A paradox that lies at the heart of capitalism is that economies need consumers to be confident spenders of money on the one hand, while on the other workers’ must accept insecurity and flexibility in their main supply of money: employment income.  Professor Colin Crouch considers the implications of this, and looks at the ways it might be resolved.

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Those on the Left often see the deregulatory ideologies of neoliberalism as a primary cause of the global economic crisis. Given this perceived failure, neoliberalism’s persistence can seem puzzling. But, as Dr Damien Cahill argues, this view ignores actually existing neoliberalism policy; a clearer focus on the reality of neoliberalism can reveal the source of its resilience. […]

If you ask most people by whom they are governed or, more pointedly, from where they are governed, they will probably answer by referring you to the ‘government’ of the country in which they live. Some might throw in a reference to the local government of their city, region or locality; some, especially those living in Europe, might also mention their sense that they are increasingly being governed by bureaucrats and politicians who work beyond national borders in regional institutions.

Hardly anyone will allude in any way to the international or global stage. Doesn’t everyone know that there is no ‘world government’? Isn’t international politics just a matter of state opposing state, with every country using its power to get away with whatever it can? Well, yes and no. […]

Photo: Trodel, Creative Commons 2.0

A significant but, for many people, imperceptible force has been quietly reshaping the operational logics of many states since the turn of millennium. This largely intellectual force has centred on nothing less than the nature of the human subject, the relationship between our conscious and sub-conscious selves, and the complex interface between the rational and irrational. This political trend has manifested itself in the increased significance of Behaviour Change policies. 

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