Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order

Gary Gerstle charts the genesis of US neoliberal thought, its rise to ascendency during the Reagan presidency, and its rapid demise at the end of the Obama presidency. While its US incarnation rose on the right mostly as a repudiation of the New Deal, its adoption by Democrats cemented its dominance until its glaring failings led to its collapse culminating in the 2016 election.

For better or worse, this book is built to last. Gerstle covers events through 2021, and given the mostly by-the-numbers historical recounting today these last sections make for fairly boring reading. In 10 years, though, these sections will be immensely useful. There are also some minor factual errors that bugged me (e.g. Atari was an American company, not a Japanese one), but they don't detract from the overall message. This book stands as a worthy recounting and exploration of an ideology that echoes through society and discourse even today. Highly recommend

I often say that my favorite books are ones which provide a new way of thinking about things. An insightful explanation or an inspiring model, perhaps. This volume doesn't quite get there, but it is very very close. It's clean and tight and does exactly what it says on the tin. While my favorite pieces of non-fiction are lenses which bring things I've always been able to see into clearer focus, this is more like a well-tuned bell which rings true and clear.

We are treated to a roundup of pre-neoliberal philosophy, the development of neoliberal thought, its ascent into US politics, rise to major bipartisan force, and then stumbling in the 21st century. There's nothing to criticize here. We engage effectively with other schools of thought and other global regimes like Soviet communism and European social democracy. Neoliberalism is positioned relative to these other forces and philosophies. It's described in terms of its causes & effects, and I think I came away with a clear picture.

Great work. Going right back on the end of the reading list. I recommend this book to you, and to future me.