A Post-Socialist Revision of Neoliberal Hegemony: Why the Experience of Central and Eastern Europe Matters beyond Its Borders
A Post-Socialist Revision of Neoliberal Hegemony: Why the Experience of Central and Eastern Europe Matters beyond Its Borders

Summary/Abstract: In the section “Three Voices”, Václav Rameš, Matej Ivančík and Jóhann Páll Árnason discuss a book of essays on post-communist transformations and neoliberal hegemony by the German-Austrian historian Philipp Ther, published in English under the title "How the West Lost the Peace: The Great Transformation Since Cold War". Ther’s essays are a blend of historical analysis and contemporary insights, offering an interpretation of how neoliberal policies, economic upheavals and political reactions have collectively shaped modern Europe. Using Karl Polanyi’s concept of the “double movement” of the pendulum of history as a lens, Ther links the past to the present, highlighting the effects of unregulated capitalism and the recurrent social need for protection, emphasizing the interplay between domestic developments and global trends, and the intricate balance between national policies and international pressures. Ivančík approaches the book from a social-historical perspective and focuses on the question of how far Ther’s theses can be applied to the Central and Eastern European experience. While he agrees with the author’s application of Polanyi’s concepts and his critique of neoliberalism as an ideological force characterized by the “mobilization of poverty”, he also suggests that Ther’s reference to the global movement of the “political pendulum” seems somewhat forced at times.

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