Until the global financial crisis, neo-liberalism had appeared invincible. This article examines the global rise of neo-liberalism and its impact on education, particularly its treatment of the social democratic ideal of equality. Drawing on examples from education and other socio-political factors, it considers whether the financial crisis is putting neo-liberalism's dominant position at threat. It argues that despite the existence of some elements of a crisis in neo-liberalism, the conditions do not exist for the changes of the magnitude of those that emerged either at the time of the birth of social democracy or when neo-liberalism replaced it. (Contains 2 notes.)