Neoliberal policy and its influence on welfare ideology: A source of social injustice?
journal contribution
posted on 2019-08-19, 11:19authored byGer McCoy, Roisin Peddle
Neoliberalism believes in the freedom of the individual,however, the individual is responsible for their own welfare. Neoliberalism balks at the idea of the state spending money on the poor- it is an individual's responsibility to earn enough money to support themselves and their family. Just as the individual is responsible for their own financial welfare under the neoliberalist philosophy, the individual is responsible for their own personal well-being in the strictly secular postmodernist sphere. The language used by neoliberal policy makers when describing individuals who are eligible or dependent on welfare services is very distinct. The notion of unemployment as a choice puts the blame at the feet of the individual for being unemployed. The neoliberal system may give limited, residual benefits to the poor, but it refuses to address what makes these people poor in the first place