Evaluating the injuries of neoliberalism in Chile 1973-2015

Abstract

This study of the neoliberal experiment in Chile from 1973 to 2015 uses the social harm approach. It offers an alternative evaluation of the benefits and harms of the experiment, the ways in which Chileans understand its consequences and where the legitimacy of the model unravels. The study refines the conceptualisation and measurement of social harm, marrying the notion of harm with the Marxist theory of contradictions. The research design is multimethod, incorporating analysis of 59 semi-structured interviews with secondary quantitative data. The study captures and describes not only a wide array of harms and injuries in the reconfiguration of social dynamics under neoliberalism, but also investigates how these harms have been justified and challenged over time. The study finds that there are areas in which the model has brought benefits to Chileans, but these benefits are flawed. The study critiques the neoliberal conceptualisation of harms as the ‘price worth paying’ for social prosperity. It concludes that the ‘winners’ of the model are very few, while those harmed populate the Chilean social structure from top to bottom. This study argues for a normative scenario to move toward a less harmful society.