Genealogies of Neoliberalism

“Neoliberalism” is a term that is often invoked, but too often insufficiently historicized or interrogated. Neoliberalism’s advocates naturalize the movement as non-ideological and inevitable while occluding the constructed nature of the movement. Its opponents too often naturalize neoliberalism as well by using the term as a catch-all that carries little explanatory power.  This issue seeks to explore the origins of neoliberal thought and praxis as well as possible avenues for new or continuing resistance.  To achieve this, this issue explores the well-accepted analysis of neoliberalism as a conservative movement and upper-class strategy to redistribute wealth upwards and restore class power.  However, this issue also interrogates the parallel contributions to neoliberal hegemony that stem from left/liberal thought.  As many authors in the issue point out, neoliberalism’s genealogy in part stems from such diverse sources as liberal urban planning, socialist economics, and even the cultural trajectories of the rise of Latino theatre.  While such analysis of the various origins of neoliberalism is important in its own right, this issue hopes to move beyond critique to engage the possibility of resistance to what can often be seen as the current indomitable global trajectory despite (or as a result of) its constant state of crisis.