Critical Analysis of the Evolving Process of Neoliberal Global Capitalism

This chapter aims to make a critical analysis of the evolving process of neoliberal capitalism globalization. It begins with the assumption that the neoliberal capitalism system is undergoing a mutation in the globalization processes as a dynamic element in continuous economic and financial crisis representing the development of the logic of capital based on the neoliberal ideology that promotes the free market. The evolving process of globalization is the history of international free trade framed by the classical liberal and neoliberal economic theory. The discussion focuses on a critical analysis of the paradigm of deglobalization as an alternative to the global capitalist regime that proposes local and regional economic protectionism solutions as an alternative to keep growing the national economies but still neglecting social justice and inequality inclusiveness and socio-ecological development.

Composing an “Agon” and “Lettering a Public”: Democracy Between Binaries?

In response to ongoing expansion of neoliberal ideology in democratic education, this essay details a classroom experiment that attempts to “redo,” or “recraft” democracy. Recrafting democracy, in this context, takes shape in active efforts to compose an agonistic public sphere through a specific kind of “lettering a public.” As described, intentionally inefficient student efforts to “care-fully” compose, revise, and mail democratic letters allowed a more reciprocal and felt form of democratic deliberation to unfold. The essay describes the “Dear Demos” course assignment and articulates how the experiment in doing democracy might work to contest neoliberal notions of efficient, technocratic models of self-governance.

Internationalization Policies of Public Schooling and Neoliberal Discourses: A Stephen Ball Informed Analysis

This article examines the neoliberal underpinnings of current internationalization policies of public schooling in Canadian contexts. It goes beyond the existing institutional practices and approaches to internationalize K–12 public schooling and focuses more on the federal and provincial international education policies and strategies that govern the institutional practices. The article pays more attention to the neoliberal developmental contexts of these governmental policies. It employs Stephen Ball’s writings, particularly his views of policy as text and policy as discourse, to analyze the ways in which global neoliberalism and its public discourses on public education marketization, privatization, and expansion of policy communities relate to the development of current internationalization policies of K–12 public schooling as texts and as discourses in Canada. The analysis suggests that the global neoliberal ideology and its public discourses are the contexts that promote and legitimize the development of current market-oriented internationalization policy texts and discourses. These neoliberal discourses view public education as an internationally tradable commodity that the private sector may provide for international students and contribute to its policy development. In that context, current international education policies pay more attention to the recruitment of fee-paying K–12 international students with an increased role for the private sector in this process.

Creating Ethical Markets or Marketing Ethics? A Critical Exploration of Ethical Value Networks in Chilean and Peruvian Viticulture and Oenology

<p>The global integration of agriculture has increasingly exposed rural groups in Latin America, and other regions of the Global South, to external economic forces. This integration, encouraged by neoliberal ideology, has in many ways exacerbated underdevelopment and peripherality of these regions. Small-scale farmers tend to disproportionately suffer from trade inequality and a range of negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes associated with the integration of agriculture. In response, consumers in the Global North have become more concerned about how food is being produced and to what standards, particularly when production takes place in the South. In part, this has driven the rise of what this research theorises as ethical value networks and linked product labels. Diverse networks and product labels based in social justice, sustainability, quality and origin have been promoted as alternative models to globalised agriculture. It is claimed that these alternative networks assist rural groups otherwise disadvantaged by neoliberal globalisation by facilitating access to higher-value ethical niche markets, while encouraging localised ethical forms of development. This research critically explores two examples of ethical value networks in South American viticulture. It examines the use of fair trade certifications in Chilean wine and the protected designation of origin mark on pisco from Peru. This research emphasises the importance of local social, economic, and political contexts in the formation and outcomes of ethical value networks. It argues that despite the potential of the two studied networks to encourage local social and community development, entrenched socio-economic inequalities in Chile and Peru have hindered the expected positive outcomes of these ethical value networks. Moreover, this thesis argues that the studied networks have in many ways worsened local rural inequalities by supporting industrial and newer producers while excluding the most vulnerable actors in the wine and pisco sectors. Therefore, although this thesis illustrates the potential capacities of ethical value networks in fostering local development outcomes through product labelling, it also reveals the main limitations of these networks as currently implemented.</p>

Creating Ethical Markets or Marketing Ethics? A Critical Exploration of Ethical Value Networks in Chilean and Peruvian Viticulture and Oenology

<p>The global integration of agriculture has increasingly exposed rural groups in Latin America, and other regions of the Global South, to external economic forces. This integration, encouraged by neoliberal ideology, has in many ways exacerbated underdevelopment and peripherality of these regions. Small-scale farmers tend to disproportionately suffer from trade inequality and a range of negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes associated with the integration of agriculture. In response, consumers in the Global North have become more concerned about how food is being produced and to what standards, particularly when production takes place in the South. In part, this has driven the rise of what this research theorises as ethical value networks and linked product labels. Diverse networks and product labels based in social justice, sustainability, quality and origin have been promoted as alternative models to globalised agriculture. It is claimed that these alternative networks assist rural groups otherwise disadvantaged by neoliberal globalisation by facilitating access to higher-value ethical niche markets, while encouraging localised ethical forms of development. This research critically explores two examples of ethical value networks in South American viticulture. It examines the use of fair trade certifications in Chilean wine and the protected designation of origin mark on pisco from Peru. This research emphasises the importance of local social, economic, and political contexts in the formation and outcomes of ethical value networks. It argues that despite the potential of the two studied networks to encourage local social and community development, entrenched socio-economic inequalities in Chile and Peru have hindered the expected positive outcomes of these ethical value networks. Moreover, this thesis argues that the studied networks have in many ways worsened local rural inequalities by supporting industrial and newer producers while excluding the most vulnerable actors in the wine and pisco sectors. Therefore, although this thesis illustrates the potential capacities of ethical value networks in fostering local development outcomes through product labelling, it also reveals the main limitations of these networks as currently implemented.</p>

