Has neoliberalism failed? Reflections on Western society

He will critically engage various contemporary criticisms of neoliberalism, which includes but is not exclusive to economist Joseph Stiglitz, who argues that neoliberalism has deepened inequality and undermined social cohesion in the West, and philosopher Francis Fukuyama, who links it to the erosion of community and the rise of populism.

Dr Gregg will also explore the intellectual foundations of classical liberalism as envisioned by thought leaders at the Mont Pelerin Society and Walter Lippmann Colloquium, emphasizing its grounding in families, communities, and other social institutions as essential components of a free society. He will connect these ideas to the current state of Western society, including the socio-political implications of the recent U.S. presidential election. This event provides an opportunity to reflect on the future of liberal democracy, the role of "neoliberalism" within it, and its broader impact on contemporary politics and society.

The lecture will feature a commentary by LSE's Paola Romero.

Samuel Gregg (@DrSamuelGregg) is the Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research. He has a DPhil in moral philosophy and political economy from Oxford University, and an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, monetary theory and policy, and natural law theory.

Paola Romero is a political and moral philosopher from the Department of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method at LSE. Her research has developed in the areas of political philosophy, moral philosophy, and the history of political thought. She currently explores Immanuel Kant’s theory of the state and his account of a political will.

J. McKenzie Alexander is Professor in Phi­los­o­phy at the Department of Phi­los­o­phy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE. Professor Alexander's original field of research concerned evolutionary game theory as applied to the evolution of morality and social norms, though more recently his work explores problems in decision theory, more broadly construed, including topics in formal epistemology.

Find out more and how to attend in the LSE event page.