Awards

• Commended for Presidents' Book Award, Western Social Science Association 2014
• Commended for Social Science History Association President's Book Award 2014
• Commended for Social Science History Association President's Book Award 2014.
• Runner-up for Social Science History Association President's Book Award 2014.
• Short-listed for 2012 Gladstone Prize 2012
• Shortlisted for Royal Historical Society Gladstone History Book Prize 2012.

Overview

How did American and British policymakers become so enamored with free markets, deregulation, and limited government? This book--the first comprehensive transatlantic history of the rise of neoliberal politics--presents a surprising answer. Based on archival research and interviews with leading participants in the movement, Masters of the Universe traces the ascendancy of neoliberalism from the academy of interwar Europe to supremacy under Reagan and Thatcher and in the decades since. Daniel Stedman Jones argues that there was nothing inevitable about the victory of free-market politics. Far from being the story of the simple triumph of right-wing ideas, the neoliberal breakthrough was contingent on the economic crises of the 1970s and the acceptance of the need for new policies by the political left. Masters of the Universe describes neoliberalism's road to power, beginning in interwar Europe but shifting its center of gravity after 1945 to the United States, especially to Chicago and Virginia, where it acquired a simple clarity that was developed into an uncompromising political message.Neoliberalism was communicated through a transatlantic network of think tanks, businessmen, politicians, and journalists that was held together by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. After the collapse of Bretton Woods in 1971, and the ""stagflation"" that followed, their ideas finally began to take hold as Keynesianism appeared to self-destruct. Later, after the elections of Reagan and Thatcher, a guileless faith in free markets came to dominate politics. Fascinating, important, and timely, this is a book for anyone who wants to understand the history behind the Anglo-American love affair with the free market, as well as the origins of the current economic crisis.

Full Product Details

Author:   Daniel Stedman Jones
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.482kg
ISBN:  

9780691151571

ISBN 10:   0691151571
Pages:   432
Publication Date:   16 September 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Replaced By:   9781400851836
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix Timeline xi List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 The Three Phases of Neoliberalism 6 Neoliberalism and History 10 Transatlantic Neoliberal Politics 15 1. The Postwar Settlement 21 2. The 1940s: The Emergence of the Neoliberal Critique 30 Karl Popper and The Open Society 37 Ludwig von Mises and Bureaucracy 49 Friedrich Hayek and The Road to Serfdom 57 The Mont Pelerin Society and The Intellectuals and Socialism 73 3. The Rising Tide: Neoliberal Ideas in the Postwar Period 85 The Two Chicago Schools: Henry Simons, Milton Friedman, and Neoliberalism 89 The Enlightenment, Adam Smith and Neoliberalism 100 Economic and Political Freedom: Milton Friedman and Cold War Neoliberalism 111 The German Economic Miracle: Neoliberalism and the Soziale Marktwirtschaft 121 Regulatory Capture, Public Choice, and Rational Choice Theory 126 4. A Transatlantic Network: Think Tanks and the Ideological Entrepreneurs 134 The United States in the 1950s: Fusionism and the Cold War 138 British Conservatism in the 1950s 147 Neoliberal Organization in the 1950s and 1960s 152 The Second Wave: Free Market Think Tanks in the 1970s 161 Neoliberal Journalists and Politicians 173 Breakthrough? 178 5. Keynesianism and the Emergence of Monetarism, 1945-71 180 Keynes and Keynesianism 182 A Little Local Difficulty : Enoch Powell's Monetarism 190 American Economic Policy in the 1960s 197 Milton Friedman's Monetarism 201 The Gathering Storm 212 6. Economic Strategy: The Neoliberal Breakthrough, 1971-84 215 The Slow Collapse of the Postwar Boom, 1964-71 217 Stagflation and Wage and Price Policies 225 The Heath Interregnum and the Neoliberal Alternative 230 The Left Turns to Monetarism, 1: Callaghan, Healey, and the IMF Crisis 241 The Left Turns to Monetarism, 2: Jimmy Carter and Paul Volcker's Federal Reserve 247 Thatcherite Economic Strategy 254 Reaganomics 263 Conclusion 269 7. Neoliberalism Applied? The Transformation of Affordable Housing and Urban Policy in the United States and Britain, 1945-2000 273 Postwar Low-Income Housing and Urban Policy in the United States 278 Postwar Low-Income Housing and Urban Policy in Britain 288 Jimmy Carter and the Limits of Government 295 Property-Owning Democracy and Individual Freedom: Housing and Neoliberal Ideas 297 The Reagan Administration 304 Council House Privatization: The Right to Buy Scheme 308 Transatlantic Transmissions: Reagan's Enterprise Zones 315 Hope VI, Urban Regeneration, and the Third Way 321 Conclusion 325 Conclusion - The Legacy of Transatlantic Neoliberalism: Faith-Based Policy 329 Parallelisms: The Place of Transatlantic Neoliberal Politics in History 333 The Apotheosis of Neoliberalism? 338 Reason-Based Policymaking 343 Notes 347 Index 391

