Masters of the Universe (ebook)

Argumento de Masters of the Universe (ebook)

"[A] lucid, richly detailed examination of the evolution of the free market ideology since the end of World War II."--Glenn C. Altschuler, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Clearly written and relevant to a wide audience."--Daniel Ben-Ami, Financial Times Wealth

"Masters of the Universe does a masterful job telling one of the most important intellectual and policymaking stories of the twentieth century."--John L. Campbell, Historian

Daniel Stedman Jones is a barrister in London. He was educated at the University of Oxford and at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a PhD in history. He has worked as a policy adviser for the New Opportunities Fund and as a researcher for Demos.

"A cerebral, pertinent exegesis on the thinking behind the rise of the New Right. . . . [A] valuable study that helps flesh out the caricature of conservatives as only believing 'greed is good.'"--Kirkus Reviews

"[I]ntelligent."--Kenneth Minogue, Wall Street Journal

"[A] terrific book."--Enlightened Economist

"Jones provides a balanced and even-handed account of the ideas and events. He does not shy away from contemporary critiques by leading economists and opponents of Neoliberal ideas."--Braham Dabscheck, Labour History

"[A] good read. . . . The deep history of neo-liberal thought is fascinating."--Andrew Hilton, Financial World

"[I]mportant. . . . [A] beguilingly erudite old-fashioned read."--Stephen Matchett, Australian

"The book as a whole . . . offers a balanced, well-structured and highly readable account of neo-liberalism's history which will serve both students and scholars as an introduction to this controversial line of economic thought."--Claudia Franziska Bruhwiler, Political Studies Review

"Jones gives us the best kind of intellectual history, showing the interplay of ideas, ideology and nascent political movements. The book should be lauded for illustrating that the history of ideas is not straightforward, and a big idea can be bent towards something that its originators might not have imagined."--Joel Campbell, International Affairs

"[T]his is an insightful, substantive historical account of the Anglo-American political economy underpinning the conservative economic agendas of the Thatcher and Reagan administrations."--Choice

"This is a timely history of the Anglo-American love affair with the market and the origins of the current economic crisis."--Keith Richmond, Tribune (U.K.)

"In impressive fashion, Jones analyzes the impact of free market economics and deregulation on political leaders in Washington, D.C., and London since the 1970s. . . . [A]nyone intrigued by the intersection of economic theory and political affairs will appreciate this learned, detailed book."--Publishers Weekly

"Daniel Stedman Jones has an unusual talent--making the history of economic thought fascinating and significant. In tracing the evolution of neoliberal ideas and their implementation in public policy in Britain and the United States, he does a superb job of helping us understand both the last half-century of Atlantic history and the origins of the current crisis. No book could be more timely."--Eric Foner, Columbia University

"Daniel Stedman Jones captures brilliantly the interaction between ideas and events in this compelling history of the rise of Thatcherism and Reaganism. He displays a willingness, unusual in a historian, to treat economic ideas seriously, and not just as weapons in a political struggle. In the light of the economic collapse of 2007-2008, the intellectual debates of the 1970s and 1980s, brought so vividly to life here, are as fresh as they were at the time."--Robert Skidelsky, author of Keynes: Return of the Master

"Daniel Stedman Jones shows how neoliberalism gained ascendancy in both the United States and the United Kingdom. This timely book is a model of calmness, lucidity, and reasoned argument, intent on understanding neoliberalism rather than celebrating or condemning it out of hand."--Sean Wilentz, author of "The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008"

"Mr. Stedman Jones offers a novel and comprehensive history of neoliberalism. It is tarred neither by a reverence for the heroes, nor by caricature, for he is a fair and nuanced writer. This is a bold biography of a great idea."--Economist

"His lengthy exposition of the views shared by these outstanding economists might encourage many to pay attention to their works."--Alejandro Chafuen, Forbes

"Jones provides a readable and laudable account of the history of neoliberalism and its political ascendancy. Besides containing the potential for a good documentary. . . . His book also showcases heretofore unacknowledged archival material and scholarly synthesis. I recommend this book to not only historians of economics, but all policy historians and political theorists who are interested in the postwar history of the New Right."--Robert Van Horn, History of Economic Ideas

"Fascinating, important, and timely, this is a book for anyone who wants to understand the history behind the Anglo-American love affair with the free market, as well as the origins of the current economic crisis."--World Book Industry

