Neoliberalism as a political rationality: Australian public policy since the 1980s

Abstract

Since the 1980s a remarkable transformation has occurred in the rationale that informs public policy in Australia. This transformation reflects a fundamental change in the way national economies and populations are conceived by policy-makers, and has led to the emergence of new strategies of governance as a consequence. We argue that this change of direction in Australian public policy may be best thought of as a specific neoliberal 'political rationality'. The first section of the paper outlines changes in con ceptions of the economy and subjectivity which are associated with neoliberalism as a political rationality. The second part of the paper examines the articulation and imple mentation of neoliberalism in Australia over the last couple of decades.