A Global Picture of the AnthropologicalScholarship on Neoliberalism Research

Zhu Yiying Shen Haimei

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2020.04.001Abstract：Neoliberalism is a theory of political economic practice. The spread of neoliberalism has caused a series of issues. Since the outbreak of the world financial crisis in 2008， researchers in the humanities and social sciences around the world， in economics， politics， anthropology， sociology， and geography， have begun to reflect on， criticize and question neoliberal economics and politics in various regions in the world. Based on the JSTOR database of English journals， this article reviews the global multidisciplinary scholarship on neoliberalism in order to present a global picture of anthropological views on neoliberalism.

The United States is the main promoter of neoliberal policies， and is also a country threatened by the neoliberal crisis. In the late 1970s， a large number of US manufacturing industries moved abroad， which shook the US trade union system， and the lower class white people fell into sharp opposition with Hispanic and darkskinned immigrants. Anthropologists like Kathryn Dudley， Christine Walley， Jane Collins， Brett Williams and other scholars examined the results of the deindustrialization of the American economy in the 1980s.Their ethnographies documented the impact of factory closures on workingclass communities.

Pushed by the United States， Chiles General Pinoche began neoliberal reforms in 1973， and achieved some results in the early stages of reform. Subsequently， military coups took place in Argentina and Uruguay， and neoliberal policy was also pursued there. In the end， Latin American countries fell into deep debt crisis. Theotonio dos Santos-a Brazilian “dependency theory” scholar， who wrote the book Empire and Dependence， provides a profound analysis of the internal contradictions between imperialism and capitalism， and emphasizes the inevitability of the capitalist economic crisis. His other book， The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism， interprets neoliberalism with economic principles， and combines globalization， economic crisis， and neoliberalism together in a systematic analysis. Anthropologist Peter S. Cahn  s study of the Mexican middle class found that neoliberalism is not mandatory， and that the material advantages brought about by neoliberalism were tempting to the middle class and citizens with reduced consumption power. Analiese M. Richard attached great importance to the role of NGOs in coordinating global political and liberalization of the economy. Chinese anthropologist Zhang Qingren used the case of the Zoque people who fought against the development of hydropower stations. This illustrates how Mexicos neoliberalism， using the support of national rights， sacrificed the interests of ethnic minorities and the general public to achieve an upward concentration of capital. Paul C. Hathazy discussed how the neoliberal regimes in Argentina， Chile， and Peru formulated unique penal and welfare policies for the urban poor and the working class. In general， most Latin American regimes have a military dictatorship background. Under this kind of authoritarian rule， the topdown reforms of neoliberalism are rapid and thorough.

Graham Harrison has a host of research on the political and economic issues of Africa， including two critical articles on neoliberalism. One is titled Economic Faith， Social Project and a Misreading of African Society： The Travail of Neoliberalism in Africa， and the other is Post-Neoliberalism？ In these two articles， Harrison discusses the theoretical and practical issues of neoliberalism in Africa. Michael Stasik found a kind of “native neoliberalism” within the private operation of public transportation in Ghana. He believed that neoliberalism cannot be forcibly realized， but needs to be built on a longterm local economic practical model. Jrg Wiegratzs research found that the neoliberal market underwent a moral restructuring in Ugandan society， triggering a large amount of malpractice which negatively affected the relationship and trade methods between small farmers and rural market merchants. Mona Atia studied three faithbased development organizations （FBDO） in Cairo and proposed that there was a compatibility between Cairos religious values and neoliberal values. Diana K. Davis researched the relationship between Moroccan neoliberalism and environmentalism from the perspective of geography， and believed that the neoliberal narrative had wrongly attributed land degradation （to neoliberal policies）， which would exacerbate poverty and land degradation.

In Asia，both Malaysia and the Philippines undertook neoliberal reforms， but those in Malaysia produced better results. Chinese scholar Yao Ju combed through the data and compared their reform process and institutional arrangements， and believed that the key to Malaysias success was to always ensure the countrys control of the core areas and ensure there was a sufficient proportion of state-owned enterprises. The study of Neoliberalism in India focuses on the characteristics and changes in all strata of Indian society. Amy Bhatts research focused on the rise of the new middle class in the neoliberal era. Dalits in neoliberal India — mobility or marginalization？ was published by Routledge Press， and it describe the polarization of class， education， economic status， caste， identity and political interests of Indian Dalits in the neoliberal era. K. Kalpana discussed the liberal microfinance initiatives provided to Indian women.

