Thread by @Johntheduncan

The neoliberalism not undersanders are at it again so let's define neoliberalism. Neoliberalism, as with any theoretical construct emphasises different things in different contexts. In terms of how it applies to social policy and state economic policy we can point to some clear

Features. Public sector privatisation, private sector deregulation (at some levels such as workers' rights), and welfare stateism which subsidises low wages and increases disciplinary measures in welfare (Jessop, 2002)

So let's see if New Labour fits into this space...public sector privatisation? Hell yeah boy! opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/mome…

Public Private Partnerships as well as subcontracting services to private companies = textbook neoliberalism.

Private prisons too
politics.co.uk/reference/priv…

Then there's all the already privatised services that New Labour just accepted as the political/economic reality. This is actually essential because deciding if New Labour are neoliberal is as much to do with what they did as what they didn't challenge

When you don't challenge a political reality you accept it as legitimate. It's what people mean when they say New Labour laid the foundation for austerity and a move even further right. Neoliberalism is the political milieu in the UK and New Labour ensured that

Next, stripping back of workers rights. Again we can look to New Labour not challenging the neoliberal worker rights loses of Thatcher which thereby legitimises them as not just a conservative project but am economic consensus

In particular New Labour did not push back on anti-union laws brought in by Thatcher which again bowed to a consensus which weakened one of the most powerful tools with which workers could improve their conditions

Not saying that New Labour is 100% the cause of the gutting of union membership but they are certainly a cause

Subsidising low wages and punitive welfare provisions? Mmm smell the New Labour! While Labour introduced a minimum wage (which is good yay New Labour) it also ensured that the state would subsidise law wages through tax credits. Which is really just state subsiding poverty wages

Here we can see where Labour took a conservative brand of "workfarism" and extended it. It used welfare to "incentivise" work (however problematic that concept is) while punishing those who were for whatever reason not incentivised. Dr Chris Grover did a good piece on this

Again though (I hope the theme emerged) what New Labour did was accept the as a given the Thatcherite context. What ultimately makes them neoliberal is less what they did and more what they did not challenge. They surrendered the discourse and should not be let off the hook

Fuck me that's a thread

Oh yeah and this is just domestically. Neoliberal foreign policy is a whole other can of worms that I don't think I have to expertise to discuss