Economic growth replaces all redistributive social policy under neoliberalism.

Evidence

The virtue of competition is that it generates economic growth, the promotion of which is “the only one and true fundamental social policy.” Foucault elaborates: In neoliberalism, “social policy must not be something that works against economic policy and compensates for it” or that “follows strong economic growth by becoming more generous.” Instead, economic growth by itself should enable individuals to prosper and to protect themselves against risk, so economic growth is the state’s social policy. Competition is a means facilitating an end; the state primes this means so that the economy can generate the end. — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 112

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: ‘growth as the only social policy’ as the ideological engine behind austerity — how social spending gets redefined as an impediment to the state’s real job.
• XREF: Connects to the austerity-lite of Thatcher’s ‘there is no alternative’ and the OECD’s growth fetish. — connects to: Neoliberalism replaces the welfare state with a traffic-cop state; Neoliberal deregulation replaced social protection with credit and indebtedness — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 746; Neoliberal policy requires means-tested minimalism and bans universal provision — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 208

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal policy requires means-tested minimalism and bans universal provision #expands (0.88) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 208
• Neoliberalism replaces the welfare state with a traffic-cop state #expands (0.80)
• Neoliberal deregulation replaced social protection with credit and indebtedness #qualifies (0.72) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 746