This Is Neoliberalism ▶︎ Introducing the Invisible Ideology (Part 1)

Summary

This video script delves into the pervasive yet often overlooked ideology of neoliberalism, which has influenced economic and political systems globally since the late 20th century. It critiques the philosophy's emphasis on minimal government intervention, advocating for free markets at the expense of social welfare. The script outlines neoliberalism's origins, its implementation in the West, and its impact on developing nations, suggesting it has led to increased inequality, political instability, and environmental degradation.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Neoliberalism is an economic ideology that permeates all aspects of society, advocating for minimal government intervention in markets and economies.
• 🏛️ Originating from philosophical roots, neoliberalism opposes state intervention and promotes market freedom as essential for human liberty.
• 📈 Neoliberalism gained traction in the late 1970s and early 1980s, leading to significant societal and economic changes worldwide.
• 🏢 It prioritizes competition and individual responsibility, viewing the world as a vast competitive market where freedom is derived from consumer choice and labor market participation.
• 💸 Neoliberal policies often result in wealth redistribution from the public sector to private individuals and corporations, increasing inequality.
• 🏦 The ideology has been associated with austerity measures, privatization, deregulation, and suppression of labor rights, impacting social services and welfare.
• 🌍 Initially imposed through military force in some developing countries, neoliberalism later spread peacefully but coercively through international lending bodies.
• 🏛️ In the US and UK, neoliberal policies were adopted by both liberal and conservative parties, leading to a bipartisan consensus that continues today.
• 📉 Neoliberalism has been criticized for exacerbating economic crises, increasing poverty and unemployment, and contributing to political and cultural crises.
• 🌱 The ideology's global dominance has led to environmental degradation and socio-economic disparities, with wealth concentrated among a tiny fraction of the population.

Q & A

What is neoliberalism?

Neoliberalism is an economic ideology that emphasizes minimal government intervention in the economy, advocating for free markets, deregulation, and privatization. It sees competition and individual responsibility as central to economic rationality and human freedom.

How does neoliberalism view the role of the government?

Neoliberalism believes the government's role should be to maximize economic freedom, often by reducing regulations, cutting social services, and promoting policies that favor private enterprise over public welfare.

What are the origins of neoliberal thought?

The origins of neoliberal thought can be traced back to the late 1930s with the formation of the Mont Pelerin Society, which was a group of academics and advocates aiming to influence society and policy in favor of free-market principles.

How did neoliberalism become a dominant ideology?

Neoliberalism became dominant through the influence of key thinkers, the adoption of its policies by political leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and the promotion of its principles by international financial institutions.

What are some criticisms of neoliberalism?

Critics argue that neoliberalism leads to increased inequality, deregulation that can cause economic instability, and a focus on profits over social welfare, which can result in environmental degradation and social injustice.

How has neoliberalism impacted the developing world?

Neoliberal policies were often imposed on developing countries through structural adjustment programs by institutions like the World Bank and IMF, leading to austerity, privatization, and economic liberalization, which sometimes resulted in social unrest and economic hardship.

What is the relationship between neoliberalism and globalization?

Neoliberalism has been a driving force behind globalization, advocating for the free movement of goods, services, and capital across borders, which has led to increased international trade and investment but also to concerns about labor exploitation and cultural homogenization.

How does neoliberalism affect the concept of social welfare?

Neoliberalism often views social welfare programs as market distortions, leading to policies that reduce or restructure public support systems, which can increase reliance on private solutions and potentially exacerbate social inequalities.

What are the key policy prescriptions of neoliberalism?

Key policy prescriptions of neoliberalism include deregulation, privatization, fiscal austerity, and the promotion of free trade agreements. These policies aim to reduce the role of the state in the economy and increase the influence of market forces.

How has neoliberalism influenced contemporary politics?

Neoliberalism has influenced contemporary politics by shaping the policy agendas of both liberal and conservative parties, often leading to a convergence around economic policies that prioritize market freedoms over social protections.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Neoliberalism: The Dominant Yet Invisible Ideology

This paragraph introduces neoliberalism as a pervasive ideology that has silently taken control over various facets of society, from urban landscapes to rural settings, and from personal lives to political structures. Neoliberalism is presented as an economic philosophy that advocates for minimal government intervention in markets, promoting the idea that the market should operate without constraints to ensure human freedom. It critiques the practical implications of neoliberalism, such as the prioritization of corporate profits over social welfare, leading to phenomena like food waste and homelessness. The paragraph also notes the paradoxical obscurity of neoliberalism despite its profound influence, drawing a comparison to living in a communist state without knowing about communism.

