France’s political dynamic, and the prospects for the Left within it, should be read within the broader trajectory of the country’s neoliberal paradigm. Now dominant for over four decades, this paradigm is built on pillars that structure the worldview of not only a large swath of France’s ruling elites (in the political, economic, media, and cultural spheres) but most voters. Business is perceived as a single, united actor rather than as a battlefield to fight over; it is upheld as the sole creator of wealth and the engine of progress, and the competitive organization of the economy is assumed to be most efficient, both on the domestic market and in international trade. The corollary of this has been the dismantling of public services and the extension of free-trade agreements.
But there is more. Belief in trickle-down economics (that profits will translate into job-creating private investment) implies that government action should be guided by a supply-side policy. The understanding of income as a legitimate reward for individual effort, merit, and risk-taking also raises questions over the value of collective bargaining and social protections. The neoliberal paradigm is also based on downplaying or even denying the reality of class divisions and emphasizing alternative splits in society (insider-outsider, men-women, young-old, native-immigrant, white–ethnic minorities, etc.). In ensuring the competitive organization of markets, including the labor market, the state also has a role to play in promoting a pro-business policy and extending market logic to all social relationships.
Neoliberalism’s promises have been largely disappointed, while everywhere it has produced a disproportionate concentration of wealth, the spread of…
Auteur: Stefano Palombarini
