Book Review: A Brief History Of Neoliberalism

Scott's own review of David Harvey's A Brief History Of Neoliberalism — sharp, fair-but-critical, and genuinely illuminating. Opens with a vivid 'the 1970s as a forgotten economic catastrophe' framing (the Bretton Woods collapse, the Ten Plagues conceit, the Volcker Shock), then dismantles Harvey's extreme conflict-theory approach: the 'dramatic adverbs' literary-genre observation (nobody cuts a budget, they savagely slash it; nobody makes money, they extract it), and the recurring rebuttal that Harvey's 'lobbying proves conspiracy' and 'ideology imperfectly followed proves fraud' critiques would condemn any ideology equally. The NYC-1975-bankruptcy narrative is engaged in depth (with Scott's fact-check showing Harvey's 'idyllic NYC' was already gritty and strike-torn pre-crisis), plus the surprising Harvey-condemns-human-rights/NGOs-as-neoliberalism sections, and a genuinely useful 'let's score his 16-year-old predictions' section (Harvey wrong on nearly every specific, but right that more people would come to agree with him).

Quality 74 · Strong. Strong, near-Excellent: a lucid, well-argued, and educational review with real original critique (the conflict-theory/dramatic-adverbs analysis, the prediction scorecard, the fact-checks) that makes an unfamiliar ideology and period legible; a standout among Scott's own reviews. Held just below Excellent by being a review of a flawed 200-page book.

Claude’s paradigm shift 52 · Moderate. Notable: the conflict-theory-genre diagnosis and the embedded-liberalism-vs-neoliberalism framing are a sharp, generative treatment for the readership.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. Within-discourse: shapes how readers understand neoliberalism and the 1970s; no material reach.