The Rise of Neoliberism - Essay Example

The collapse of the Soviet Union was the proverbial straw that broke the forbearance of the economists and social scientists. There arose a dogma that is seldom referred to by its name of neoliberalism, that became increasing popular as a counter-revolution to the communist ideology and the centralised economic system. Neoliberalism, in its basic form, is a movement that encourages a reversion to the economic policies of the 18th and the 19th centuries, and foresees economic liberty and political development as its consequences (Wikipedia 2007).

The proponents of this ideology claim it to be more than just an economic and political system; they put forward this counter-revolution as a social and philosophical change (Wikipedia 2007) that will affect all people from all walks of life in all their social endeavors. Neoliberalism aims at providing a freedom in the economic sector through free market and free trade concepts, and a reduced political intervention over the economic sector.

It revolves around the privatisation of the public sector, and the transfer of public assets to a select few in the business world. Although neoliberalism aims at promoting liberty, it is of. This ideology encourages a huge rift in the society between the rich and the poor, creating two distinct classes of the people; the working class and the ruling class. In essence, it makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, a signature affect of capitalism, though it claims to be operating on a different note than capitalism.

Its basic fundamentals of free market economy are in conjunction with global trade, and the two ideologies intermingle smoothly into each other, that of neoliberalism and globalization. Of late, countries all over the world are under intense pressure to succumb to this model of economics, often referred to as the American Model (Cambridge Journal of Economics 2007), allowing cross-border trade and funds transfer, and subduing the local and preferred economic systems of the affected countries.

Neoliberalism, suffice it to say, is an oppressive form of political and economic system that uses force and twisted ideologies to benefit only a handful of ruling parties. It condemns union rights, stating that they come as impediments in the way of economic development. But this brings with itself the oppression of the working class in the form of low wages, under employment and unfair working environments and systems. Although claiming to be a beacon of liberty, it results in non-mobilisation of wealth and property, never letting the working class the right of ownership and governing