Under the impact of neoliberalism， Japan entered a kind of“grid society” as noted by Toshihiko Toshimoto. Another Japanese scholar， Takaaki Suzuki， argued that despite two financial crises， Japan  s neoliberal ideology has grown stronger. Anne Allison records the “ordinary refugeeism” encountered by the Japanese people under unsafe economic form. On the Chinese side， Zheng Yongnian elaborated the course of neoliberalism in China during the 1990s. Alvin Y. argues that China  s transformation since the mid-1990s has moved away from neoliberalism. Liu Zhihans research on the medical industry found that the modern medical and health quality management evaluation system and the “patientcentered” rules were promoted by public choice theory under neoliberalism. Huang Yinggui  s research on the Bunun people in Taiwan reflects the destruction neoliberalism has on a traditional community. Neoliberalism in Indonesia was run by the “Berkeley gang”， and their four decades of economic reform have failed miserably. Indonesia is now plagued by poverty. Bui Hai Thiems research in Vietnam found that the success of marketoriented reforms in socialist countries was due to the model of pluralistic governance. In the face of complex phenomena in Asia， Emel Akcali and other scholars use the term “postneoliberalism” to explain the practice of neoliberalism within Asia. This term took neoliberalism as a form of governance， designed to keep the elements of earlier neoliberalism， and combined it with a welfare policy， which has brought more state intervention and regulation and less of the market economy.

In Europe， Karen Bakker studied the privatization ofthe water supply in England and Wales and found that water is a noncooperative commodity. The author holds that commercialization and privatization cannot be equated， and natural resources cannot be fully commercialized. Noelle J. Molé studied the psychological problems of labor in Italy. He found that the privatization of public systems exacerbated workers   anxiety， and provoked emotional abuse among workers. Christopher Lawrences research in Greece found that neoliberalism weakened the labor force in the rural areas and created new immigrants， creating a persistent problem of racism and nationalism. Jon Binnie emphasized the limitations of neoliberal discussions in Britain and the United States， and advocated research from the perspective of class transnational politics.

In Australia， Lynne Chester analyzed five different markets and found that， unlike mainstream neoliberal economics theory， government intervention is indispensable in market allocation and the governance of public goods. The research of Deirdre Howard emphasizes two aspects， first， neoliberalism contains and restricts different political， economic， and social possibilities; second， micro explanatory research on the interaction between indigenous people and neoliberalism has special value.

Neoliberalism， as a means for European and American capitalism to try to stimulate economic growth and restore social development after a crisis， in fact， has not played a role in promoting economic development around the world. To the contrary， it has caused some general terrible consequences. First of all， it caused the serious problem of poverty and the further expansion of the gap between the rich and the poor. Second， it can cause local unrest. Furthermore， the privatization of public services and resources generally reduced the welfare level of the people， and also caused rejection and protests by some local people who were closely associated with nature. In addition， the neoliberal way for organizing labor not only triggered intense competition within the working class， resulting in psychological tension and anxiety， but also led to conflict between immigrants and native workers.

The above cases show that neoliberalism， as avery widespread political economic theory， is like a stimulant that will chemically react with different countries and regions. As a discipline which embodies strong reflection and social and cultural criticism， anthropologists have gained insight into the impact of neoliberalism on different social cultures through the deep participant observations of different local societies， showing diverse experiences. It is undeniable that neoliberalism can mobilize greater power in the economic field， but whether this power can operate smoothly and stimulate the vitality of an economy without causing social， political and moral chaos and unrest depends on the immunity and coping ability of the country and the region itself. If a country indiscriminately follows neoliberalism regardless of the overall stability and development， it would be tantamount to drinking poison in order to quench one  s thirst. Latin America  s sufferings are enough to cause alarm. This can also be seen from some cases in Africa， Latin America， and Asia under the current state of global economic integration. If a country loses independent macroeconomic regulation and control， and strong countries and international organizations interfere with domestic reforms， this can cause overall turbulence and contradictions， and excessively dependence on others. Although Europe is the origin of neoliberal theory， and its reforms have also aroused protests from workers organizations， but there has been relatively little internal turmoil. Rather， Europe has been plagued by delayed immigration problems after the spread of global neoliberalism. In addition， neoliberalism is a kind of “overmedicated” capitalist political economic program， and China， Vietnam and other socialist countries have institutional “resistance” within the persistence of their stateowned assets and national welfare.

Key Words： Neoliberalism; academic research; global view

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See references of this article in page 10，11 and 12.An Investigation of the Legal Principles of Promoting Exchange， Communication and Integration among