Universalism in an Age of Financialisation
Language: English
Persistent neoliberalism in a context of financialization implies different dynamics for state–market relationships and prospects for social programmes. The deregulation of financial institutions, new instruments for attracting capital in global markets, and increased supply of credit has made indebted countries vulnerable to pressures from creditors for fiscal consolidation. Resulting austerity policies fall heavily on welfare expenditures, while the penetration of equity financing into public goods and services prioritises short-term shareholder value over long-term investment and development. Pensions systems and public services (health care, water systems, education, etc.) have thus emerged as new spaces for capitalist accumulation.
This panel invites papers that reflect critically on these trends. Questions for consideration include but are not limited to: tensions between the ‘new universalism’ and targeting; whether public goods and marketization can co-exist in the same frame; how redistribution and risk-pooling are paid for when social insurance is reframed as a tax on labour and disincentive to formalisation; what new financing and institutional arrangements can provide protection from the ‘vagaries of the market’?