Neoliberalism and Government Policies

The politics of neo-liberalism, liberalism, conservative, democrat, and republican have all been areas that I once was quite involved in. Which side did what and which side didn't do what was a source of constant debates I have with myself and others for a few (early) years of my adulthood. At this point in time, I see it as a bit tedious and divisive, bordering on the trivial. Coming from a family of staunch democrats, i too considered myself a liberal democrat, but eventually saw all sides of the political fence as simply that - opposing sides of the same fence. None of which have yet to truly analyze the fence and work towards the obliteration of the fence in the first place. 

Reading Duggan's The Twilight of Equality?, I felt many of the same issues i have and have had with political labels such as neo-liberalism and liberalism. I understood where she was coming from, and some of the issues she pointed out were quite interesting. She emphasizes: "The goal of raising corporate profits has never been pursued separately from the rearticulation of hierarchies of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States and around the globe." (p. 14) Here, I see some of the reasoning behind going into great detail about political shifts, presidential leanings, and the case studies in the latter chapters. I'm not completely convinced, however, that her arguments and ideas are ones that are missing from the larger debates occurring everyday on CNN and MSNBC. I simply see Duggan's as being relayed in the form of text, and relating it to identity politics. 

I did, however, see a link between Duggan's work and that of Mohanty's in Chapter 7. Duggan points out that "...global financial institutions have acted primarily in the direct interests of Western creditors and corporations, trnsferring wealth from the globe's poorest to its richest locations. These practices contitute a reinvention of western imperialism, not the worldwide democratization and brand-based enrichment promised by neoliberal globalization's promoters." Here, she parallels many of the points Mohanty makes between the university and the corporate alliances they have. One point in particular stood out to me: "...Carnegie Mellon and Westinghouse in robotics research, Harvard University with Dupont and Monsanto in chemical and genetic research, and Stanford's multiple alliances with, among other corporations, IBM, Texas Instruments, and General Electric." I see the same issues Duggan speaks about on a global scale happening on the education level within the U.S., which Mohanty speaks about. The University of Alabam, of course, is no exception with their alliances with Nike and the overall education being secondary to that of football. 

I like that Mohanty points out that there are no such alliances and deals within any Women's or Gender studies departments. Although, i hope it stays that way. Having those types of corporate alliances and contracts only leads to more corporate incentives and ideas impacting the type of education we receive.