5.1.8 Reflection

Consider one or more of the following questions to reflect on at the end of Subtopic 5.1. Discuss with another student or in a small group, or record (written, audio, video) your response.

• Neoliberals argue that freedom means freedom from state interference. Economists like Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen argue that real freedom requires the capability to live a full life, which often depends on state support. Which understanding of freedom do you find more convincing, and why? (See Section 1.3.11 Freedom in the economy - coming soon!)

• What do you think the state should be for? What values should guide its decisions? How do your answers compare with the neoliberal and entrepreneurial state narratives described in Section 5.1.5 and Section 5.1.6?

• Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom wrote: "Extensive empirical research leads me to argue that instead, a core goal of public policy should be to facilitate the development of institutions that bring out the best in humans." What institutions does she likely have in mind? Do you agree that this should be a core goal of public policy?

• Section 5.1.2 explains that state legitimacy depends on the belief that the state has the right to rule. Think about the state where you live. What gives it legitimacy in your view? Is that legitimacy strong or fragile right now?

• Section 5.1.4 argues that healthy economies need countervailing power to prevent any one institution from becoming too dominant. In the embedded economy model, the state sits alongside households, markets, and commons. Which institution seems most powerful where you live? Do you think the balance of power between these four institutions is working well where you live? Why or why not?

• Some argue that democracy is a threat to neoliberalism, because when people have a genuine political voice, they tend to demand public services, redistribution, and regulation that limit market power. Do you think this argument holds up? What evidence from Subtopic 5.1 supports or challenges it?

• Section 5.1.5 describes a reinforcing feedback loop in which neoliberal narratives weaken the state, causing real failures that are then used to justify further weakening. Relocalisation, shifting economic activity and decision-making to local communities, is sometimes proposed as a way to break these loops. To what extent do you think it could help? Are there any risks that the same power dynamics could simply repeat at a local level?

• (For students who have covered Section S.2) People with a neoliberal worldview and people with an entrepreneurial state worldview look at the same economy but see it very differently. Using the DSRP framework from Section S.2, how do these two worldviews differ in the distinctions they make, the parts and wholes they identify, and the relationships they focus on?