Book review: The End of Laissez-Faire? On the Durability of Embedded Neoliberalism

On the heels of the global financial crisis, many on the left of the political spectrum anticipated the end of neoliberalism. The financial and economic crisis—global in scope—had supposedly discredited over two decades of neoliberal rule. The massive state interventions required to curtail the worst vagaries of the crisis demonstrated to everyone paying even the remotest attention that deregulated markets are unstable, that bankers cannot be trusted with increasing the money supply and that government intervention could help steer the economy in a more positive direction should politicians be willing. Moreover, the aftermath of the crisis spawned the worldwide Occupy movement, with The Guardian recording at least 750 Occupy events across the world. These protests drew ever greater attention to the fact that neoliberal policies have been an abject failure for the non-owning classes of the world. However, at the same time, the policies in question have been highly profitable for dominant owners around the world—what Occupy called the 1%. This may be one of the major reasons why neoliberal policies continue to be pursued despite their consequences for popular social forces.