The slow retreat of neoliberalism in contemporary Britain?

Abstract

It is often asserted that neoliberalism is on the wane, with mainstream political parties and international agencies who had once so vociferously embraced it now appearing to break with consensus. Through an analysis of political rhetoric, public policies and social attitudes in the UK, this chapter seeks to determine whether neoliberalism is currently being diluted. Assuming that the strength of neoliberalism can be measured by the strength of corporate power, it suggests that the project, although on shaky ground, has shown itself to be eminently capable of evolving and adapting to changing circumstances to ensure its survival, no matter what the political hue of the government in power. Just as neoliberalism is itself a process, constantly being made and remade through the dialectical tension between theory and practice, its overthrow may ultimately be a long-term process requiring a favourable local and global, political and cultural, conjuncture.