Theories of neo-liberalism; David Harvey, etc

[boxinghefner]

Has anyone come across Harvey before - or any other works surrounding the topic of the nature of neo-liberalism? I'd be interested in hearing more about this topic if you have

I'm quite interested in David Harvey's work - though I admit i'm entirely new to them. The work i'm currently reading is that of "Neo-liberalism and the restoration of class power". A brief introduction to the text is provided by Michael Heinrich (http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=06/07/28/1916205&mode=nested&tid=9), as mentioned elsewhere briefly on the boards;

David Harvey (2003) also has a sort of economy of theft in view with his theory of “accumulation by dispossession,” which applies not only to the forces of labor, but also to the appropriation of the resources of foreign countries, certain activities of banks, the scandals of financial exchanges, etc. Both accuse Marx of locating such mechanisms solely in the early history of capitalism, the “primitive accumulation”, thus underestimating their contemporary relevance.

[boxinghefner]

What I find more interesting about Harvey's work is the assumption of Redistribution within his model - he seems to be suggesting that there exists a model of redistribution within a neo-liberal frame work "reversing the flow from the upper to the lower classes that had occured during a period of social democratic hegemony" (pg33). That seems fairly problematic - though my understanding of how this redistribution might be understood within a Keynesian Social Democratic model is limited - any thoughts are welcomed.

[Dimentio]

The Keynesian social democratic model focuses on full employment and a absic social welfare so people could dare to consume more, while the neoliberal models focuses on control of inflation.

[boxinghefner]

he Keynesian social democratic model focuses on full employment and a absic social welfare so people could dare to consume more, while the neoliberal models focuses on control of inflation.

yus kinda knew this much - am surprised that it would be characterised as redistributative in a top-down sense by a Marxist thinker.

[Dimentio]

Yes, it is re-distributive. Neoliberals hold the opinion that redistribution to those with much money increases the consumption power of the economy, and therefore creates higher employment and better income growth than in countries with more regulated economies.

Compare for example the Anglo-Saxon countries with Nordic countries and you could see the difference between the two models.

[wangwei]

An interesting aspect of neoliberalism is also a tendency for the state to strengthen, but at the same to become more horizontal. The FdCa discusses the tendency of the state here (http://www.fdca.it/fdcaen/index.htm) and it seems to correlate well with what we know of this neoliberal model now.

I am interested in reading David Harvey as well, because he is the only Marxist I know of that sees the proletarianization of today as primitive accumulation, and I think that's a pretty good view of the system of capital.

[Dimentio]

The hard parts of the state must be strengthened in the initial stage of neoliberalisation to repress protests from workers and others affected, but the issue is if it continues to strengthen the police and military thereafter, as an accumulation process. Look for the UK for an example which could be interpreted from both horizons, that of a stabilised state which continues to liberalise it's economy, or that of a process-state which continues to deprive citizens from influence.