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The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order
Book

The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order

America and the World in the Free Market Era

Oxford UP, 2022 plus...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging

Recommendation

University of Cambridge historian Gary Gerstle charts nearly a century of US history, from the New Deal era of the Great Depression through the 1970s, to the emergence, dominance and decline of the neoliberal order from the 1980s to the 2010s. Doing so, he explains why the US electorate went from favoring big government, union power, high taxes and extensive regulation, to supporting massive tax cuts, free trade, and deregulation – and from there to embracing the populist politics of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Gerstle examines this history alongside the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, including a fascinating explanation of how the two intersect.

Take-Aways

  • Political orders transcend party politics; they form only when both parties adopt them.
  • The New Deal order, rooted in the ideals of social democracy, emerged in the 1930s.
  • Political and economic crises of the 1960s and 70s, and cracks in the Soviet empire, enabled the neoliberal order to emerge under Ronald Reagan.

About the Author

Gary Gerstle is the Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge. He has authored, co-authored and edited dozens of books, including Liberty and Coercion and Working-Class Americanism. Gerstle is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Historical Society and a member of the Society of American Historians.