Neoliberalism. It’s an ideology that has been pursued by just about every major party in the west – some, admittedly, with more zeal than others – since the late 1970s. And yet you never hear politicians describe themselves as staunch neoliberals: hence: ‘The Invisible Doctrine’. In short order, as this excellent primer on the subject spells out: “[Neoliberalism is] an ideology whose central belief is that competition is the defining feature of humankind. It tells us we are greedy and selfish, but that greed and selfishness light the path to social improvement, generating the wealth that will eventually enrich us all.” In policy terms that equates to cutting taxes (particularly for the wealthy), binning regulations, selling off state assets such as energy and water, eradicating trade union power and curtailing protest. It aims to foist a dog-eat-dog world upon populaces, and if those policies result in you being poor then that’s just tough: you obviously can’t cut it. Neoliberalism (“the explosive accelerant of capitalism”) was conceived at a conference in Paris in 1938 and among the attendees were Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. The pair – who would become the doctrine’s most ardent proponents – reckoned that the collectivism as espoused by Roosevelt and Labour’s post-war government was dangerous. But it wasn’t until Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher took power that their vision really took hold. This clear-eyed and largely jargon free book shows how dangerous that vision has become and makes the case for its eradication from our lives. RM

Published by Allen Lane