ABSTRACT
In 2014, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a mainstream organization not especially known for histrionics, released a sobering forecast for the world economy titled "Policy Challenges for the Next 50 Years". The "Policy Challenges" report succinctly describes a deep and ongoing structural crisis of capitalism. The stark realities described by the OECD and future projections of stagnation, inequality, and instability also reflect a crisis of mainstream economic thought as well as social and educational imagination. While neoclassical perspectives are dominant in mainstream economics, both the Austrian and Chicago Schools have contributed to the development of neoliberal ideology. Adam Smith provided a foundation for modern economics, whereby economic laws are derived from metaphysical premises regarding human nature and society. Recent scholarship by Angus Burgin, Jamie Peck, Philip Mirowski has provided fascinating insights into the historical reassertion of free-market orthodoxy and the development of neoliberalism.