05:01

💼 The Neoliberal Conception of Freedom and Its Critics

Paragraph 2 delves deeper into the neoliberal perspective, emphasizing the belief in competition and individual responsibility as the cornerstones of a free market. It discusses the controversy surrounding minimum wage increases and wealth taxation from a neoliberal viewpoint, which sees these as threats to the natural order of economic freedom. The paragraph also addresses the perception of the government as an adversary to the market, the preference for personal vehicles over public transit, and the existence of private institutions like charter schools and prisons. It raises questions about wealth inequality, wage stagnation, and the rising costs of necessities, suggesting that these issues are symptomatic of a neoliberal society that has normalized economic absurdity.

10:01

🏛️ The Historical Roots and Evolution of Neoliberalism

Paragraph 3 traces the origins of neoliberalism back to the late 1930s and contrasts it with the 'embedded liberalism' that followed World War II, characterized by state intervention in markets for social welfare. It explains how neoliberalism, as a reaction against Keynesian policies, sought to liberate markets from government oversight. The paragraph outlines the shift from a post-war consensus that favored state regulation to a neoliberal model that prioritizes market freedom. It also introduces the Mont Pelerin Society, a group of academics and advocates who played a key role in promoting neoliberal policies and ideas, setting the stage for a global shift towards neoliberalism.

15:03

🌟 The Rise and Global Impact of Neoliberalism

Paragraph 4 discusses the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US. It highlights how neoliberal policies were initially adopted by liberal parties before being more aggressively pursued by conservative successors. The paragraph also touches on the global spread of neoliberalism, influenced by powerful countries and international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF. It describes the economic policies associated with neoliberalism, such as austerity measures, privatization, and deregulation, and their impact on wealth redistribution and social services.

20:05

🌱 Neoliberalism's Socio-Economic Consequences and Critiques

Paragraph 5 examines the practical effects of neoliberal economic policies, including austerity, privatization, and the reduction of government spending on social services. It critiques the focus on inflation control over full employment and the prioritization of corporate interests over public welfare. The paragraph discusses the increase in global inequality and financial crises under neoliberal regimes, as well as the political corruption and authoritarianism that have emerged in response to these economic policies. It also addresses the role of neoliberalism in exacerbating social and environmental crises, including climate change and technological displacement.

25:05

🌍 The Future of Neoliberalism and Its Global Challenges

Paragraph 6 reflects on the broader implications of neoliberalism for global society, including the exacerbation of wealth disparities, political instability, and environmental degradation. It suggests that the crises associated with neoliberalism are not only national but also global in scope, pointing to issues like climate change and automation as examples. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the need to understand the history and impact of neoliberalism to address the complex challenges it has created, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of alternatives to this dominant economic ideology.

Keywords

💡Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that advocates for minimal government intervention in the economy, allowing market forces to operate freely. It emphasizes deregulation, privatization, and the reduction of public spending. In the video, neoliberalism is described as an invisible ideology that has seeped into every aspect of society, influencing policies and shaping societal values. The script discusses how neoliberalism has led to increased inequality and a focus on competition, with the government's role being to maximize economic freedom at all costs.

💡Embedded Liberalism

Embedded liberalism refers to the post-World War II economic order characterized by a mix of free-market capitalism and state intervention to ensure social welfare and full employment. It is contrasted with neoliberalism in the video, where the script explains that neoliberalism seeks to remove the regulatory framework that was a hallmark of embedded liberalism. The video suggests that neoliberalism's rise marked the end of the post-war consensus that had been dominated by embedded liberalism.

💡Market Fundamentalism

Market fundamentalism is the belief that markets are the most efficient means of allocating resources and that minimal or no government intervention is necessary for economic prosperity. The video associates market fundamentalism with neoliberalism, indicating that neoliberal policies prioritize market solutions over social needs, leading to outcomes like food waste and homelessness, as mentioned in the script.

💡Austerity

Austerity refers to a government's policy of reducing its budget deficit through spending cuts, often affecting public services and social welfare programs. In the context of the video, austerity is a key policy implemented under neoliberal regimes, which the script argues leads to a reduction in social services and an increase in inequality, as governments prioritize fiscal responsibility over social welfare.

