NEOLIBERALISM, LABOR REFORM AND DECENT WORK:

A Critical Analysis from The Perspective of Noam Chomsky

Abstract

This article aims to analyze Noam Chomsky’s discourse against neoliberalism, anticipating criticisms made in the book Profit over People? in light of the labor reform implemented in Brazil by Law nº 13.467/2017 and fundamental labor rights. Chomsky claims that there is a predatory search for profit due to neoliberal policies, which results in the occurrence of social damage, such as the flexibilization of labor standards as one of the main consequences, which leads to aggravation of misery and social inequality. The evolution of economic regimes is presented, through classical liberalism, the interventionist state and neoliberalism, under the beacon of Chomsky’s analysis, as well as discussing aspects of the labor reform, which intended to generate employment and income through flexibilization. The hypothesis worked is that it is possible to obtain economic growth in a sustentable way, through decent work and corporate social responsibility. It’s concluded that it is necessary and possible to achieve profit with decent work, by the precepts of decent work, created by the Internacional Labor Organization and provided for in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, and the social responsibility of companies, nucleated in the dignity of the human person and in the premise of sustentable economic development. The article uses qualitative, exploratory and bibliographic research based mainly on discussions by Chomsky (2002), Smith (1996), Gomes and Gomes (2018), Delgado (2007), Holanda (2021), Sen (2018), Pompeu and Feijó (2011), which support the three theoretical sections of this article.

Keywords: Social and economic development. Fundamental rights. Neoliberalism. Corporate social responsibility. Decent work