ABSTRACT
The chapter contends that the neoliberal claim of superiority of the free-functioning market has been critiqued and replaced by new and diverging views that address the crisis of neoliberalism and the rise of protectionist, ultra-nationalist, and racialized views advanced by populist, far-right, authoritarian movements and regimes. The rationale behind this argument rests on the tenet that capitalism is a contradictory system whose outcomes need to be rationalized and accepted by subordinate groups that do not benefit from them. Following this approach, the chapter discusses the historical conditions that supported the acceptance of neoliberalism. It also briefly reviews the implementation of neoliberalism and globalization by stressing the historical elements that allowed for their development. It further illustrates the crisis of neoliberalism and the populist reaction that followed. It underscores that the emergence of high levels of socioeconomic inequality and uncertainty along with the intervention of the state to address the crisis emanating from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 created the conditions for a restructuring of capitalism in the form of an emergent global neoliberal authoritarian capitalism. It concludes by pointing out the inability of neoliberalism, Trumpism, and right-wing populism to address the fundamental contradictions of contemporary capitalism, arguing that calls for economic protectionism, political isolationism, and the repressive control of global flows of labor run counter not only to fundamental democratic principles but also to the requirements of global capitalism and its form of capital accumulation today.