💡Privatization

Privatization is the process of transferring state-owned enterprises, assets, or services to the private sector. The video discusses how neoliberalism promotes privatization as a means to increase efficiency and reduce government involvement in the economy. However, the script also points out that privatization can lead to the commodification of essential services, potentially leading to higher costs for consumers and reduced access for the most vulnerable.

💡Globalization

Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of world markets and the exchange of goods, services, and capital across borders. The video connects neoliberalism with the rise of globalization, suggesting that neoliberal policies have facilitated the expansion of global markets at the expense of local industries and workers. The script implies that globalization, underpinned by neoliberal principles, has contributed to wealth inequality and the erosion of national sovereignty.

💡Inequality

Inequality refers to the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and wealth within a society. The video highlights the script's assertion that neoliberal policies have exacerbated income inequality, with the wealthiest individuals accumulating more wealth while the majority of the population sees stagnation or decline in their economic prospects.

💡Keynesian Economics

Keynesian economics is an economic theory that argues for government intervention in the economy to moderate economic cycles and promote employment and growth. The video contrasts Keynesian economics with neoliberalism, noting that Keynesian policies were prevalent in the post-war era before being supplanted by neoliberalism. The script suggests that Keynesianism's emphasis on full employment and state intervention was replaced by neoliberalism's focus on market freedom and minimal government spending.

💡Monetarism

Monetarism is an economic theory that emphasizes the role of the money supply in determining economic activity, advocating for control of inflation through regulation of the money supply. The video mentions monetarism in the context of neoliberal policies, specifically referencing Milton Friedman's influence. Monetarism supports the neoliberal shift towards controlling inflation over targeting full employment, as illustrated by the script's discussion of economic policy changes.

💡Structural Adjustment

Structural adjustment refers to the economic policies prescribed by international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, often as conditions for development loans. These policies typically involve austerity measures, deregulation, and trade liberalization. The video describes how structural adjustment policies, influenced by neoliberalism, have been imposed on developing countries, leading to economic hardship and social unrest, as mentioned in the script's discussion of the impact of neoliberalism on the global south.

💡Corporatocracy

Corporatocracy refers to a form of government in which corporations have disproportionate influence over public policy and decision-making. The video suggests that under neoliberalism, there is a blurring of lines between corporate and political power, leading to a corporatocracy where corporate interests often take precedence over public welfare. The script illustrates this concept by discussing how politicians and wealthy business people form a power elite that serves its own interests.

Highlights

Neoliberalism is an economic ideology that permeates every aspect of society, from cities to rural areas, jobs to homes, and schools to politics.

It is rooted in the belief that governments should not intervene in markets, even to provide welfare, to avoid socialism and totalitarianism.

Neoliberalism sees the world as a competitive market where individuals express freedom through consumption and derive value from their labor.

The ideology has been dominant globally since the late 1970s and early 1980s, following a transition from Keynesian economics.

Neoliberal policies prioritize economic freedom over social welfare, often leading to increased inequality and poverty.

The rise of neoliberalism is linked to the decline of full employment as a policy goal, focusing instead on reducing inflation.

Austerity measures, privatization of public services, and deregulation are hallmarks of neoliberal economic policy.

Neoliberalism's spread is associated with the weakening of labor rights, the rise of corporate power, and the commodification of social services.

The ideology's influence is so pervasive that its existence and impact are often unrecognized by the public.

Neoliberalism's global reach has been facilitated by international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

The ideology has been criticized for exacerbating wealth inequality and contributing to social and political instability.

Neoliberal policies have been linked to environmental degradation and the acceleration of climate change.

The rise of neoliberalism has been accompanied by a shift in political discourse, with a focus on individualism over collective well-being.

The ideology's influence on education and healthcare has led to a privatization trend, reducing access for vulnerable populations.

Neoliberalism's emphasis on competition and efficiency has been critiqued for dehumanizing social and economic interactions.

The ideology's proponents argue that it promotes individual freedom and economic growth, despite its critics' concerns.

The history of neoliberalism is marked by a resistance to government intervention, even in the face of economic crises.

The global impact of neoliberal policies is characterized by a concentration of wealth and a decline in social safety nets.

