The moral and cultural political economy of Central Asia: rentierism, neofeudalism and neoliberal hegemony

This chapter critically examines the nature of neoliberal economic development in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It will discuss how rent became a dominant feature of contemporary economies, eliding the moral economic distinction between productive and unproductive activities, and earned and unearned income. Far from creating a ‘free market’ in the region, market reforms erected neofeudalism, in which the powerful propertied class extracted rent, and dominated political, legal and cultural spheres. The chapter will evaluate the neoliberalisation of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, highlighting how rent extraction has generated harmful effects. In this sense, ethics is integral to the study of economic systems. This means adopting a postdisciplinary approach to understand, explain and evaluate Central Asian economies. In light of growing discontent and protests against neoliberalism, it is important to examine how ideas, values, norms and discourses were articulated to justify, legitimise and defend market societies. International financial institutions, development agencies, philanthropic donors, non-governmental organisations and intellectuals helped to manufacture neoliberal hegemony. In critically analysing economies in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, culture, morality, the state and ideologies are as important as class, power, prices and markets.