Reviews

A cerebral, pertinent exegesis on the thinking behind the rise of the New Right... [A] valuable study that helps flesh out the caricature of conservatives as only believing 'greed is good.' Kirkus Reviews

In impressive fashion, Jones analyzes the impact of free market economics and deregulation on political leaders in Washington, D.C., and London since the 1970s... [A]nyone intrigued by the intersection of economic theory and political affairs will appreciate this learned, detailed book. Publishers Weekly A cerebral, pertinent exegesis on the thinking behind the rise of the New Right... [A] valuable study that helps flesh out the caricature of conservatives as only believing 'greed is good.' Kirkus Reviews [I]mportant... [A] beguilingly erudite old-fashioned read. -- Stephen Matchett Australian Stedman Jones ... describes the scene with remarkable accuracy, including its financial underpinning and its ties with conservatism. -- Karen Horn Standpoint Mr. Stedman Jones offers a novel and comprehensive history of neoliberalism. It is tarred neither by a reverence for the heroes, nor by caricature, for he is a fair and nuanced writer. This is a bold biography of a great idea. Economist

In impressive fashion, Jones analyzes the impact of free market economics and deregulation on political leaders in Washington, D.C., and London since the 1970s... [A]nyone intrigued by the intersection of economic theory and political affairs will appreciate this learned, detailed book. Publishers Weekly A cerebral, pertinent exegesis on the thinking behind the rise of the New Right... [A] valuable study that helps flesh out the caricature of conservatives as only believing 'greed is good.' Kirkus Reviews [I]mportant... [A] beguilingly erudite old-fashioned read. -- Stephen Matchett Australian Stedman Jones ... describes the scene with remarkable accuracy, including its financial underpinning and its ties with conservatism. -- Karen Horn Standpoint

[I]ntelligent. -- Kenneth Minogue Wall Street Journal In impressive fashion, Jones analyzes the impact of free market economics and deregulation on political leaders in Washington, D.C., and London since the 1970s... [A]nyone intrigued by the intersection of economic theory and political affairs will appreciate this learned, detailed book. Publishers Weekly A cerebral, pertinent exegesis on the thinking behind the rise of the New Right... [A] valuable study that helps flesh out the caricature of conservatives as only believing 'greed is good.' Kirkus Reviews [I]mportant... [A] beguilingly erudite old-fashioned read. -- Stephen Matchett Australian Stedman Jones ... describes the scene with remarkable accuracy, including its financial underpinning and its ties with conservatism. -- Karen Horn Standpoint Mr. Stedman Jones offers a novel and comprehensive history of neoliberalism. It is tarred neither by a reverence for the heroes, nor by caricature, for he is a fair and nuanced writer. This is a bold biography of a great idea. Economist [A] lucid, richly detailed examination of the evolution of the free market ideology since the end of World War II. -- Glenn C. Altschuler Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [A] good read... The deep history of neo-liberal thought is fascinating. -- Andrew Hilton Financial World Clearly written and relevant to a wide audience. -- Daniel Ben-Ami Financial Times Wealth Masters of the Universe is a firm brief for the independent, causal power of ideas to shape history... [It] does much to help explain the aftermath of 2008 and the ways in which political responses that might have defined another era seem unthinkable in ours. -- Jennifer Burns American Prospect His lengthy exposition of the views shared by these outstanding economists might encourage many to pay attention to their works. -- Alejandro Chafuen Forbes

Author Information

Daniel Stedman Jones is a barrister in London. He was educated at the University of Oxford and at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a PhD in history. He has worked as a policy adviser for the New Opportunities Fund and as a researcher for Demos.

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