Transcripts

there is an ideology that invisibly

dominates almost every aspect of our

society it seeps into every nook and

cranny you can find from the cities to

the countryside from our jobs to our

homes from our schools to our political

system and even into our relationships

with each other and with the planet it

burrows down into the deepest values we

hold such as freedom dignity and choice

and uses them to its own advantage this

ideology has gripped us so tightly that

it's logic has become intertwined in our

own conventional wisdom you may have

never heard its name before but this

ideology is real it is dangerous and it

is finally being exposed this ideology

is neoliberalism what is neoliberalism

there are many ways to answer that

question you can call it a philosophy a

movement a political project or even a

set of social values in its most basic

form however neoliberalism is an

economic ideology that exists within the

framework of capitalism when observed at

its philosophical origin neoliberalism

appears as an absolutist mantra that

proclaims that a government or state

must never intervene in any market or

economy even to provide welfare for its

citizenry less to put society on a

slippery path towards socialism and

totalitarianism the market which is the

wellspring of human freedom must be

allowed to operate free of any

constraints or regulations anything less

is to diminish the freedom of all human

beings and place civilization in

enormous peril practically speaking

neoliberalism refers to the various ways

in which our society has elevated

competition above all other conceptions

of economic rationality retest the state

with liberating competitive markets and

put increased responsibilities onto the

private individual to guarantee their

own survival neoliberalism conceives of

the world as one big interconnected

competitive market where human beings

derive their freedom from their ability

to express their preferences through

consumption and represent their value

through their ability to sell their

labor for wages since all people enjoy

equal access to an opportunity within

this competitive market inequality

between winners and losers is permitted

and because neoliberalism asserts that

there is an unbreakable link between

economic and political freedom

neoliberalism seeks a world with

unfettered economic

which would naturally guarantee

political freedom for all therefore

according to neoliberalism the

predominant role of government should be

to maximize economic freedom no matter

the cost

that might sound to you like a strange

way to organize society and you'd be

right but we live in a world that's been

dominated by neoliberalism for close to

four decades beginning in the late

1970's and early 1980s most of the

countries in the world transitioned from

the old economic paradigm one that had

been operating mostly successfully since

the late 1930s to a new economic

paradigm specifically a neoliberal

economic paradigm this transition

sometimes referred to as the market turn

was no less than a revolution in

economic and political thought and

brought very dramatic changes to society

and yet one of the most fascinating

elements of neoliberalism is how its

ideas its rise its ensuing power and

even its very existence are still

unknown to most people today ask anyone

you know even someone who seems

particularly attuned to politics or

economics and they will likely struggle

to define neoliberalism for you or

recall much of its history in a society

that's been neoliberal for as long as

ours has this is extraordinary as a

columnist of the Guardian George Monbiot

has astutely observed living in the

United States the United Kingdom or

virtually any other country on Earth

without knowing what neoliberalism is is

akin to living in the Soviet Union

without ever having heard of communism

you might still be fuzzy about what

exactly neoliberalism is but you have

doubtlessly seen many examples of it in

your own lifetime do you sometimes

wonder why a grocery stores often throw

away food that could easily be given

away to the hungry do you ever wonder

why spikes on the ground are considered

a solution to homelessness

do you often wonder how it is possible

to have incredible displays of wealth

and opulence alongside abject and

desperate poverty in the same community

and do you ever get the strange feeling

that the economy and by extension our

roles as consumers have been

clandestinely placed at the center of

our moral and political universes if you

do then a close analysis of

neoliberalism and its history will

likely shed some insight into those

nagging suspicions in neoliberal

societies the only remedies to social

problems considered politically

palatable are the ones that rely on the

market to deliver the solution the

if that solution doesn't actually solve

the problem the reason why excess food

isn't given to the hungry is because the

right of a private company to sell

groceries at a profit is elevated higher

than a vulnerable human beings need to

eat the reason why we place spikes on

the ground to disperse homeless people

is because we value the rights of

property owners and businesses to be

free of uncomfortable eyesores more than

we care for the plight of property less

people the solution for these vulnerable

people the argument goes is to simply

pull themselves up and engage in the

market to get what they need for the

government to step in and provide

affordable housing to the homeless or to

give food to the needy would be unfairly

diverting profits from private

businesses who only recognize humans as

consumers and the government can't be

allowed to help the vulnerable the

argument goes because to do so would

inculcate dependency in the population

and lead to greater and greater

encroachments of the state you can

probably think of more examples of

neoliberal capitalist logic the longer

you try have you ever wondered why the