"Masters of the Universe is an excellent and important book. It is very clearly structured, accessible, well-written, and rigorously argued. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the rise and spread of neoliberal ideas. . . . [I]t will be a great source for both non-specialists interested in neoliberalism and scholars working on neoliberalism."--Lars Cornelissen, Plurilogue

"Stedman Jones . . . describes the scene with remarkable accuracy, including its financial underpinning and its ties with conservatism."--Karen Horn, Standpoint

Finalist for the 2014 Presidents Book Award, Western Social Science Association
Shortlisted for the 2012 Gladstone Prize, Royal Historical Society

"Jones brilliantly succeeds, thanks to his obvious mastery of the main neoliberal texts, his very astute use of historical archives (like the Hayek or Friedman Papers), and the many interviews he conducted with key neoliberal players in Europe and America."--Françoise Coste, Cercles

"Masters of the Universe is a firm brief for the independent, causal power of ideas to shape history. . . . [It] does much to help explain the aftermath of 2008 and the ways in which political responses that might have defined another era seem unthinkable in ours."--Jennifer Burns, American Prospect

"This is a very important book. . . . [T]he book is essential reading, both to know the history of neo-liberalism and to understand how it impacted on both Labour and Democrat administrations as well as those of the Reaganite and Thatcherite right."--Duncan Bowie, Chartist0Preface to the paperback edition ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Timeline xv
List of Abbreviations xvii
Introduction 1
The Three Phases of Neoliberalism 6
Neoliberalism and History 10
Transatlantic Neoliberal Politics 15
1.The Postwar Settlement 21
2.The 1940s: The Emergence of the Neoliberal Critique 30
Karl Popper and "The Open Society" 37
Ludwig von Mises and "Bureaucracy" 49
Friedrich Hayek and "The Road to Serfdom" 57
The Mont Pelerin Society and "The Intellectuals and Socialism" 73
3.The Rising Tide: Neoliberal Ideas in the Postwar Period 85
The Two Chicago Schools: Henry Simons, Milton Friedman, and Neoliberalism 89
The Enlightenment, Adam Smith and Neoliberalism 100
Economic and Political Freedom: Milton Friedman and Cold War Neoliberalism 111
The German Economic Miracle: Neoliberalism and the Soziale Marktwirtschaft 121
Regulatory Capture, Public Choice, and Rational Choice Theory 126
4.A Transatlantic Network: Think Tanks and the Ideological Entrepreneurs 134
The United States in the 1950s: Fusionism and the Cold War 138
British Conservatism in the 1950s 147
Neoliberal Organization in the 1950s and 1960s 152
The Second Wave: Free Market Think Tanks in the 1970s 161
Neoliberal Journalists and Politicians 173
Breakthrough? 178
5.Keynesianism and the Emergence of Monetarism, 1945-71 180
Keynes and Keynesianism 182
"A Little Local Difficulty": Enoch Powell's Monetarism 190
American Economic Policy in the 1960s 197
Milton Friedman's Monetarism 201
The Gathering Storm 212
6.Economic Strategy: The Neoliberal Breakthrough, 1971-84 215
The Slow Collapse of the Postwar Boom, 1964-71 217
Stagflation and Wage and Price Policies 225
The Heath Interregnum and the Neoliberal Alternative 230
The Left Turns to Monetarism, 1: Callaghan, Healey, and the IMF Crisis 241
The Left Turns to Monetarism, 2: Jimmy Carter and Paul Volcker's Federal Reserve 247
Thatcherite Economic Strategy 254
Reaganomics 263
Conclusion 269
7.Neoliberalism Applied? The Transformation of Affordable Housing and Urban Policy in the United States and Britain, 1945-2000 273
Postwar Low-Income Housing and Urban Policy in the United States 278
Postwar Low-Income Housing and Urban Policy in Britain 288
Jimmy Carter and the Limits of Government 295
Property-Owning Democracy and Individual Freedom: Housing and Neoliberal Ideas 297
The Reagan Administration 304
Council House Privatization: The Right to Buy Scheme 308
Transatlantic Transmissions: Reagan's Enterprise Zones 315
Hope VI, Urban Regeneration, and the Third Way 321
Conclusion 325
Conclusion The Legacy of Transatlantic Neoliberalism: Faith-Based Policy 329
Parallelisms: The Place of Transatlantic Neoliberal Politics in History 333
The Apotheosis of Neoliberalism? 338
Reason-Based Policymaking 343
Notes 347
Index 391