Safety after neoliberalism

Neoliberalism refers to the political, economic and social arrangements that have become globally dominant since the 1980s. It promotes privatization, free markets, and deregulation. Neoliberal governance can be linked to safety management by stifling rules developed by non-experts, bureaucratic overreach, imposition of discipline and accountability, and a hemming in of autonomy and discretion on the frontline. Using a variety of sources, this paper examines what safety and safety management can look like after neoliberalism. Centrally, it hinges on changing the belief that complex risks can be managed by rule-based uncertainty reduction, documentation-based liability management, or shrinking the bandwidth of allowable human performance. Safety after neoliberalism involves regulation on the basis of capacities to make things go right as opposed to compliance; de-bureaucratizing safety by putting safety expertise closer to the 'messy details' of actual practice, and instituting investigations and restorative incident responses that emphasize safe working conditions as a collective responsibility. In addition, safety after neoliberalism takes a fresh look at global supply chains, participatory equality, and workers' compensation practices.