preview

The Key Principles Of Neoliberalism Essay

Better Essays

(B. Kamiński 225). However, the package was met with a flurry of criticism from prominent economists and journalists. Echoing the key principles of neoliberalism, the economist Tomasz Jeziorański argued that the principal weakness of the package consisted in granting the full responsibility for economic performance to the central administration. The free enterprise characterized by responsibility and autonomy, he insisted, was incompatible with economic coercion by the state (B. Kamiński 226). As a consequence of protests of similar nature, the government eventually withdrew the package in question from further consideration. Following the revolutions of 1989, neoliberals were able to forge new alliances with Solidarity members through a participation in a new and democratically-elected government. In particular, Balerowicz played a central role in shaping the nation’s economic reform by assuming the Deputy Prime Minister post and putting forward the Balcerowicz Plan, which effectively outlined the agenda for transitioning from central planning to a market economy. As Bohle and Neunhöffer argue, neoliberals eventually succeeded in winning the support of not only the general public but also of the political elite associated with Solidarity (99). They were able to capture the public imagination by insisting on a new and concrete set of policies, which opposed European “normalcy” and freedom to the Soviet stagnation and authoritarianism. Thus, although Sachs and other

Get Access