Neoliberalism's Toll on Western Democracies and Proposals for Reform

An essay by an engineer and finance academic argues that neoliberal policies introduced by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s have corroded Western democracies, leading to economic stagnation, rising debt, and political malaise. The author uses the structure-conduct-performance model to analyze how deregulation, tax cuts, and market liberalization weakened institutions and increased fragility. Key evidence includes rising government and household debt, slowing GDP growth, and increased wealth concentration among the top 1%. The essay proposes reforms such as raising political salaries, introducing democracy vouchers, adopting wellbeing measures like New Zealand's Living Standards Framework, implementing strict liability for white-collar crime, and establishing citizens' assemblies. It concludes that tackling the crisis requires more democracy and breaking the monopoly of incumbent parties.