Crashing through the glass ceiling: neoliberal hegemony and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act

This paper explores whether the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act can be characterized as demonstrating a new form of Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. Since this theory has been popular in explaining neoliberalism, with the hypotheses that the Glass-Steagall Act was a part of the continuous process of the neoliberal hegemony, I used the theory to explain the long and slow demise of the Glass-Steagall Act. I employed Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony by paying particular attention to the relevance of intellectuals. I tested the theory against the long erosion of the depression-era banking act that had separated commercial banks and investment banks in the US. Since hegemony is a long and continuous process, my analysis is structured in such a way that made it suitable to the study of the erosion of the Glass- Steagall Act over the long period. The study covers its enactment and provisions, its contradiction with the financialization process, its repeal efforts and reinforcement for its repeal by the intellectuals from the academic sector and from within the political system in the US. The results demonstrate that Gramsci’s notion of hegemony explains the gradual erosion of the Act. Moreover, it demonstrates that the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act is part of the long and continuous neoliberal process.