Postneoliberalism: 'paradigm shift' or 'vibe shift'?

The question of what comes after neoliberalism has been asked repeatedly for many years now. In recent years, declarations of 'postneoliberalism' were even taken up by elites and financial media, in response to the self-consciously paradigm-shifting policies of the Biden administration. But how does any of this relate to the impending chaos threatened by the second Trump presidency or the reactionary rhetoric that surrounds it? This lecture will consider different ways of understanding such political-economic changes, reviewing the notion of 'paradigm shifts' (which has been widely applied to the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970s and 80s) and asking to what extent this captures the cultural, political and ideological transformations of the present.

Accessibility

An access guide to Darwin Building, Lecture Theatre B40 can be found on AccessAble.

About the speaker

Will Davies is a Professor of Political Economy at Goldsmiths. He is author of numerous books including The Limits of Neoliberalism and Nervous States, and writes regularly for The London Review of Books and The Guardian. His work is available at williamdavies.blog.

About this event series

Political turning points, 2024-2025: Causes, consequences, solutions

2024 and 2025 are crucial years for global politics, with a number of highly anticipated elections (in India, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere). These elections are coming at a time ofcoinciding with major armed conflicts (especially in Ukraine and Gaza), as well as rising levels of income inequality (globally and nationally), deflated living standards that still have not recovered to pre-Covid levels, crumbling healthcare systems, and fierce culture wars that are tearing up the fabric of our societies.

The sense of uncertainty and volatility is overwhelming and there is no way to predict what world we will live in two years from now. How can we understand thisthe causes and consequences of this overwhelming uncertainty and volatility? and what are the different components that define its causes and consequences? What is being done to mitigate for its effects and address the different challenges that emerge in it?

This series of Director’s Seminars and Soundbites will approach the question of uncertainty by exploring the complex range of practices and processes that define it today as a condition that is closely interlinked with economic, cultural, and environmental challenges.

Director's Seminars are an opportunity for audiences to get an in-depth theoretical perspective on sustainable and inclusive prosperity. These Seminars are given by academics who are pushing for new ways of thinking and new ways of researching society's grand challenges.

For more events in this series visit the series page ►