idea of raising the minimum wage is so

controversial because wages for workers

and laborers are seen as a cost to be

minimized not as an investment in human

prosperity or even as a basic

requirement of doing business why is the

idea of taxing the wealthy so

controversial because neoliberalism

asserts that people are wealthy because

they simply work harder work smarter and

are more virtuous taxation is seen as

stealing from those who have earned and

handing out to those who have it rather

than as leveling a playing field that

offers the well-off incredible

opportunities to compound their wealth

from the beginning of their lives

why is the government viewed as a

perpetual enemy of the market because

the government's moral contract with its

citizens enables it to regulate and

restrict the markets ability to trade or

speculate recklessly thereby protecting

consumers and limiting the potential

profits of businesses why is the average

Americans default mode of transportation

a personal vehicle instead of public

transportation why don't we have

universal health care or why don't we

make Internet connectivity a local

utility why do we allow charter schools

and private prisons to exist because

companies don't want local or federal

government's providing cheap useful

services that can be privatized and

profit from instead why do the

wealthiest individuals on the planet own

more wealth than billions of other

people why have the wages of working in

middle class people stagnated for almost

four

why are the costs of basic necessities

and opportunities for social mobility

rising out of attainability and why are

our political systems now approaching

complete disorder and unresponsiveness

at the same moment that corporate

profits and wealth inequality are at

their apex in recent history these are

all natural questions to ask in our

neoliberal society but for many of us

there made taboo or even imperceptible

by a normalized culture of economic

absurdity that we've been immersed in

for so long that we don't see anything

out of the ordinary the only way to

break this spell is to re-examine our

history and recognize how we arrived at

our contemporary moment the rise of

neoliberalism in recent history is at

once a vast and overwhelmingly complex

phenomenon but also relatively easy to

summarize the more you know about it the

problem is most people have never even

heard of the word neoliberalism and

without careful definition it's even

more difficult to see it in the world

around you

and before we get started no this has

nothing to do with partisan affiliation

for one party or another as we'll see

neoliberalism is a deeper framework for

society that both major parties in the

United States liberals and conservatives

subscribe to to differing degrees let's

start with the word neoliberalism itself

neoliberalism simply means new

liberalism which means there was also an

old liberalism that we ought to be

familiar with before moving forward in

the aftermath of World War two the

United States and its allies began the

reconstruction of Europe and other parts

of the world with a basic economic plan

in mind the emerging States would all

turn towards liberal democracy and their

economies would focus on achieving full

employment economic growth and the

welfare of their citizens the most

important detail however was that state

power would be used to intervene in or

in some cases completely substitute

markets these policies were called

Keynesian named after the major British

economist John Maynard Keynes they rose

to prominence in the 1930s following the

Great Depression and were the basic

prescription for all liberal economies

following World War two the world before

the Great Depression in many ways

resembled the world today income

inequality was high

the notorious robber barons enjoyed

powerful monopolies over entire

industries and Wall Street was cashing

in on the Gilded Age but all of that

came to an end in 1929 when

stock market crashed and the entire

world was subjected to an extended

economic depression that changed global

attitudes towards unregulated economies

what the Great Depression taught the

world was that

economic collapse caused by unregulated

markets could destroy the chances for a

better life promised by democratic

society therefore governments were

forced by popular discontent to grapple

with the issue of government regulated

economies and turned to economists like

Keynes for answers Keynesian economic

policies represented by the New Deal

under US President Franklin Delano

Roosevelt and a development of robust

welfare systems under Prime Minister

Clement Attlee in the UK created the

backbone of what most of us today

consider a fair economy the government

would regulate markets by setting

standards for wages work hours and

welfare systems such as health care and

education in some cases the government

would break up monopolies or take over

entire markets to prevent them from

falling or becoming privatized this was

thought to be a class compromise between

capital and labour and was generally

advocated as a necessity for domestic

peace and tranquillity capital

represented by the employers the

business leaders and creditors could

still do business and make profits while

labor represented by employees workers

and consumer advocates could lead

prosperous lives thanks to their healthy

wages benefits and social services the

other more well-known half of liberalism

was that society would be run

democratically citizens would enjoy

rights of free people such as the right

to speak and associate freely defined

dignified work to elect representatives

to public office and to be free from

arbitrary government oppression or

corporate exploitation this combination

of liberal democracy with an economy

monitored and regulated by the

government is what is known as embedded

liberalism meaning that market and

