Description
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis sparked a crisis in the global economy which shows little sign of abating. The confluence of stagnating growth, overaccumulation of investment, growing inequality and stalling social mobility, crisis of democracy and populism has been framed by some as a Gramscian organic crisis; a situation where the old neoliberal world is dying, and the new cannot be born. Gramsci was certainly aware that such crises have no easy solutions, but he also pointed to the importance of ‘passive revolution’ as a strategy by dominant social forces try to resolve organic crises, reforming hegemonic projects from above and offering concessions to the subordinate classes to re-secure hegemony. Accordingly, this paper examines the most prominent attempt at a passive revolution since 2008: the return of industrial policy in the US aimed at accelerating decarbonisation and sustaining American supremacy in cutting edge technology – what has been referred to as ‘Bidenomics.’ Applying the lens of passive revolution, it examines the new coalition of social forces behind Bidenomics and its proposed model of accumulation, as well as analysing the extent to which it offers the necessary concessions to re-secure consent. The paper concludes by considering whether Bidenomics represents a model for resolving the global crisis of the neoliberal world order.
