Gary Teeple examines the transformation of the economic and political conditions that allowed for the rise of the welfare state and the politics of social democracy. He critically analyzes the neo-liberal policies that are being introduced by governments everywhere, arguing that they are the policy counterpart to the globalization of the economy.

If globalization represents the "triumph of capitalism" and the decline of the welfare state, then it also carries negative consequences for working people around the world. As liberal democracy declines and political legitimacy fades, the world is confronted by the unmitigated assertion of the rights of corporate private property.