corporate activities are constrained by

a web of regulation which prevents them

from exploiting labor and acting

recklessly in pursuit of profit in the

realm of politics embedded liberalism

was often referred to as the post-war

consensus referring to the way most

countries in the world adopted embedded

liberalism during the reconstruction

after World War two in the United States

embedded liberalism came after the

period of classical liberalism which had

a laissez-faire or leave it alone

approach to the economy and contributed

to the conditions leading to the Great

Depression

what makes neoliberalism the new

liberalism therefore is that

neoliberalism formerly unshackles itself

from the government regulations and

interventions of embedded liberalism

unleashes the rapid expansion of markets

and corporate activity and undoes the

Keynesian safeguard for labor and with

it the basic guarantee of a decent life

for many normal people neoliberalism is

different from classical liberalism in

that rather than simply taking a

laissez-faire or do-nothing approach to

the economy neoliberal States actively

construct the policies and

infrastructure necessary to create

unregulated free markets by design

markets which the government must create

but never interfere with because

neoliberalism is so opposed to

government intervention in the market

Neo liberals are sometimes referred to

as libertarians which is an umbrella

term that encompasses varying degrees of

skepticism towards the state's mandate

to govern many of the early neoliberal

were described as libertarians

conservatives were even laissez-faire

liberals but the truth is that they were

articulating a brand new framework for

society that tasked the government with

actively reorienting society around the

market as Daniel Steadman Jones has

observed the term neoliberal likely

didn't catch on in our culture because

it was lacking context the terms liberal

and conservative that we assigned to our

political parties today emerged out of

the New Deal era with supporters of the

New Deal becoming liberal and opponents

becoming conservative the central

confusion surrounding neoliberalism then

is that the term itself appears to

resemble liberalism but in fact has much

more in common with post New Deal

conservatism in that neoliberalism is

fundamentally opposed to the New Deal

and an economic intervention by

governments in general though

neoliberalism initially found its home

in the American and British Conservative

Party's neoliberalism would eventually

dominate both the liberal and

conservative parties in the US and the

UK demonstrating the misleading nature

of our traditional political labels and

our collective failure to properly

identify the neoliberal movement during

its ascension

in this multi-part video series we're

going to trace the history of

neoliberalism starting with a close

analysis of neoliberal thought and

philosophy a historical reconstruction

of the movement pushing for neoliberal

policy solutions witnessing the damage

that neoliberalism did to its first

victims in the developing world and then

charting the infiltration of

neoliberalism into the political systems

of the United States and the United

Kingdom will then analyze how

neoliberalism spread internationally and

created the global political and social

dysfunction we now find ourselves

confronting there are potential

solutions to neoliberalism but we can't

understand what those are until we

understand the history of neoliberalism

itself the origins of neoliberalism

extend as far back as the late 1930s and

the success of neoliberalism was the

fruit of decades of work by neoliberal

academics and advocates in a group

called the Mont Pelerin society from its

inception the Mont Pelerin Society

sought to exert covert influence over

society and achieve an unassailable

neoliberal consensus and the academic

and political arenas across the globe

making neoliberalism the invisible

ideology that it is today by producing

mountains of neoliberal policy solutions

through their transatlantic network of

university departments and policy think

tanks these neoliberal thought leaders

and businessmen such as Friedrich Hayek

Ludwig von Mises Milton Friedman George

Stigler James Buchanan Anthony Fischer

Leonard Reid Harold Llano and many

others laid the foundation for a

counter-revolution against Keynesian

embedded liberalism that finally came to

fruition almost 50 years later that

neoliberalism completely displaced the

post-war consensus by the late 80s is a

testament to how committed these men

were and how unprepared the rest of the

world was today both the US and the UK

are prime examples of neoliberal states

in a late stage of their development the

neoliberal revolutions in these

countries took place in the late 1970's

and early 1980s beginning in the

administration's of Jimmy Carter in the

US and James Callaghan in the UK in the

midst of the stagflation crisis of the

1970s Carter and Callaghan both turned

to monetary policies advocated by Mont

Pelerin members such as Milton Friedman

to reduce inflation and unemployment

though neoliberalism

it's first openings under the control of

liberal parties it was their

conservative successors Margaret

Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in

the u.s. who took the neoliberal baton

and ran so far with it that no

administration since then has walked

back the neoliberal consensus in either

country the unfortunate truth is that no

one really tried to either the Liberals

who took power following Thatcher and

Reagan Tony Blair in the UK and Bill

Clinton in the u.s. simply accepted the

new normal of neoliberalism and

abandoned their party's historic roles

of protecting labor from capital and

protecting society from monopoly power

this is why people often make the

imprecise claim that both parties are

the same there are still many important

differences between them but enduring

