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Based on the example of Toronto, this article seeks to understand why many activists use the language of local democracy in their struggle against neoliberalism. Recent urban reforms have often been legitimated as "necessary" for global competitiveness. Yet, these reforms have been perceived by residents as a direct threat to their quality of life. While this antagonism has long been analysed as the opposition between "use value" & "exchange value," the return to power of a centre-left regime in Toronto is better characterized by a synthesis between these two poles, which exemplifies the process of normalizing neoliberalism. Adapted from the source document.

"As a school ethnography, this book explores the controversial schooling practices and strategies embedded in charter school management organizations (CMOs), as well as how these practices influence teaching and learning, school leadership, teachers' professional identities, and students' understanding of success. By theorizing the common practices within the organization, Stahl connects current research in neoliberal governance, neoliberal structuring of educational policy, aspiration and social reproduction in schooling. Honing in on the discourse on education reform, Stahl demonstrates that a "unique blend" of neoliberalism and social justice values have permeated the CMO's institutional culture, promoting the belief that adopting corporate practices will fix America's schools and ensure equity of opportunity for all. The inclusion of institutional texts (emails, Blackberry messages, posters, and rubrics) balances the personal-subjective and inter-subjective to capture a blend of neoliberalism and social justice reframing."--Provided by publisher.

The text focuses on the efficiencyof school as one of the key agents of political socialization of early childhood students. Using the conceptual framework of J. Astuto and M.D. Ruck, a question is posed of how to effectively develop prosocial skills of children and therefore how to shape their later willingness to engage in civic actions in youth. According to various scholars, prosocial skills, such as respect for others' feelings, helping, sharing and cooperating with others, have to be nurtured through classroom-based play. Unfortunately, in the age of neoliberal dominance of standardized tests, civic education is deemed less important, with an excessive focus on civic knowledge and the insufficien (not testable) focus on civic skills. In reference to research results (e.g. C. Flanagan and L.S. Gallay), the author of the article points out that democratic competence does not simply emerge as a result of top-down transmission of knowledge. The process of normative (moral) development in childhood knowledge of political facts is significantlyless important than the child's social experience of civic participation and cooperation. Contrary to the neoliberal tendencies in educational reforms, democracy-learning – as pointed out by numerous studies – should be based on the development of a 'democratic self' (values, patterns of behavior, habits), prior to the development of political knowledge. Knowledge should be treated as a second important element of school political socialization of children. The primary focus should be the school's commitment to the development of children's democratic attitudes. ; The text focuses on the efficiencyof school as one of the key agents of political socialization of early childhood students. Using the conceptual framework of J. Astuto and M.D. Ruck, a question is posed of how to effectively develop prosocial skills of children and therefore how to shape their later willingness to engage in civic actions in youth. According to various scholars, prosocial skills, such as respect for others' feelings, helping, sharing and cooperating with others, have to be nurtured through classroom-based play. Unfortunately, in the age of neoliberal dominance of standardized tests, civic education is deemed less important, with an excessive focus on civic knowledge and the insufficien (not testable) focus on civic skills. In reference to research results (e.g. C. Flanagan and L.S. Gallay), the author of the article points out that democratic competence does not simply emerge as a result of top-down transmission of knowledge. The process of normative (moral) development in childhood knowledge of political facts is significantlyless important than the child's social experience of civic participation and cooperation. Contrary to the neoliberal tendencies in educational reforms, democracy-learning – as pointed out by numerous studies – should be based on the development of a 'democratic self' (values, patterns of behavior, habits), prior to the development of political knowledge. Knowledge should be treated as a second important element of school political socialization of children. The primary focus should be the school's commitment to the development of children's democratic attitudes.

