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Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction

Author

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  • David Harvey

    (Graduate Center of the City University of New York)

Abstract

Neoliberalism has become a hegemonic discourse with pervasive effects on ways of thought and political-economic practices to the point where it is now part of the commonsense way we interpret, live in, and understand the world. How did neoliberalism achieve such an exalted status, and what does it stand for? In this article, the author contends that neoliberalism is above all a project to restore class dominance to sectors that saw their fortunes threatened by the ascent of social democratic endeavors in the aftermath of the Second World War. Although neoliberalism has had limited effectiveness as an engine for economic growth, it has succeeded in channeling wealth from subordinate classes to dominant ones and from poorer to richer countries. This process has entailed the dismantling of institutions and narratives that promoted more egalitarian distributive measures in the preceding era.

Suggested Citation

  • David Harvey, 2007. "Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 610(1), pages 21-44, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:610:y:2007:i:1:p:21-44
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716206296780
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    5. Kao-Lee Liaw & Lei Xu, 2013. "Changes in Wage Distributions of Wage Earners in Canada: 2000-2005," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 451, McMaster University.
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    14. Prathiwi Widyatmi Putri, 2024. "The political: A view from Jakarta’s kampungs," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(3), pages 979-987, May.
    15. Marian Negoita, 2014. "Globalization, state, and innovation: An appraisal of networked industrial policy," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(3), pages 371-393, September.
    16. Andrews, Nathan, 2018. "Land versus livelihoods: Community perspectives on dispossession and marginalization in Ghana's mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 240-249.
    17. Paul K. Gellert, 2007. "From Managed to Free(r) Markets: Transnational and Regional Governance of Asian Timber," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 610(1), pages 246-259, March.
    18. Kim Knipprath, 2024. "Inclusive Neoliberalism in Wilhelmsburg: The Role of the State and the Middle‐Class in Hamburg's Majority–Minority District," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    19. Nick Bernards, 2019. "Tracing mutations of neoliberal development governance: ‘Fintech’, failure and the politics of marketization," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(7), pages 1442-1459, October.
    20. Braden Leap & Kimberly Kelly & Marybeth C. Stalp, 2022. "Choreographing social reproduction: Making personal protective equipment and gender during a neoliberal pandemic," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 758-777, May.
    21. Fulong Wu, 2018. "Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(7), pages 1383-1399, May.
    22. Rozhkov, Anton, 2024. "Applying graph theory to find key leverage points in the transition toward urban renewable energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).

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