Citizenship under Neoliberalism

Paper Summary:

This paper first describes the changes Neoliberal administrations in Britain made to citizenship and the arguments that were used to justify those changes. It also critically assesses these arguments. The writer then provides a detailed illustration of how one specific group fared with respect to one or more aspects of citizenship rights over the Neoliberal period.

From the Paper:

"Faulks (1998:2-5) identifies citizenship as comprising legal definitions of citizens' rights and duties as members of a nation-state, philosophical definitions concerning the role of the state to deliver a just society and socio-political definitions that consider power relations that exist and affect society. These three elements overlap. Neoliberalism in Britain placed its emphasis on replacing social rights with market forces. As Faulks (1998:pages 53, 54 and 92) explains, this was the dominant ideology of the Thatcher and Major (and Blair) governments, inspired by Hayek and Nozick. One of the key doctrines of neoliberalism ideology was the "superiority of the free market over state planning in providing for individual freedom and prosperity". From this, numerous issues arise, of which the following will be considered: privatisation; the relationship between individuals and society; the concept of active citizens; and the role of the state."

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