The text focuses on the efficiencyof school as one of the key agents of political socialization of early childhood students. Using the conceptual framework of J. Astuto and M.D. Ruck, a question is posed of how to effectively develop prosocial skills of children and therefore how to shape their later willingness to engage in civic actions in youth. According to various scholars, prosocial skills, such as respect for others' feelings, helping, sharing and cooperating with others, have to be nurtured through classroom-based play. Unfortunately, in the age of neoliberal dominance of standardized tests, civic education is deemed less important, with an excessive focus on civic knowledge and the insufficien (not testable) focus on civic skills. In reference to research results (e.g. C. Flanagan and L.S. Gallay), the author of the article points out that democratic competence does not simply emerge as a result of top-down transmission of knowledge. The process of normative (moral) development in childhood knowledge of political facts is significantlyless important than the child's social experience of civic participation and cooperation. Contrary to the neoliberal tendencies in educational reforms, democracy-learning – as pointed out by numerous studies – should be based on the development of a 'democratic self' (values, patterns of behavior, habits), prior to the development of political knowledge. Knowledge should be treated as a second important element of school political socialization of children. The primary focus should be the school's commitment to the development of children's democratic attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the recommendations of international organizations based on the Washington Consensus on health system reforms of selected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1980s and 1990s and to investigate the effects of the competitive market logic on public action in the health system. METHODS: Comparative analysis of the characteristics of health system reforms conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, still seen in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Data were collected by documental analysis and literature review. The systems were described based on the characteristics of: co-payment, privatization mechanisms, decentralization, fragmentation of the system, integration of funding sources and coverage of the population (universal or segmented). RESULTS: The reforms were implemented differently, worsening inequalities in health service delivery systems. Changes related to the neoliberal idea of transforming public action in the direction of private logic point to the predominance of competition rules and the reduction in economic costs in all countries analyzed, contrary to the logic of universal health systems. CONCLUSION: The reduction in economic costs, the fragmentation of systems and inequalities in the provision of health services, among others, may mean other future costs resulting from low protection to the population's health. A striking and multidimensional counter-reform is essential to make health a right of all again, in a solidarity system that can lead to the reduction in inequalities and a more democratic society. ; OBJETIVO: Analisar as recomendações dos organismos internacionais pautadas no Consenso de Washington para as reformas dos sistemas de saúde de países selecionados da América Latina e Caribe nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 e investigar os efeitos da lógica concorrencial de mercado sobre a ação pública nos sistema de saúde. MÉTODOS: Análise comparada de características das reformas dos sistemas de saúde realizadas nas décadas de 1980 e 1990, presentes até o momento no Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Colômbia, México e Peru. Os dados foram coletados por análise documental e revisão de literatura. Os sistemas foram descritos quanto às características de: copagamento, mecanismos de privatização, descentralização, fragmentação do sistema, integração das fontes de financiamento e cobertura da população (universal ou segmentada). RESULTADOS: As reformas foram implementadas de forma variada, aprofundando desigualdades nos sistemas de prestação de serviços de saúde. As mudanças, ao serem relacionadas à ideia neoliberal de transformar a ação pública na direção da lógica privada, apontam para o predomínio das regras da concorrência e da redução dos custos econômicos em todos os países analisados, contrariando a lógica dos sistemas universais de saúde. CONCLUSÃO: A redução dos custos econômicos, a fragmentação dos sistemas e as desigualdades na prestação de serviços de saúde, entre outros, poderão significar outros custos futuros decorrentes da baixa proteção à saúde da população. É imprescindível uma contrarreforma contundente e multidimensional, que retome a saúde como direito de todos, em um sistema solidário que possa levar à redução das desigualdades e a uma sociedade mais democrática.

Political consumerism refers to citizens' use of boycotting and buycotting as they seek to influence political outcomes within the marketplace rather than through more traditional routes such as voting. However, given the pressure that neoliberalist forces exert on the marketplace, the lack of literature problematising the relationship between political consumerism and neoliberalism is somewhat surprising. Addressing this gap, we examine how neoliberalism impacts youth political consumerism in the UK and Greece. Focus-group findings suggest the existence of two inter-connected effects. Firstly, we detect a neoliberal 'push effect' away from electoral politics. Secondly, we discern a parallel 'pull effect' as young people seek the 'political' within the marketplace. In Greece, youth political consumerism seems to result primarily from distrust of institutional political actors. In contrast, young political consumers in the UK appear to be principally driven by confidence in the capacity of the market to respond to their pressing needs.