A New Approach to Conservation: A Critical Analysis of DOC’s Commercial Partnership Strategy

<p>The complex range of challenges facing the environment has prompted the conservation movement to evolve and incorporate new concepts, attitudes and strategies. A prominent approach that has attracted scholarly attention is the appeal for broader societal involvement and an increased human-focus for the conservation movement. This new approach is particularly notable for the inclusion of private business in conservation strategies. Subsequently, these strategies have prompted criticism of their links to neoliberal ideology and the encouragement of consumption-based measures. Conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand has followed this strategy of business involvement, represented by the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) commercial partnerships. The deliberate use of large businesses is used to access external resources and expertise alongside exposure to their respective customer bases. However, the criticisms of neoliberal ideology, matched by the national significance of the conservation estate and its relationship with the New Zealand public has created numerous challenges and considerations for DOC to navigate. To acknowledge the different attitudes and relationships that people have to the environment and conservation, a constructivist approach was used to examine the implementation of DOC’s partnership strategy. A case study consisting of seven interviews with representatives from DOC, environmental NGOs and the businesses involved in the partnerships was carried out. The data revealed three central themes; initially, of the need for a wider approach to conservation, followed by the intrusion and influence of neoliberal ideology into the domain, and the presentation of win-win strategies. This research provides a critical analysis of DOC’s recent shift in strategy and the implications of it on future strategies.</p>

A New Approach to Conservation: A Critical Analysis of DOC’s Commercial Partnership Strategy

<p>The complex range of challenges facing the environment has prompted the conservation movement to evolve and incorporate new concepts, attitudes and strategies. A prominent approach that has attracted scholarly attention is the appeal for broader societal involvement and an increased human-focus for the conservation movement. This new approach is particularly notable for the inclusion of private business in conservation strategies. Subsequently, these strategies have prompted criticism of their links to neoliberal ideology and the encouragement of consumption-based measures. Conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand has followed this strategy of business involvement, represented by the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) commercial partnerships. The deliberate use of large businesses is used to access external resources and expertise alongside exposure to their respective customer bases. However, the criticisms of neoliberal ideology, matched by the national significance of the conservation estate and its relationship with the New Zealand public has created numerous challenges and considerations for DOC to navigate. To acknowledge the different attitudes and relationships that people have to the environment and conservation, a constructivist approach was used to examine the implementation of DOC’s partnership strategy. A case study consisting of seven interviews with representatives from DOC, environmental NGOs and the businesses involved in the partnerships was carried out. The data revealed three central themes; initially, of the need for a wider approach to conservation, followed by the intrusion and influence of neoliberal ideology into the domain, and the presentation of win-win strategies. This research provides a critical analysis of DOC’s recent shift in strategy and the implications of it on future strategies.</p>

Success: A measure of what we value?: An exploration of the discursive construction of educational success in the public domain

<p>In a time of rapid technological and social change, questions are being asked about whether current notions of education can adequately prepare students for a future that is often described as uncertain and complex. Public debates arising from these questions suggest that while education is generally highly valued, the ideals and purposes, or indeed, what is considered successful education, is neither clearly defined nor commonly understood. This is reflected in a public discourse that consists of fragmented issues, short-term solutions and apportioning blame. Based on the premise that language both reflects and constructs aspects of society, this thesis analyses a range of contemporary public discourses to examine the concept of success in education, at the school level. The data includes foundational educational documents from the Ministry of Education, press releases, and reported newspaper articles. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, in the style of Fairclough, Wodak and van Dijk, I examine linguistic constructions associated with success in detail, and consider these in a wider social and historical context. My research reveals seemingly innocuous language features that undermine deeply held democratic views of education and reconstructs them to fit within managerial mechanisms of neoliberal ideology. I argue that the resulting conflicts between the social and economic values underlying educational discourses are reflected in the lack of coherence across the wide range of complex issues in the public discourse. Furthermore, this conflict contributes to diminishing engagement with these issues, a sense of confusion about what is desired for education, and increasing indifference to inequities in New Zealand education today. The conclusion I draw from this is that such conflict makes it impossible for key participants in educational debates to make progress towards a coherent and effective educational framework for the future.</p>

Success: A measure of what we value?: An exploration of the discursive construction of educational success in the public domain

<p>In a time of rapid technological and social change, questions are being asked about whether current notions of education can adequately prepare students for a future that is often described as uncertain and complex. Public debates arising from these questions suggest that while education is generally highly valued, the ideals and purposes, or indeed, what is considered successful education, is neither clearly defined nor commonly understood. This is reflected in a public discourse that consists of fragmented issues, short-term solutions and apportioning blame. Based on the premise that language both reflects and constructs aspects of society, this thesis analyses a range of contemporary public discourses to examine the concept of success in education, at the school level. The data includes foundational educational documents from the Ministry of Education, press releases, and reported newspaper articles. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, in the style of Fairclough, Wodak and van Dijk, I examine linguistic constructions associated with success in detail, and consider these in a wider social and historical context. My research reveals seemingly innocuous language features that undermine deeply held democratic views of education and reconstructs them to fit within managerial mechanisms of neoliberal ideology. I argue that the resulting conflicts between the social and economic values underlying educational discourses are reflected in the lack of coherence across the wide range of complex issues in the public discourse. Furthermore, this conflict contributes to diminishing engagement with these issues, a sense of confusion about what is desired for education, and increasing indifference to inequities in New Zealand education today. The conclusion I draw from this is that such conflict makes it impossible for key participants in educational debates to make progress towards a coherent and effective educational framework for the future.</p>