Neoliberalism's war on New Zealand's universities

• Published in: New Zealand sociology Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 9 - 39
• Main Author: Roper, Brian S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Auckland, N.Z University of Auckland, Sociology, School of Social Sciences 01.01.2018; Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand
• Subjects: Aftermath; Austerity policy; Cabinet; Capitalism; Central government; College students; Colleges & universities; Democracy; Economic crisis; Education policy; Educational fund raising; Employment policies; Funding; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Higher education; Higher education and state; Humanities; Institutes; Keynesian economics; Keynesian theory; Labor; Neoclassicism; Neoliberalism; New Zealand; Planning; Policy analysis; Political activity; Political aspects; Political economy; Politics; Postsecondary education; Power; Power structure; Public policy; Resistance; Social activism; Social structure; Sociology; Student loans; Tertiary Education Commission; Think tanks; War; Working class; New Zealand; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0112-921X; 1173-1036

Placing tertiary education within the changing context of advanced capitalism, in which it plays a key role in reproducing labour power, the class structure and legitimating the status quo, this article provides a broad historical overview and critical analysis of the changing political economy of New Zealand university education since 1935. The main focus is on the impact that the shift from social democratic Keynesianism (1935 to 1984) to neoliberalism (1984 to the present) has had in the area of tertiary education policy. Deploying Giroux's (2014) conception of 'neoliberalism's war on higher education', the article describes, explains and critically evaluates the implementation of neoliberal tertiary education policies by successive Labour and National governments from 1984 to 2018. Among other things, this requires a consideration of the 2008 economic crisis and its aftermath, neoliberal fiscal austerity, the active promotion of neoliberal education policies by business lobby groups, neoliberal think tanks, Treasury and government cabinet ministers. The article concludes by arguing that resistance by university staff and students is not futile, as the positive impacts of past struggles by the educational sector unions and collective struggles of university students make clear.