis, K. and Urry, J. (2009) After the Car, Polity Press, Cambridge.

[9] European Council (1994) Europe and the Global Information Society, European Council, Brussels.

[10] Feldman, D. (2012) Water, Polity Press, Cambridge.

[11] Foresight (2011) The Future of Food and Farming, 2011, Final Project Report, Government Office for Science, London.

[12] Freeman, C. (2000) ‘Social inequality technology and economic growth’ in Wyatt, S., Henwood, F., Miller, N. and Senker, P. (eds) Technology and In/equality: Questioning the Information Society, Routledge, London, pp.149–71.

[13] George, S. (1976) How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

[14] Global Health Watch (2005) An Alternative World Health Report, 2005–2006, Zed Books, London.

[15] Grescoe, T. (2012) Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile, Henry Holt, New York, NY.

[16] Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

[17] Hayek, F. (1944) The Road to Serfdom, Routledge, London.

[18] Keynes, J. (1954) The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, Macmillan, London.

[19] Klaasen, C. (ed.) (2008) Casarett and Doull's Toxicology, McGraw Hill Medical, New York, NY.

[20] Krugman, P. (2009) The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming America from the Right, Penguin Books, London.

[21] Lawrence, F. (2008) Eat Your Heart Out: Why the Food Business is Bad for the Planet and Your Health, Penguin Books, London.

[22] Lines, T. (2008) Making Poverty: A History, Zed Books, London.

[23] Malatesta, A. (2013) ‘Elearning or e(l)earning: contemporary developments in the commodification and consumption of education’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.91–104.

[24] Mazzucato, M. (2011) The Entrepreneurial State, Demos, London.

[25] Mirowski, P. (2013) Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste: How Neoliberalism Survived the Financial Meltdown, Verso, London.

[26] Morozov, E. (2011) The Net Delusion: How Not to Liberate the World, Allen Lane, London.

[27] Mukasa, M. (2013) ‘The cultural implications of the consumption of ICTs for development’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.63–76.

[28] Newlands, M. (2013) ‘Reclaiming the media: technology, tactics and subversion’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.155–66.

[29] Notes from Nowhere (2003) We are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anticapitalism, Verso, London.

[30] Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (2005) Fighting Diseases of Developing Countries (Postnote No. 241), London.

[31] Patel, R. (2007) Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World's Food System, Portobello, London.

[32] Piketty, T. (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA.

[33] Routh, G. (1980) Occupation and Pay in Great Britain, 1906–79, Macmillan, London.

[34] Routh, G. (1989) The Origin of Economic Ideas, Macmillan, London.

[35] Sachs, J. (2005) The End of Poverty: How We Can Make it Happen in our Lifetime, Penguin, London.

[36] Safdie, M. (1997) The City After the Automobile: An Architect's Vision, Basic Books, New York.

[37] Schlosser, E. (2002) Fast Food Nation: What the American Meal is Doing to the World, Penguin, London.

[38] Schumpeter, J. (1954) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 4th edn, Unwin, London.

[39] Senker, P. (2013a) ‘Arable agriculture, food, technology choice and inequality’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.105–19.

[40] Senker, P. (2013b) ‘Healthcare systems, technology and inequality’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, pp.77–90.

[41] Senker, P. and Chataway, J. (2009) ‘The myths of agricultural technology’ in Burnett, J., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) The Myths of Technology: Innovation and Inequality, Peter Lang, New York, pp.171–84.

[42] Sharpe, R. (2012) The Two Edged Sword: Social Media and Inequalities, University of East London, London (mimeo).

[43] Sharpe, R. (2013) ‘The ICT value chain, perpetuating inequalities’ in Cudworth, E., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) Technology, Society and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures, Peter Lang, New York, pp.33–45.

[44] Smith, A. (1910) The Wealth of Nations, Everyman, London.

[45] Stiglitz, J. (2012) The Price of Inequality, Allen Lane, London.

[46] Thompson, J., Millstone, E., Scoones, I., Ely, A., Marshall, F., Shah, E. and Stagl, S. (2007) Agri-Food Dynamics: Pathways to Sustainability in an Era of Uncertainty, Working Paper 4, STEPS, University of Sussex, Brighton.

[47] Thorsen, D. (2010) ‘The neoliberal challenge: what is neoliberalism?‘, Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 2, 2, pp.188–214.

[48] Waitzkin, H., Jasso-Aguilar, R. and Iriart, C. (2007) ‘Privatization of health services in less developed countries: an empirical response to the proposals of the World Bank and the Wharton School’, International Journal of Health Services, 37, 2, pp.205–27.

[49] Walker, K. (2009) ‘Reality check: interactivity, reality television and empowerment’ in Burnett, J., Senker, P. and Walker, K. (eds) The Myths of Technology: Innovation and Inequality, Peter Lang, New York, NY, pp.97–112.

[50] Wu, T. (2010) The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, Atlantic Books, London.