The social-democratic-inspired "Nordic model", with its agenda for gender equality, has been an important example for the development of political interventions to transform society but at the same time, it has been functioning as an emerging gender normalising and stabilising structure. The last decade it has also become focused by antigender movements and ethno-nationalistic parties both as emblematic for the Nordic nations as well as a threat that must be destroyed to save the nation. This issue will elaborate further on gender equality as a node, a floating signifier in powerful and often contradictory discourses situating the discussions within the tradition of scholarships of hope through a dialogue about articles that search for realistic utopias that might be considered to be "beyond gender equality". The included articles engage with the messiness and crossroads of gender equality in relation to the work-line, territories, neo-liberalism, religion, the crisis of solidarity and the success of anti-genderism agenda.

This article problematizes the neoliberal reconfiguration of labour rights in Lithuania, a newer European Union member state, in which the impacts of the global economic and financial crisis were particularly severe and where radical austerity measures were subsequently imposed. Now, after six years, in an attempt to resolve the exhaustion of previous austerity-based solutions for economic recovery, a new Labour Code is being introduced which will further weaken labour protections and labour rights. This article analyses conflicting positions in current debates over Labour Code reform. It attempts to map the mobilization of strategic discursive resources in an unfolding dialogical 'moral' politics of Labour Code reform in the current conjuncture of 'postcrisis'. Theoretically, this article draws upon the seminal work of the early Soviet Marxist scholar V. N. Voloshinov in proposing a dialogical method which foregrounds the interconnections of language, class and ideology.

»Neoliberalismus« zielt keinesfalls nur auf ökonomische Veränderungen in einem Land ab – auch wenn die neo-liberalen, drakonischen »Strukturanpassungen« Griechenlands eine keinesfalls zu leugnende Tatsache sind. Prekarität & Austerität – als »Superwaffen« des Neoliberalismus - sind dabei nicht nur »Folgen« solcher Strukturanpassungen, sondern auch eigenständige politische Mittel hin zu einer grundlegenden Rekonfiguration unserer Vorstellungen von Gesellschaftlichkeit, die alle Aspekte der gesellschaftlichen Organisation miteinbezieht: Institutionen, Staat, Arbeit, Individuen, Bedürfnisse, Beziehungen, Rechte etc. Wie Gesellschaft aussieht bzw. auszusehen hat, wird dabei, soll von neuem konfiguriert werden. Die neo-liberale Transformation auch der griechischen Gesellschaft bezog sich nicht nur auf die Arbeitsbedingungen (was ja mit Austerität & Prekarität gemeint sein mag); die NGOisierung der (psychologischen) Arbeit hat auch neue Arbeitsräume geschaffen, neue Arbeitsinhalte und auch neue Arbeitssubjekte. NGOisierung meint dabei nicht die Ersetzung von Öffentlichem durch Privates, sondern die Schaffung eines neuen Regimes von Beziehungen zwischen öffentlich und privat. NGOisierung charakterisiert mehr eine »Methodologie«, eine Technologie, die die Funktionen aller teilnehmenden Akteure und Konstituenten transformiert, d. h. die NGOs selbst, den Staat und die individuellen Subjekte und ihre Beziehungen etc. Die neuen umkämpften Praxen und neuen Arbeitsregime fordern und erschaffen ihrerseits neue Subjektivitäten und neue Praxisformen. Die Arbeit in einer NGO bedeutet für eine(n) jung(en) sozialwissenschaftliche(n) AbsolventIn nicht nur prekäre Arbeit; sie beinhaltet auch Veränderungen innerhalb des psychosozialen Rahmens der Arbeit, die bezüglich der Anforderungen und Möglichkeiten für die Subjekte Ähnlichkeiten mit high-tech Arbeitsplätzen aufweisen, z. B. Anwendung von ständig aktualisiertem Wissen, aber auch kontinuierliches Lernen für und während der Arbeit; Aspekte von Forschungstätigkeit und Wissensproduktion etc. Darüber hinaus werden zunehmend auch Tätigkeiten erwartet, die lediglich zur Reproduktion des Arbeitsplatzes beitragen, wie z. B. »manageriale« Aufgaben oder Akquirierung von funds. In einem weiteren Schritt werden wir einen historischen Sprung nach vorn machen um unsere bisherigen Reflexionen zu aktualisieren. Hierzu werden wir kurz und exemplarisch aus einer explorativen Studie mit jungen SchulpsychologInnen während der »Krise« berichten, in der die jungen KollegInnen über ihre Erfahrungen mit vielfältigen Feldern von Prekarität berichten. Hierbei kann deutlicher werden, dass und wie sich die NGOisierung der Arbeit mit ihrer kolonialen Logik auf die Gesellschaft ausbreitet. ; »Neoliberalism« is doing much more than transforming the »economies« of nations around the world. In fact, in Greece precarity and austerity have ensued soon after the draconian neo-liberal adjustments. Such impacts are not only articulations or outgrowths of particular policies but also tools in the imposition of a fundamental reconfiguration of our »social imagination« impacting all aspects of society's organization: institutions, organization of labor, individuals, needs, rights, etc. The entire scheme of what and how society ought to look like has been reconfigurated from anew. The neo-liberal transformation of Greek society has not only affected working conditions (»precarity & austerity«), but it has also created new spaces, new contents and new worker-subjects which come about through the «NGOisation" of psychological work. NGOisation should not to be construed as a substitute for the public by the private, but as the creation of a new regime of relationships between public and private. The whole process of NGOisation has to be grasped more as a »methodology« changing and transforming the functions of all of its contributors, actors, constituents; that is, the NGOs themselves, the state, and the subjects who act under its auspices. The contested practices and the new work regimes, in turn, demand and produce new subjectivities and new forms of social practice. Working in NGOs as a young social scientist is not only precarious; it also engenders changes and transformations within psychosocial settings where the work takes place. The induced changes in the nature of the work and how it is organized is rendered similar to those of high-tech settings. This includes traditional application of cutting-edge knowledge, well-honed abilities, and reflective practice, along with a concomitant and continuous production of knowledge, and learning. Moreover, these jobs require that the young social scientists maintain their keep; in essence, bringing in funds and grants that will allow them to draw a salary. Hence, these kinds of jobs are usually accompanied by increased demands and certainly »new forms« of worker subjectivity. In a second step we will make a historical step forward and update our previous reflections presenting findings from our explorative qualitative inquiry focusing on psychology's influx in schools in Greece during the »crisis«. We asked young psychologists to describe their work, their responsibilities, and sense of professional identity during their short tenure in the schools. Discussion focuses on issues of austerity, professional precarity, and the nuances of how »evaluation« and »support« services are implicated and, in turn, legitimize »psychologizing« practices. By this it maybe become more clear that and how the NGOisation of labor with its colonial logic expands more and more towards society.

