The Oil Shock and Neoliberalism

The oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 led to international disruption and a crisis in the postwar order. Domestically, weaker productivity growth, the squeeze on profits, and deindustrialisation led to conflict between capital and labour. Public finances came under strain and led to major changes associated with Thatcher and Reagan. The result was an intellectual revolution: a shift to neoliberalism with a stress on individualism and incentives rather than collectivism and equality, and greater power for finance. Hyperglobalisation now prioritised international over domestic concerns. A lecture by Martin Daunton