Radical political economy in a strange world : problems and possibilities

The motivation for this review essay emerged from a debate on the ubiquitous term “neoliberalism,” involving participants from varied academic and political activist backgrounds. The vigorous discussions illustrated that we not only lacked a shared interpretation of neoliberalism. There was also no consensus understanding of fundamental political-economic concepts—for example, what we meant by “capitalism.” Mutual confusion and a troubling sense of speaking different languages ensued, as we resorted to intuitive, rather than analytical, understandings. In the case of neoliberalism, this approximated to a general malaise experienced by all, attributable to protracted state withdrawal from progressive policies and the consequent dominance of private capital and market mechanisms.