Neoliberal ideologies and philanthrocapitalist agendas: what does a 'smart economics' discourse empower?

Emerging as this era's most prominent philanthropist organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) wield unparalleled influence over global development agendas. Their philanthrocapitalist approach seeks to apply 'market logic' promoting neoliberal economic policies to dev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Third world quarterly 2023-03, Vol.44 (3), p.574-594
Main Authors: Smith, Ruth, Mdee, Anna, Sallu, Susannah M., Whitfield, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agenda
Agricultural development
Agricultural economics
Agricultural production
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Capitalism
Discourse
Economic development
Economic integration
Economic policy
Empowerment
Gender
Gender inequality
Health promotion
Hegemony
Markets
Neoliberalism
Philanthrocapitalism
Power
Productivity
smart economics
Women
women's empowerment
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Summary:Emerging as this era's most prominent philanthropist organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) wield unparalleled influence over global development agendas. Their philanthrocapitalist approach seeks to apply 'market logic' promoting neoliberal economic policies to development challenges - from global health to agricultural development, and, more recently, to gender equality and women's empowerment. We apply Kashwan, MacLean, and García-López's (2019) 'Power in Institutions' framework to the analysis of BMGF's organisational documents around gender and triangulate findings through key-informant interviews to explore the multiple dimensions of power that the BMGF exert over mainstream approaches to gender. Overt power is exercised through direct control over the types of gender projects funded and the mainstream monitoring techniques used to track progress in line with the BMGF's impact-orientated approach. Agenda power is exhibited through their 'smart economics' discourse rationalising investments in women that set global development agendas around increased yields, productivity and market integration. Discursive/ideational power is evident through shaping narratives around vulnerability - discursively defining global challenges, how they should be addressed, and by whom. Our findings thus contribute to a growing critique against the current neoliberal development landscape where philanthrocapitalists like the BMGF solidify their hegemony through wielding their immense power to push capitalist development agendas.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/01436597.2022.2153030