Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Sociology

Major Professor

Jon Shefner

Abstract

This paper is a critical analysis of the theoretical assertions made, made by David Harvey and others, that neoliberalism is the ideological foundation for a one-sided, class-based struggle intended to restore or reconstruct the power of economic elites. Tracing neoliberalism back to its roots in the Austrian School of economics, I analyze the historical development of neoliberal theory and its critics. I show that it provides theoretical justification for elite class struggle. This theoretical argument is then grounded in a case study of Argentina's period of neoliberal reforms. In the case of Argentina, I show that this process was one that can be classified as class-based social change. I examine how neoliberal reforms were instituted; including how they were implemented at various levels of society, how they were received, and whether they benefited elite groups at the expense of the rest of society. The intent is to create a coherent narrative of the transition to neoliberalization and then, to the period after 2001, when neoliberal reforms were largely stopped. The reforms that I study are 1) privatization of industry and services controlled by the government, 2) fiscal austerity in the form of decreased government employment and spending on social services, 3) financial and labor deregulation, and 4) trade liberalization in the form of decreased tariffs on imports. The way in which neoliberal reforms were implemented, as well as the effects they had (and continue to have) on society affect the quality (i.e. depth and breadth) of democracy in Argentina.

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