The Realignment 555 | Gary Gerstle & Noam Maggor: The Realignment, Post-Neoliberalism, and the Birth of a New Political Order
May 29, 2025
Gary Gerstle, a historian from Cambridge University and author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, teams up with Noam Maggor, a political economy expert from Queen Mary University. They dive into the historical roots and modern realities of neoliberalism, discussing its decline post-2008 crisis and the rising disconnect between wealth and wage earners. The conversation unfolds the potential of post-neoliberal politics, exploring innovation needed to tackle economic inequalities and the challenges posed by cultural conflicts and big tech regulation.
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Neoliberalism's Core Principles
- Neoliberalism champions unleashing capitalism from constraints to boost economic growth.
- It emphasizes free trade, capital, and information flow as a global project with expected rising inequality but overall benefits.
Historical Context Shapes Views
- The 1990s neoliberal consensus felt intuitively right due to the era's unique historical context.
- Moments of rupture, like today, challenge inherited assumptions and open paths for change.
1990s Consensus Unravels
- Major 1990s assumptions like U.S. triumph, tech utopianism, and rising prosperity no longer hold.
- New realities include complex U.S.-China rivalry, technology's mixed impact, and visible economic inequality.