The logic of discipline

Description

The era of economic liberalization, spanning 1978 to 2008, is often regarded as a period in which government was simply dismantled. In fact, government was reconstructed to meet the needs of a globalized economy. Central banking, fiscal control, tax collection, regulation, port and airport management, infrastructure development - in all of these areas, the architecture of government underwent radical reform. A common philosophy shaped all of these reforms: the logic of discipline. It was premised on deep skepticism about the ability of democratic processes to make sensible policy choices. It sought to impose constraints on elected officials and citizens, often by shifting power to technocrat-guardians who were shielded from political influence. It placed great faith in the power of legal changes - new laws, treaties, and contracts - to enhance the performance of governmental systems. Even before the global economic crisis of 2007-2009, the logic of discipline was under assault. Faced with many failed reform projects, advocates of discipline realized that they had underestimated the complexity of governing. Opponents of discipline emphasized the damage to democratic values that followed from the empowerment of technocrat-guardians. The financial crisis further eroded the logic of discipline. Elected officials and citizens became far more wary about independent central banks and authorities. Now it was the market, abetted by central bankers, behaving myopically and erratically, not citizens. A sweeping account of neoliberal governmental restructuring across the world over three decades, The Logic of Discipline also offers a powerful analysis of how the rationale for this market-driven model is unraveling in the face of a monumental - and ongoing - failure of the market.

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