This book focusses on exploring how race operates as a form of disadvantage in modern-day society. It argues that individuals from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, by virtue of their racial identity, are positioned as outsiders in a society that values whiteness and ‘white privilege’. The main argument of the book is that within a neoliberal context policy making in its attempt to be inclusive has portrayed an image of a post-racial society, when in reality vast inequalities between white and black and minority ethnic communities continue to exist. Policy making has exacerbated rather than addressed the inequalities which result from processes of racism, exclusion and marginalisation in which white identities are prioritised and privileged above all others.

The concept of neoliberalism is a contested and complex term that generally refers to the systemic privileging of a ‘free market’ as the mechanism best suited to manage the movement of all capital, goods and services, including services that would conventionally be understood to be public services. Neoliberalism is therefore associated with the drive to privatise public services such as education and healthcare and the disposal of assets owned by the state to private investors. While critics of neoliberal policies often portray such movements as the erosion of a ‘public’ or ‘common’ good, neoliberals would suggest such marketisation fosters greater individualism and responsibility. This book will explore how policy making within a neoliberal context works to protect whiteness and disadvantage those from black and minority ethnic groups.

What is neoliberalism?

The concept of neoliberalism has been used in different ways but it has mainly been incorporated into economic frameworks, policies and thinking. In some respects neoliberalism can be understood as a type of liberalism. Olssen states: