Governing The Power Of Neoliberalism Government With People's Economics In The Welfare Of The Community (Study Of People-Owned Shops Or Tomira In Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia)
Authors: Sahdan Gregorius , Pradhanawati Ari , Yuwono Teguh , Yunanto Sutoro Eko 
Published: January 2024

Objective: The aims of this research are; (1) to explore governing the power of a neoliberal government with a people's economic orientation in improving the welfare of society; (2) to describe and explore the characteristics of a neoliberal government with a people's economic orientation in improving the welfare of society; (3) Exploring the regional government context of Kulon Progo Regency which provides space for neoliberal government practices with a people's economic orientation.

 

Theoretical framework:  Barry Ferguson defines governing power as the government's actions related to the economy where the government has a monopoly over many activities, even though the government is only one competitor of economic activity apart from business actors and society (Ferguson 2020a). This research does not use the word governance but uses the word governing from Barry Ferguson, which places the term governing as the act of government monopolizing all forms of economic activity. According to David Harvey, neoliberalism is a form of government that supports the private property rights of each individual, the supremacy of law, free market institutions, and free trade (Hervey 2007). Rizal Ramli defines neoliberalism as an economic system and policy that prioritizes economic growth, not human development (Ramli 2014). Meanwhile, Kwik Kian Gie defines neoliberalism as an economic system that does not require government intervention (Gie 2022). In this research, neoliberal government with a people's economic orientation can be seen from; (1) a regional government policy model that prioritizes economic growth, not human development (Ramli 2014); (2) a government that does not use power to empower society (Eko 2022); (3) a government that prioritizes market mechanisms rather than a small economy with limited capital (Mubyarto 2014); (4) a government that does not make the people the owner of economic sovereignty and only makes the people the object of the market; (5) a government that does not use its power to protect small communities from the onslaught of liberal capitalism. Meanwhile, a people's economy is defined as an economic system that is more oriented towards human development such as community empowerment (Ramli 2014).

 

Method: This research is exploratory qualitative research with a case study research approach. Exploratory qualitative research is considered a form of research that does not just describe cases that occur but also explores how the cases occurred (Hardani at al 2020). The case raised in this research is a People's Owned Store or ToMiRa in Kulon Progo Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta which was transformed by the local government from an Alfamart and Indomaret franchise store into ToMiRa. Data was collected using observation techniques, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGD), and document searches related to ToMiRa policies and operationalization in the research field. Data analysis uses interpretive techniques, where the data is analyzed using triangulation techniques, namely the technique of combining observation data, interview data, and document data (Abdussamad 2021).

 

Results and conclusions: The results of this research found that; (1) the actions of the neoliberal government in Kulon Progo Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, are aimed at people's economics so that its expansion can be accepted by society at large; (2) in carrying out market expansion, neoliberalism which has a popular economic orientation uses the power of local governments to influence the community not to protest and reject ToMiRa; (3) the actions of the neoliberal government with a people's economic orientation, only using the jargon of People's Owned Stores (ToMiRa) as a strategy to gain public sympathy to obtain high electoral votes in the 2017 regional head elections; (4) regional government with a neoliberalism pattern with a popular economic direction prefers the route of economic growth rather than human development in improving the welfare of society.