FREE MARKET PERSPECTIVES

Free Market Perspectives



Free Market Perspectives

Introduction

Over the past forty years, neo liberalism has become the dominant ideology in the United States and much of the world. During this time, the classical liberalism that defined United States economic and social policy during the nineteenth and early twentieth century has been revitalized intensified, and its scope has been extended. The rise of neo liberalism has resulted in drastic cuts to state supported social services and programs, the extension an economic rationality to cultural, social, and political spheres, and the redefinition of the individual from a citizen to an autonomous economic actor. As the neoliberal ideology increasingly shaped individuals' common sense, the extension of market logic and the prioritization of economic outcomes have come to redefine the purposes and roles of social, cultural, and political institutions. Therefore, all the issues related to Free Market Perspectives will be discussed in detail.

Question 1.1

Let Capitalsim Rip

Concurrent with the rise of neoliberal ideology, higher education scholars have identified a number of changes to the finances, governance, and faculty of higher education institutions that are congruent with the logic, policies, and practices associated with neo liberalism. These changes include cuts in real dollar state allocations (e.g. allocations adjusted for inflation) to higher education, prioritization of revenue generation and an increasing reliance on applied research and private sources of funding, the use of more part-time and adjunct faculty and challenges to systems of shared governance. Neo liberalism is a term that is used to encompass a variety of economic, social, and political ideas, policies, and practices, functioning on both individual and institutional levels, which are largely extreme versions of classical liberalism. Its ideology is less a set of singular ideas stemming from a central source but more a series of reinforcing concepts originating from numerous sources that are located throughout the world. These concepts are united by the common ideas of the benevolence of the free market, the privatization and marketization of public services and programs, and the extension of free-market logic into cultural, social, and political spheres. Importantly, while this study is confined mainly to the ideology of neo liberalism, this is not meant to reduce neo liberalism to only an ideology nor allege is its ideological aspects the most powerful or important (Adam, 1998, 103).

Theoretical Framework

The most distinct aspect of neo liberalism is the extension of free-market logic beyond the economic sphere. Free-market logic refers to an approach to the world in which decisions are made through a cost/benefit analysis that aims to maximize appropriate types of capital (i.e. financial capital with regard to economic decisions or human capital with regard to educational decisions). As such, the only things valued under this logic are those that can be easily expressed in terms of capital. The expansion of free-market logic results in social relations being defined primarily in market-terms, with individuals becoming rational economic actors and everything from interpersonal relationships to social institutions being understood as commodities in which individuals purchase or ...