“The dominant ideology or political mind-set of the last 30 years”
Neoliberalism is an economic ideology that is spreading throughout the world via international financial institutions and transnational corporate hegemony. During the past twenty years or so, the concept of neoliberalism has become widespread in some political and academic debates. It is known to be ‘The dominant ideology or political mind-set of the last 30 years.’1 Some authors have even suggested that neo liberalism is ‘the dominant ideology shaping our world today’, and that we live in an ‘age of neoliberalism.’ In my essay, I will try to understand the notion behind the neoliberal way of thinking and how they look at the world. Its main ideas such as, the rule of the market, deregulation, free trade etc. will be discussed throughout to gather a clear understanding of this thought and how exactly it has shaped the global political economy. I will be looking at the popular authors who have championed the neo-liberal orthodoxy such as Thomas Friedman, and his arguments of free trade, private property rights, and free markets leading to a richer, more innovative and more tolerant world. Contemporary examples and case studies of Latin America will be discussed to understand this ideology further.
International political economy (IPE), also known as global political economy is ‘concerned with the interaction between the state, a sovereign territorial unit, and the market, a coordinating mechanism where buyers and sellers exchange good and services at prices determined by supply and demand.’2 There are a number of different ideologies that try to make sense of how the global political economy works, and neoliberalism falls under one of these. The Neo-liberal orthodoxy is championed by popular authors like Thomas Friedman, and argues ‘free trade, private property rights and free markets will lead to a richer, more innovative,
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