support for neoliberal economic policies

is not one of them the adoption of

neoliberalism in powerful countries like

the US and the UK influenced countries

around the world to follow suit making

the path to neoliberalism in these two

countries particularly crucial to

understanding the spread of

neoliberalism across the globe

but before neoliberalism was adopted in

developed countries like the US and the

UK it was imposed by military force on

developing countries such as Iran

Guatemala Indonesia Brazil Argentina and

Chile in order to protect American

business interests and to gather

experimental data for neoliberal

economists in the u.s. to test their

assertions military coup is backed by

the CIA took place in each of these

countries and the neoliberal economic

policies which were adopted soon after

were accompanied by the deaths torture

and disappearances of hundreds of

thousands of innocent people who were

targeted for their political opposition

to these regimes when neoliberalism came

to the developed world there was no need

for violent coos but the resulting

changes in society led to a different

kind of oppression even when the

suffering brought on by military

dictatorship was taken out of the

picture neoliberal economic policies

created suffering through the imposition

of austerity inequality unemployment

incarceration and poverty on normal

people and human needs for social

solidarity and stability were submerged

in a new world of ubiquitous competition

commodification loneliness and

disconnectedness the peaceful adoption

of neoliberalism in the developed world

didn't put an end to others being

coerced into it however international

lending bodies such as the World Bank

and International Monetary Fund created

at the beginning of the post-war

consensus were converted to

neoliberalism in the 1980s and

subsequently began converting countries

all over the world to neoliberalism

through the process of structural

adjustment policies in response to

financial crises only recently has the

IMF reconsidered its allegiance to

neoliberalism after decades of touting

its economic and phal ability but what

exactly is neoliberal economic policy

how does it change or modify the economy

and society the economic route taken by

neoliberal regimes is reflected in a

policy playbook that's been seen

reproduced around the world over and

over again neoliberal economics

otherwise known as free-market economics

relies on the simultaneous

implementation of multiple different

methods of economic shock treatment as

writer Naomi Klein calls it

neoliberalism shifts the primary goal of

economic policy from achieving full

employment to the reduction of inflation

and therefore pursues contractionary

monetary policy over fiscal

policy these policies tightly control

the supply of money being printed by the

government in order to keep the real

value of the currency high to keep

prices stable to increase interest rates

and therefore increase returns on loan

repayments from debtors and to deprive

the government of money to spend on

Keynesian interventions far from being a

small technical detail the shift from

targeting full employment to inflation

is what marks the death of embedded

liberalism and the arrival of neoliberal

regimes in almost every instance

neoliberalism calls for deep budget cuts

to government spending even if that

spending is devoted to crucial social

services or welfare programs which is

also known as austerity it also calls

for the privatization of state-owned

industries and services which will later

be privately operated or simply sold it

calls for the suspension of fixed price

controls and exchange rates the removal

of tariff protections for local

industries and the suppression of

Labour's right to collectively bargain

for improved work conditions these goals

are often accomplished with a

combination of domestic legislation and

international free trade deals such as

NAFTA or the recently scrapped

trans-pacific partnership which encode

trade liberalization the outsourcing of

cheap labor and corporate supremacy over

government regulations into the DNA of

their partner nations essentially

neoliberalism calls for the removal of

any regulations or legislation that

impede the aspirations of multinational

companies and corporations and of the

politicians who inevitably benefit from

serving them the logistical purpose of

these policies is to create a playground

for private capital to invest in and

profit from decreasing federal budgets

for education health care and housing

and the accompanying privatization of

those industries forces people to pay

private companies for crucial or even

life-preserving services companies that

can easily raise the prices of these

services and escape punishment for doing

so removing tariffs means opening the

economy to foreign investment and

flooding the market with cheap foreign

imports that crush local businesses

increasing unemployment and poverty and

sending money out of national

circulation and into private pockets

neoliberal economics also cause a

substantial growth in debt due to the

combination of tax cuts and military

spending which are often too major

priorities of neoliberal regimes or the

acceptance of structural adjustment

loans from the World Bank or IMF who

then collect the loan

and interest from the national

government but not the private companies

who spent the money fixed price controls

fixed exchange rates and Labour's

ability to protest these conditions are

obstacles to maximizing the returns on

these investments and so are removed the

practical result of these policies is an

enormous redistribution of wealth from

the public sector to the individuals and

companies providing these new private

markets who represent a convergence of

corporate and political power the line

between politicians and wealthy business

people is often blurred in late-stage

