Abstract
Examining the protest movements that occurred in the United States from the 1980s to the present, The Defiant uses a historical lens that focuses on role of neoliberalism that created the need for these movements. Noting the confusing name, Barrett describes neoliberalism as having a clear and unmistakable goal: ‘to maximize the wealth and power of the elite’ (p. 3). Movements of the Post-Liberal era include those that address problems with the environment, worker exploitation, global injustice, economic inequality, immigrant maltreatment, and the use of public spaces are described in the work.
Barrett, a historian, argues the liberal climate that followed the New Deal began to collapse in the 1970s, after successful movements involving race, gender, sexuality, and the environment began losing their influence. Those with wealth and political power (in both major parties) dismantled the progressive policies of the previous period, creating a ‘new Gilded Age’ in which those in power garnered massive wealth and control, leaving the middle and lower classes with very little of either.
Initially addressed in the work are the strategies of the environmental protest movements, focusing on the EarthFirst! Movements that existed at the time of the Reagan and Clinton administrations. While Liberal era movements were able to effectively induce Federal intervention into local affairs, Post-Liberal movements had to contend with Federal agencies that, since the Reagan era, had been stocked with leaders with a pro-growth, anti-worker/anti-environment agenda. The struggles that followed reflected the uphill battles faced by activists in this type of milieu.
Workers’ rights movements that emerged at the time of the blossoming of globalization are also examined. While Reagan instituted many neoliberal policies in the wake of the progressive framework of the prior period, Bill Clinton furthered these ideals with a bipartisan consensus and expanded neoliberal policies through free trade initiatives, most notably the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which continued the exploitation of workers on a global level. Neoliberal era student coalitions, much like those of the 1960s, created campaigns such as the ‘Boot the Bell’ boycott that was initiated on college campuses due to the worker exploitation by the restaurant’s parent company.
The social movements associated with the War on Terror that covered the George W. Bush and Obama administrations after the 11 September 2001 attacks were in response to Bush’s deception and promotion of the fear of terrorism, creating acceptance of the US invasion of a foreign country. This period also created a vast peace movement around the world in response to this action.
The movements associated with the Great Recession were addressed in the final chapter. The George W. Bush era ended with the massive economic collapse that exposed the inequities in a fragile economic environment and gave birth to various ‘occupy’ movements, also known as the 99 Percent movement (a term signifying the vast lower portion of people at the lower ranks of the economic ladder). The Occupy movements constituted a large but short-lived episode beginning in 2011, in which encampments were set up in many cities to symbolically take back spaces currently owned by the ‘one percent’. Movements in the areas of environment, social justice, immigration, and peace also joined in the enthusiasm of the moment.
Perhaps the most intriguing movement of the work is the Do It Yourself (DIY) punk movement. Here the book addresses the role of popular culture in social movements and the battle over public space. The venues, or ‘arts spaces’ that promoted the loud, rebellious and counterculture punk music had better success than the environmentalists and often used similar tactics; obviously the smaller scope of the punk movement had much to do with this success but the strategies used (especially by New York City’s ABC No Rio and San Francisco’s 924 Gilman Street galleries) produced small but important Post-Liberal victories.
Barrett’s work is a David and Goliath narrative in which small, often local groups with very limited resources fight an epic battle against capitalist interests that are well-funded by corporate America and supported by a Federal government filled with enabling politicians and saboteurs through an extensive and well-orchestrated operation which began in the 1970s. This operation flowered in the Reagan era and has continued, but not without backlash from grassroots groups. Some of the protest movements of this period were successful and some were not – the author explains how some business entities had to cave to public pressure (such as Taco Bell’s parent company) while behemoths in industry (Lockheed Martin and Halliburton) remained unscathed, reflecting the sustained power of the military-industrial complex. While challenging the neoliberal activities of the Republican party, the book does not spare the Democrats’ role in maintaining the power differentials that exist in this political and economic environment.
By the final chapter the reader cannot help but make comparisons to the current situation regarding the Trump administration. Barrett addresses these issues in the book’s epilogue. Written as an addendum to the administrations under study (Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama), Barrett describes the characteristics of Trumpism: the dismantling of the liberal policies of the Obama administration, the declaration of the news media as ‘the enemy of the people’, the promotion of a white nationalist agenda, the use of fear tactics involving immigrants (similar to Bush’s tactics involving terrorists), the promotion of xenophobia and ethnocentrism, and the placement of saboteurs in key roles of the government (similar to Reagan’s strategy). A further investigation of Trumpism and the resulting protest approaches is certainly warranted, though a fuller understanding of this turbulent period will take some time to critically evaluate, well after the current President leaves office.
The work is a fascinating journey into the protest movements of the last few decades and, while the movements examined are quite dissimilar, they are all tied by a common thread that challenges the tenets of neoliberalism and the inequities of life in a Post-Liberal America. Barrett ends the work with a bit of practical advice to current activists: like those from previous eras, you have much work to do.