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Neoliberalism and Natural Disaster

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  • Stephen J. Collier

Abstract

A substantial recent literature has examined insurance as a mechanism for economizing uncertain but potentially catastrophic events. Less attention has been paid to how insurantial techniques for economizing catastrophe have been deployed as political technologies . Focusing on discussions of US flood policy in the 1960s, the present article examines how insurance was used to forge new articulations and accommodations between political government and processes of rationalization. On the one hand, insurance provided a technical solution to problems that had long confronted US policy-makers: How to reduce losses from floods? How to fully compensate individuals who suffered losses? On the other hand, insurance was a device for reshaping the aims and objects of government , and for reframing questions that are more frequently situated at the level of political philosophy: What are the respective responsibilities of individual citizens and government in providing security? What tradeoffs must be made between the provision of security and economic rationality? What values are relevant in orienting public policy? In examining these issues, the article raises questions about standard narratives about the changing relations among risk, responsibility, and security in recent decades, particularly as they relate to neoliberalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen J. Collier, 2014. "Neoliberalism and Natural Disaster," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 273-290, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jculte:v:7:y:2014:i:3:p:273-290
    DOI: 10.1080/17530350.2013.858064
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    Cited by:

    1. Brett Christophers & Patrick Bigger & Leigh Johnson, 2020. "Stretching scales? Risk and sociality in climate finance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(1), pages 88-110, February.
    2. Squires, Graham & White, Iain, 2019. "Resilience and housing markets: Who is it really for?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 167-174.
    3. Paul O'Hare & Iain White & Angela Connelly, 2016. "Insurance as maladaptation: Resilience and the ‘business as usual’ paradox," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(6), pages 1175-1193, September.
    4. Elliott, Rebecca, 2021. "Insurance and the temporality of climate ethics: accounting for climate change in US flood insurance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107925, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Collier, Stephen J. & Elliott, Rebecca & Lehtonen, Turo-kimmo, 2021. "Climate change and insurance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110452, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Malin Song & Qianqian Du, 2019. "Analysis and exploration of damage-reduction measures for flood disasters in China," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 283(1), pages 795-810, December.

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