The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution

by Daniel Evans (Editor), Kieron Smith (Editor), Huw Williams (Editor)

Neoliberalism has firmly taken hold in Wales. The ‘clear red water’ is darkening. The wounds of poverty, inequality, and disengagement, far from being healed, have worsened. Child poverty has reached epidemic levels: the worst in the UK. Educational attainment remains stubbornly low, particularly in deprived communities. Prison population rates are among the highest in Europe. Unemployment remains stubbornly high. House prices are rising, with the private rented sector lining the pockets of an ever-increasing number of private landlords. Minority groups are consistently marginalised. All this is not to mention the devastatingly disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on working class communities.

The Welsh Way interrogates neoliberalism’s grasp on Welsh life. It challenges the lazy claims about the ‘successes’ of devolution, fabricated by Welsh politicians and regurgitated within a tepid, attenuated public sphere. These wide-ranging essays examine the manifold ways in which neoliberalism now permeates all areas of Welsh culture, politics, and society. They also look to a wider world, to the global trends and tendencies that have given shape to Welsh life today.

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Billy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcome corrective to a political culture devoid of serious mainstream scrutiny. This will surely be one of the most significant and important contributions to discussions about Welsh public life for many years to come.

[Sam Rhys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading !