Captured: How neoliberalism transformed the Australian state (ed by Philip Toner & Michael Rafferty, SUP)

Privatisation, deregulation and fiscal restraint are some of the major hallmarks of neoliberalism. Each is an intervention taken by governments in economics and public policy to privilege free markets and individual freedoms. Captured, a new scholarly essay collection edited by Philip Toner and Michael Rafferty, examines the faults and failures of this polarising ideology for Australia. Leading academics review local policy settings—such as our tax system, superannuation laws and even apartment quality ratings—to reveal how neoliberalism has short-changed many of us. (The wealthy, we learn, have been spared.) There are compelling case studies detailing how vital civic and social services have been mistakenly outsourced and then manipulated by corporate interests. Examples range from the Murray–Darling Basin to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which has largely failed to achieve its original goals of participant choice and cost-effectiveness over an 11-year lifespan, thanks to neoliberal influences. Ultimately, although reforms are on the horizon, this analysis suggests that wholesale changes are needed. Captured presents an often dense but robust analysis of one political theory that has afflicted so much of our government’s settings and services. Those comfortable with navigating such political theory will find its assessment of neoliberalism’s insidious influence on public policy sobering. With an expansive view of policies—from road tolls to the operation of ports—all undermined by this economic approach, Captured is sure to keenly interest academics, policy-makers and politics students alike.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Nathan Smith is a freelance writer. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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