Abstract:
Financialised capitalism and the neoliberal ‘orthodoxy’ that sustained it are unstable and fragile. As the economic paradigm shifts, so will the legal and policy regime. No one knows what a post-neoliberal era will look like. There is potential for it to be socially progressive and pro-feminist. But that will be heavily contested. If feminism is to make an active contribution to a post-neoliberal transformation, debates over strategies and alternatives need to be informed by rigorous feminist analyses that engage with questions of political economy, something that was lost over recent decades. This paper reflects on the strengths and limitations of feminist critiques of financial crisis and capture of political power by a shadow elite in Iceland. It then assesses their contribution to more generic feminist analyses and strategies for transformation, using the example of New Zealand, a country with very similar characteristics that itself faces a potentially debilitating financial crisis. It concludes that feminist critiques of financialisation and neoliberalism must include a political economy perspective if they are to make a relevant and effective contribution to transformation.
