Demolishing the myths of neoliberalism

How did the great economic powers reach their positions of huge wealth, enormous annual economic output, and high levels of consumption? Of course, as everyone knows, it was by embracing free trade, opening up to foreign direct investment, and minimising government intervention in the economy.
Well, actually, no it wasn’t. This ‘official history of globalisation’ is fiction, a [...]

What are we getting ourselves into?

The Herald has published an enigmatic portrait of John Key – National Party Leader and person currently looking most likely to be New Zealand’s next Prime Minister. I recommend it – it’s a good read if you’re at all interested in Kiwi politics. And because Key & National are playing their policy cards so close [...]

Military spending, food aid and the strange priorities of the G8 nations

The G8 leaders meeting in Japan have been talking about feeding the poor, as rising prices threaten to drive millions more into poverty and hunger. In their summit statement on global food security, the eight leaders expressed their deep concern, acknowledged the pressures being generated in low income countries by rising world food prices, and [...]

Food politics: striving for a radical social critique or just looking for a good lunch?

The enormous interest that exists today in food preparation, sophisticated recipes, ethnic cuisine, health food, celebrity chefs, organic produce, café culture, and eating in general has given us the word ‘foodie’ to describe the food-obsessed amateur gourmet. Along with this burgeoning food fascination has come the rise of food politics. This is a very different [...]

A shock to the ecosystem: Neoliberalism and the environment

In the past 25 years, neoliberalism has become economic orthodoxy. In that time, as James McCarthy and Scott Prudham have written, neoliberalism’s “political and ideological projects have successfully masqueraded as a set of objective, natural, and technocratic truisms” (p.276).
Indeed, so pervasively institutionalised have the values of neoliberalism become that it almost seems a throwback to [...]