Deepening Neoliberalism, Austerity, and Crisis Europe's Treasure Ireland

This is a book about power. It demonstrates how political and economic elites have used the 2008 crisis as an opportunity to deepen and extend neoliberal ideas and practices. From bank bailouts to austerity, Europe's and Ireland's response to the economic crisis has been engineered specifically to shift the burden of paying for a private sector crisis onto ordinary citizens while investors, financiers, bankers and the privileged are protected. The authors expose the class-based nature of Ireland's crisis resolution under austerity which serves to deepen and extend neoliberalism into every aspect of public policy. As a policy response to the crisis, this fits with the overarching objective of neoliberalism, which is to redistribute wealth and income upwards thereby enhancing the power of corporate and political elites.

Julien Mercille is Lecturer at the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin, Ireland. He has published widely on topics such as the financial crisis, US foreign policy, media studies, and drugs policy, all from a political economy perspective. His current research interests include political economy, neoliberalism, the mass media and economic crises.

Enda Murphy is Senior Lecturer at the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin, Ireland. He has published extensively on the financial crisis, urban planning, and noise pollution. His current research interests centre on political economy, neoliberalism, economic crises and crisis resolution.

1. Introduction
2. Neoliberalism, A Class Project
3. Encountering Neoliberalism
4. European Rule Regimes And Deepening Neoliberalism
5. Ideological Power And The Response To The Crash
6. Privatisation
7. Health And Health Care
8. 'Austere' Labour
9. Taxation: Taking From The Poor And Giving To The Rich
10. Conclusion