Post-Neoliberal Consensus

The post-neoliberal consensus is here, but don't look for it in US President Donald Trump's policies.

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After a decade of backlash, it is time to accept not only that neoliberalism is dead but also that a new consensus is taking its place. Remarkably, significant segments of the left and the right in the United States have come to agree on the broad outlines of economic policy. Discussions in universities and think tanks are driven today by a common understanding that departs significantly from the neoliberal orthodoxy of the last 50 years.

The first element of the new consensus is a recognition that the concentration of economic power has become excessive. The concern is expressed in different forms by different groups. Some complain directly about inequality in income and wealth and its corrosive effects on politics. Others worry about market power and the adverse implications for competition. For yet others, the key problem is financialization and the distortion of economic and social priorities that it produces.

The remedies on offer also vary, from wealth taxes to vigorous antitrust enforcement to campaign-finance reform. But the desire to curb the economic and political power of corporate, financial, and tech elites is widespread, uniting progressive supporters of US Senator Bernie Sanders with populists like the podcast host and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.