A Gendered Response to Financial Crisis: What Can Others Learn from Iceland?

• Main Author: Jane Kelsey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Basque; French; Portuguese
• Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2016
• Subjects: Financialised capitalism; neoliberalism; transformation; feminist political economy; Capitalismo financiado; neoliberalismo; transformación; política económica feminista; Social legislation; K7585-7595; New Zealand; Iceland; Islandia
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/ed6e1bedab00497684a922d542188a82

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. El capitalismo financiarizado y la “ortodoxia” neoliberal que lo sustenta son inestables y frágiles. A medida que el paradigma económico cambia, también lo hará el régimen jurídico y político. Nadie sabe cómo será una era post-neoliberal. Hay potencial para que sea socialmente progresista y pro-feminista. Pero se enfrentará a una gran oposición. Si el feminismo quiere hacer una contribución activa a la transformación post-neoliberal, se deben redactar informes con análisis feministas rigurosos sobre estrategias y alternativas, que traten cuestiones de política económica, algo que se ha perdido en las últimas décadas. Este artículo refleja las fortalezas y limitaciones de las críticas feministas a la crisis financiera, y la acaparación del poder político por una élite a la sombra, en Islandia. A continuación evalúa su contribución a ...