The Contours of Neoliberal Hegemony in Australia

With neoliberalism now the dominant logic of state policymaking internationally, this article examines the contours of neoliberal hegemony in the specific national context of Australia. It understands neoliberalism as a class-based project, arising in a particular historical context and aimed at dismantling the hegemonies underpinning the postwar social order, thereby creating a new set of conditions for capital accumulation. The article tracks the reorganization of everyday life brought about by neoliberalism, maps the organized support and opposition for neoliberalism, and identifies the contours and contradictions of the neoliberal state project. It concludes that the expanded reproduction of neoliberalism in Australia is far from guaranteed, contingent as it is upon a unique combination of material inducements and economic and extraeconomic coercion.