The Neoliberal Order Is Over. What Comes Next? (with Gary Gerstle)

How to Save a Country

The majority of people who participate in or follow US politics focus on four- and six-year election cycles. But certain political and economic developments take place over much longer time scales, as our guest this episode knows well.

Historian Gary Gerstle, author of the recent book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era, calls these longer stages in our political history “political orders”—a concept he created with Steve Fraser (co-editor of a previous book).

Political orders are a new way to conceptualize political time, Gary explains to Michael and Felicia. They are political movements that are able to popularize certain norms and ideas with the general public, and also sway opposing political parties to align with said norms and ideas.

This week, Gary takes Felicia and Michael on a historical journey spanning nearly a century to discuss domestic and international factors that led to the ascension and demise of the New Deal and neoliberal orders.

They also discuss the present, including different possibilities for the next political order. One possibility, Gary explains, is a revived progressive political order—one that “harks back to successful elements of the New Deal while also guiding us in new directions, with the ability to take into consideration those issues that the New Deal either ignored or repressed.”

Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders.

You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.