2 - Youth workers and neoliberalism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 April 2023
Summary
The term âneoliberalismâ is much used, but not necessarily widely understood. In this chapter I give an account of its main aspects and relate its key features to some general issues affecting youth workers and the nature of what I call âemancipatory educationâ. I show how neoliberalism shapes our world, professionally and politically. This chapter provides a more political and economic account of neoliberalism while also considering the new forms of consciousness it has led to. (In the last two chapters of the book I put neoliberalism into a more cultural context.) A changed economy has changed the way people think and relate to each other. We must consider this if we are to assist young people. Neoliberalism creates a passive culture of selfhood within the illusion of immense democratic activity and this must be questioned. I consider some of the recent effects of neoliberalism in Britain and in particular the cuts to public spending, and I look at the role of the youth worker in this context.
Neoliberalism is a set of economic policies that have become widespread during the last 30 years or so, bringing misery to people and the environment as well as war and economic collapse, terrorism and a new form of gullible individualism. Consumerism has become so extensive that even electoral politics have become a matter of individual choice on the market. What is economic is deeply political â it is impossible to split the two. I maintain that neoliberalism is a purely political project to maximise profits, and it is not in the best interests of workers. It is a phase of capitalism in which speculative finance capital dominates the productive, real economy and finance houses to achieve, in a new way, dominance over national governments.
Creating the monster
âNeoliberalismâ means a ânewâ kind of liberalism. So what was the old kind? The liberal school of economics became famous in Europe when Adam Smith, a Scottish economist, published a book in 1776 called The wealth of nations (Smith, 1776). He and others advocated the abolition of government intervention in economic matters. No restrictions on manufacturing, no barriers to commerce, no tariffs, Smith said; free trade was the best way for a nationâs economy to develop. Such ideas were âliberalâ in the sense of not having any controls.
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- For Youth Workers and Youth WorkSpeaking out for a Better Future, pp. 47 - 84Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2012