SDS131R Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Invisible Hand, Robert Nozick, Mancur Olson
Document Summary
Setting the stage for the rise of neo-liberalism: By the 1970s we start to see problems with the keynesian welfare state: 1971 nixon abandons the gold-based fixed rate system, two oil crises is the 1970s, high inflation, low economic growth, high unemployment, rising public debt. Elect in reagan (in power 1981-1989) and thatcher (in power 1979-1990) and both pushed for: free markets, limited government, reduced taxes, less governmental regulation, decreasing power of unions, and privatization of governmental agencies. In canada, brian mulroney in power from 1984-1993. Also the 1989-1991 collapse of communism in the soviet union and eastern europe. Thee most significant developments in this new neo-liberalist era: Enhanced role of economic institutions like the imf, wb, and the wto. Neo-liberalism refers to political-economic philosophy that de-emphasizes or limits government intervention in the economy. It focuses on free-market methods and fewer restrictions on business operations.