The present article explores the expansion of the public and private health segment in response to the needs of the population of a peripheral sector of the South Zone of São Paulo, Brazil. Management of the sector is led from the margins of the capitalist peripheral State in the context of the current crisis of democracy which is driving a gradual individualization of social policies. As such, this management is both social and structural in nature. In addition to those users of the system who were interviewed, participants in the research included social leaders, Basic Health Unit (UBS) professionals, and agents of the Family Health Strategy (ESF) primary healthcare program. We focus on the continuities and discontinuities of public policies and highlight the important role that strategies of containment and reproduction of poverty have played in the process of legitimizing the democratic regime in Brazil. ; Este artículo pretende comprender la expansión del segmento de salud pública y privada como respuesta a las necesidades de la población de un territorio periférico de la zona sur de la ciudad de São Paulo. Esta gestión se basa en los márgenes del estado periférico capitalista, ya que considera que la crisis de la democracia es una acentuación de los elementos genéricos que operan actualmente en un contexto de individualización de las políticas sociales y, por lo tanto, tiene un carácter social y estructural. Además de los usuarios entrevistados, participaron en la investigación, líderes sociales, profesionales de la Unidad Básica de Salud (UBS) y agentes del programa de atención primaria de salud, Estrategia de Salud Familiar (ESF). Buscamos privilegiar las continuidades/discontinuidades de las políticas públicas y resaltar la importancia que han jugado las estrategias de contención/reproducción de la pobreza en el proceso de legitimación del régimen democrático en el país.