Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer Revisiting the Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order (with Gary Gerstle)
Jan 20, 2026
Historian Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, delves into the captivating journey of neoliberalism, revealing its seductive promise of freedom that reshaped American society. He critiques how this ideology led to economic inequality and hollowed communities. Gerstle discusses the 1970s economic crises that opened doors for new ideas, and analyzes the current fractures in the neoliberal order, pondering what a post-neoliberal economy could look like. His insights offer a thought-provoking glimpse into America's evolving economic narrative.
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Neoliberalism As Market Emancipation
- Neoliberalism seeks to free capitalism from nearly all regulatory constraints in pursuit of maximal growth.
- Gary Gerstle notes it promised universal gains but in practice amplified inequality and hollowed out communities.
Counterculture Fueled Tech's Freedom Narrative
- Cultural liberation from the 1960s fed into neoliberal appeals about individual freedom and tech decentralization.
- Gerstle connects the counterculture to the ethos behind the personal computer and later Silicon Valley leaders.
Berkeley Slogan And The IBM Antagonist
- Gerstle recalls the Berkeley free speech movement slogan and IBM as the symbol of bureaucratic control.
- He links that era's antiauthoritarian sentiment to the personal-computer vision of Steve Jobs.
