Neoliberalism is a politico-economic theory that has been used widely in the study of social sciences. It supports massive economic policies such as privatization, free trade, deregulation, fiscal austerity and it advocates for governments to cut their spending so as to enhance and augment the role that the private sector plays in the economy. The lecture by Derrick Hamilton was meant to explore how this theory has contributed to a racial wealth gap and its effects on businesses and the economy in general. The ‘Neoliberalism and Racial Wealth Gap’ lecture was an eye opener to the massive flaws of this system that have given rise to the increasing gap between the small businesses which are mostly owned by minority races and the big corporations that are often owned by the white majority. Therefore, the aim of this session was meant to highlight how the policies that are formulated under this theory have contributed to a massive wealth gap between the races who own different range of businesses in this country. Neoliberalism has a clear impact on the creation of wealth across the entire racial divide. The argument made was that all these economic policies have an impact on businesses because the theory advocates for minimal government intervention in markets which is not so effective when it comes to monitoring large enterprises in contrast with the tight grip the government continues to hold on small businesses.
Neoliberalism often increases the power of the corporate class while lowering that of the working class. Consequently, there is a massive income inequality between these two groups. Most of the working class come from the minorities and the neo-liberal policies that typically accompanies this trend leads to an increased income inequality and also causes poverty and limited access to other business opportunities. Some nations have differentially repelled International influences on neo-liberal policies because of the historically entrenched class and racial variations as well as institutional structures. The lecture asserted the conception that neoliberalism gives rise to poverty, health inequalities and income inequalities within nations. It has also been found that countries that practice social democratic forms of welfare regimes have less racial income inequalities and also have fewer health disparities. The vast majority of the public, who are often subjects of this kind of politico-economic theory, become detached from forums that nourish social critique. As a result, the political agency not only becomes a ridicule of itself, but it is also replaced by a market-based driven system of cultural politics in which private satisfactions have replaced social responsibilities, and confessional culture has become a substitute for systemic and universal change (Coburn 42).
The people who live in poverty with poor income levels have done away with the political agenda, and they are finding new channels of voicing their agendas. For many minorities like the African Americans and the Hispanic families in the United States, the idea of attaining financial security has become more and more frustratingly out of reach. The blacks and Hispanics have less wealth to start with, and this is a clear contrast to what their white counterparts have, and this concept is what is termed as racial wealth gap. Racial income inequalities and ethnic wealth gap involve exploitation and oppression and neoliberalism has done little to counter this assertion and in this case the wealth gap between the minorities and the majority whites continues to get wide (Omi & Winant 3). Therefore, the lecture was an important insight to the neoliberalism concept and the role it plays in racial wealth gap in a racially and ethnically diverse country like the United States.
Work cited
Omi, Michael, and Winant, Howard. Racial Formation in the United States. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
Coburn, David. “Beyond the Income Inequality Hypothesis: Class, Neo-liberalism, and Health Inequalities.” Social Science and Medicine 58.1 (2004): 41-46. Print.
