2. What is Neoliberalism?
O “Neoliberalism is in the first instance a theory of
political economic practices that proposes that
human well-being can best be advanced by
liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and
skills within an institutional framework
characterised by strong private property rights,
free markets, and free trade.” (Harvey, 2001)
3. My Personal Reflection
One example of Neoliberalism occurring in my personal
life and all over the news is the Prime Minister Tony
Abbot’s Budget.
Effects:
O Changes to Youth Allowance
O Changes to Higher Education
support
O New interest rate on HECS
O GP fee
4. Effects on my family
O Pensioner age increased
O GP fee
O Superannuation age increased
O Cuts on Family income
O Increase in Petrol prices
O More Tax
O Less income for children
over the age of six
5. References
O George, S. (1999). ‘A short history of neoliberalism’.
presented at the Conference on Economic Sovereignty
in a Globalising World, viewed 20th May 2014,
<http://www.tni.org/article/short-history-neoliberalism>.
O Harvey, D. (2005). ‘A brief history of neoliberalism’.
Oxford University Press, New York.
O Harvey, D. (2006). ‘Neoliberalism as creative
destruction’. Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, 610: 22-24.
7. Clash of Civilisations
“During the Cold War the world was divided into the First,
Second and Third Worlds. Those divisions are no longer
relevant. It is far more meaningful now to group countries not in
terms of their political or economic systems or in terms of their
level of economic development but rather in terms of their
culture and civilisation. What do we mean when we talk of a
civilisation? A civilisation is a cultural entity. Villages, regions,
ethnic groups, nationalities, religious groups, all have distinct
cultures at different levels of cultural heterogeneity”
(Huntington, 1993).
8. The clash of civilisations in my
world
O Being a religious Muslim
O Living in a Western country
O Being surrounded by media
O Being part of the workforce
O Differing beliefs from the people around me
10. References:
O Huntington, S. P (1993). The clash of civilisations,
Foreign Affairs, 3: 22-49.
O Mahmood, S. (2009). Religious reason and secular
effect: An incommensurable divide? Critical Enquiry,
35: 836-852.
12. The Three Waves of Feminism
O First wave: These were the women of the nineteenth
and twentieth Century who were fighting for rights we
take for granted today such as: the right to vote, to
earn property and to gain an education.
O Second wave: Women protested against equal work,
wages for housework, legal abortion. Their slogan
was ‘the personal is the political’
O Third wave: Inspired by black women and majority
world feminists. Argued that second wave feminism
was based on white western women and ignored the
differences between black/white, rich/poor etc.
believed gender is socially constructed and aimed at
breaking down walls of gender.
O (Lorber, 2010)
13. Where does Feminism fit into
my life?
O I am educated
O I believe in equality
O I believe women should have rights and deserve
them
O I am a Muslim, veiled women
O However I do believe gender plays a big role in the
society we live in.
15. References
O Lorber, J (Ed.). (2010). Gender inequality:
Feminist theories and politics, Oxford University
Press, New York.
O Okin, M. S. (1998). Feminism, women’s rights
and cultural differences, Hypatia, 13, 2: 32-52.
O Power, N. (2009). One dimensional women,
London: Zero Books.
Editor's Notes
I believe there is no alternative to neoliberalism as it has existed ever since World War II. The Privatisation, Financialisation, state redistribution and crisis management will always exist due to the economy and its functions. “Another structural feature of neo-liberalism consists in remunerating capital to the detriment of labour and thus moving wealth from the bottom of society to the top” (George, 1999). This increases the wealth of the wealthy and decreases the prosperity of the poor.
As a student I am currently earning Youth Allowance as I am only able to work a casual job as a full time student. The help Centrelink provides for students is crucial in supporting our commitment to study and helps students cover the cost of university expenses. Given my situation if HECS was not available to me I would never have had the opportunity to study at University. Another factor of Tony Abbott’s Budget is the GP fee, this would affect myself as it is charging money just for a simple check up. All of these factors are evident in Neoliberalism as Tony Abbot having power in parliament which allows him to modify policies which affect consumerists as they’re enduring the consequences of an increase in finances, resulting in tighter budgets and a decrease in spending. “The neoliberal turn is in some way and to some degree associated with attempts to restore or reconstruct upper-class power” (Harvey, 2006) this is evident in neoliberalism as it aims to make the rich richer and the poor poorer which can be seen in the new budget as lower class families are the ones struggling.
The budget has also affected my family and the household as both my parents are old in age and we are a one income family. We are renting and my parents needs their children to work in order to help with household finances. The cost of petrol and he GP visits adds extra expenses to the cost of living, in order to travel to the doctor you need to pay for the petrol as well as the fee for regular visits. This affects my parents as they are always at the doctors due to their old age and needs of medication. The last thing my parents want is to work longer and to wait longer to access superannuation funds, they have worked hard all their lives and deserve a comfortable life.
I have chosen this quote because Huntington has truly captured the true meaning of a civilisation. It consists of so many factors that contribute to every individuals life. Although Edward Said works says otherwise, I still do like the description Huntington has provided. One way we can bridge the gaps in understanding of non-western approaches to religion and secularism is that both parties need to have knowledge of each other and not be ignorant of religions which make them stereotypical.
As a Muslim who was born in a Western country it seemed normal to grow up with different cultures, however as time went on and I matured into a young woman I was more aware of my surroundings and what people truly thought. As I watched the television, read the newspapers or listened to the radio, Muslims or Islam were constantly mentioned. From the 9/11 attacks to the Cronulla Riot attacks, the media never stopped. This affected me personally as it caused anger inside of me, how can the media be so negative towards the whole group of Muslims if one of them is a so called ‘terrorist’. One moment I will never seem to forget was one day in my high school years one of the girls at school asked me: ‘Do you know any terrorists?’ as she giggled and mumbled away with her friends. I walked away in silence but deep down I could not help my frustration. It was not a joke being a terrorist and my religion does not support it. Saba Mahmood (2009) argues that secularists have their own values and beliefs which they believe to be secular although they cannot see ideologies within them from their subjective perception. Within the secular world people’s beliefs overcome their objectivity and they are too quick to judge, they fail to see the ways their comments are illogical and hurtful to the feelings of people outside their secular world.
Being a women does not necessarily make me a ‘feminist’ but it somehow forces me to accept feminism as I do believe in all the rights they fight for. I do not usually label myself as a ‘feminist’ but I do believe women deserve a right to education and equality. A memorable moment in my life is when I decided to put the veil on at the age of thirteen. The veil is judged as a weapon of ‘oppression’ by many but if anything it has made me feel empowered. The values of a veil are in line with feminism as our veil makes us equal with men and not objects of sexual desires. I believe being born in a Western country has given me many opportunities to work, study and live a normal life where as many women overseas are still fighting their own little battles. This belief relates to Okin’s article where she states: “Women’s freedom and equality are often understood as clear symbols of Western values” (Oken, 1998)
I have chosen these two photos simply due to the fact that they state that women are human beings just like men and whatever men can do women can do too. I particularly like the image on the right as it shows a woman dressed up as some sort of tradesmen showing her muscles and stating that all women can do what she is doing. According to Power’s article she blames capitalism for gender inequality, she believes the world has become a place about ‘earning’ but there is still a difference in the wages between men and women (Power, 2009). I couldn’t agree more with power, unfortunately we live in a society where being a female in politics is looked down upon, being a mother is not a job and being a working male makes a real man. But my common sense tells me a female in politics must be strong, a mothers role is a 24 hour job and being a working male is pretty normal. In fact many women are mothers and employees at the same time.
