A terrible title for a book whose subtitle is "Hayek, Friedman, and the Birth of Neoliberal Politics." Masters of the Universe is a nice companion to George Nash's The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America. Where Nash covers the various strands of conservatism in America, Jones focuses on the libertarian strand in both the US and Britain. ("Neoliberal" is the more common British term for the group.) Jones is also interested in the political movement: how did free-market ideology manage to replace the post-war Keynesian consensus?
Masters of the Universe does a very good job of explaining the neoliberal worldview, including both its economic foundation and the philosophy that earns it the name "liberal." Jones presents the view fairly, even though he is not a neoliberal himself. (His tone becomes more critical in the later chapters.) Turning to the politics, he shows that the shift to market-based approaches came in response to a perceived failure of the Keynesians in the late 1970s, and that it started during the liberal administrations before Reagan and Thatcher.
Jones' prose can be academic and repetitive, but it's an interesting story.
Masters of the Universe does a very good job of explaining the neoliberal worldview, including both its economic foundation and the philosophy that earns it the name "liberal." Jones presents the view fairly, even though he is not a neoliberal himself. (His tone becomes more critical in the later chapters.) Turning to the politics, he shows that the shift to market-based approaches came in response to a perceived failure of the Keynesians in the late 1970s, and that it started during the liberal administrations before Reagan and Thatcher.
Jones' prose can be academic and repetitive, but it's an interesting story.
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