neoliberal capitalist societies and can

be accurately described as a power elite

that views the population it is meant to

serve as a captive and untapped market

that can hold debt and risk but receives

no relief in the form of government

spending bailouts or basic compensation

for labour the military and police are

strengthened and then used to protect

the power elite and their property if

they experience resistance and when

these private interests are finished

consolidating power they begin to look

for their next global target for

deregulation and privatization these

measures are often justified by

neoliberal thinkers for their

effectiveness at decreasing inflation

rates and rapidly increasing global

growth and GDP output but these

measurements are not measurements of

human flourishing but merely of economic

performance in a global economy that

fewer and fewer people are participating

in as time goes on some neo liberals

even claimed that their free market

policies later led to the emergence of

free society in historically oppressed

countries around the world or that the

wealth of neoliberalism primary

beneficiaries trickles down to everyone

else and some even characterize the term

neoliberalism itself as an epithet

devoid of meaning or unrepresentative of

neoliberalism's true form these

arguments are deceptive and history has

shown that neoliberal will suffer any

human cost to defend the free market

from government intervention which they

insist is the only source of human

freedom there is today the consequences

of decades of neoliberalism in countries

around the globe range from soaring

inequality devastating financial

meltdowns deepening political corruption

growing authoritarianism and even

amplification of the effects of climate

change in 2017 the richest 1% of the

global population held 50.1 percent of

the world's wealth while the poorest 50%

of the global population held just 1%

the global economy can be said to have

technically recovered after the most

recent financial crisis in 2008 but upon

closer scrutiny it becomes apparent that

the large majority of this recovery went

to the wealthiest in our society leaving

vast numbers of people in financial

precarity or outright poverty those

responsible for the recession were not

punished but lavishly rewarded these

economic crises are now being compounded

by political and cultural crises fascist

and white nationalist organizing has

been revitalized by people dispossessed

by decades of neoliberal economics who

have become susceptible to despair

hatred and authoritarian sloganeering

these movements are given strength by

cooperation with wealthy backers who use

fascist movements as a vehicle for their

own neoliberal policy goals such as

further tax cuts or deregulation our

federal government captured by private

interests it is meant to regulate is

drowning in dark money and completely

unresponsive to popular demands Barack

Obama and Hillary Clinton who worked to

preserve neoliberalism in the Democratic

Party helped create the necessary

conditions for the election of Donald

Trump whose victory can be explained by

among many other factors the failures of

the Democratic Party to admit its

complicity in the operation of

neoliberalism and to construct a party

platform explicitly opposed to it while

Trump and the Republicans are arguably

more neela both than the Democrats they

were able to harness the populist tide

born from disdain with the status quo

that Clinton and the other neoliberal

Democrats represented democratic

socialist challenger Bernie Sanders

could have siphoned that support from

Trump but was denied by the neoliberal

wing of the Democratic Party the

Democratic Party which first flirted

with neoliberalism all the way back in

the Carter presidency was left holding

the bag of neoliberalism while the most

scandalous candidate in history got away

with the presidency in the absence of a

strong and uncompromising Lee pro-labor

an anti neoliberal alternative national

politics will continue to grow

increasingly vicious and unhinged from

reality the standard neoliberal

prescriptions of deregulation

privatization austerity and

incarceration will continue unabated our

new politics of xenophobia will produce

more border walls travel bans

deportations gun violence violent

terrorism racial and ethnic

discrimination and military aggression

that will continue to weigh on the lives

of everyday people

and global society will continue

accelerating towards a world where

fortresses of other worldly wealth

seclude themselves from vast wastes of

decaying public spaces and yet all of

these national crises distract us from

still more perilous global crises

Earth's global temperatures and the rate

of carbon concentration in the

atmosphere are being exacerbated by

runaway harvesting of enormous ly

profitable yet non-renewable natural

resources threatening the long and short

term habitability of the planet rising

sea levels threaten to trigger migration

crises that will make Syria look like an

opening act on the approaching horizon

technological advancements such as

automation and the development of

powerful artificial intelligence

threatened to blindside societies still

struggling with the ancient problems of

inequality and poverty rather than

liberate us from our traditional

lifestyles the most frightening

consequence of neoliberalism however is

simply that as we continue to march

further into this complicating and

confusing morass of crises unpredictable

and unintended catastrophes will occur

with greater and greater frequency I

intend to argue that all of these

threatening conditions derive from the

widespread acceptance of neoliberal

economic thought across the world but

how could an ideology based on nothing

but ensuring the dominance of markets

over government come to envelop the

entire world this video series is the

story of that transformation

this is neoliberalism

you