Neoliberalism Has Been A Disaster For The American People, And The Effort Has Been A Bi-Partisan Endeavor.
With the meteoric rise of Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, the term Socialism is much in the news these days. With that said, another ISM is flying under the radar screen, Neoliberalism. Although somewhat hazy and hard to diagnose neoliberal dogma creeps in and infiltrates just about every aspect of our daily lives. Moreover, Neoliberalism is the ruling political ideology that both political parties have embraced for decades.
Neoliberalism has mangled its way into our education system, our media, our think tanks, our corporations, and finical markets. Neoliberalism is dominating our state institutions, even our international institutions.
Institutions like the WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF.
Neoliberalism is political. Neoliberalism is economics. It is a system of social relations and a set of values.
What Are Neoliberal Values?
- Strong Property Rights.
- The Free Markets Should Shape Society.
- The value of the free market exchange portrays itself as an ethic that no one or government should hinder in any way.
- The neoliberal doctrine says the contractual relations in the marketplace will encourage higher social well being.
We are not only taught to brand ourselves as early as possible in order to make ourselves more attractive and marketable to prospective colleges and employers. We, ve managed to reduce our relationships to market transactions as well. For clarity, " I do something for you, you do something for me. Johnny buys Sheila dinner Sheila gives Johnny sex. That type of thing.
While individualism and personal responsibility are the mantra's that constantly get shoved down our throats, common corporate interest dominates this world. We speak of equality of opportunity; however, Neoliberalism depends on and creates staggering inequality. [See America The Land Of Inequality]
At its core, this inequality serves to concentrate vast amounts of wealth and power in the hands of the few. It does this through privatization, deregulation, austerity, like cuts to public spending and tax cuts for the rich.
Neoliberalism Mask Neo Mercantilism As Free Trade!
Neo Mercantilism Explained
It is the view of the House of Public Discourse that neoliberalism has brainwashed untold millions across the globe that whatever is suitable for the markets is good for society.
The History of Neoliberalism
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| Adam Smith |
Neoliberalism has its roots in classical liberalism and the political-economic theories laid out by Adam Smith in his groundbreaking text " Wealth of Nations." Smith argues that humans are naturally selfish and self-serving. Moreover, that organizing society around such characteristics will benefit all involved. Competition is the mechanism that keeps self-interest in check. A point often overlooked is what we have is a system where self-interest, therefore, becomes the motivator of economic activity.
Competition is the regulator, and together with self-interest, they form this "invisible hand," which magically creates the perfect environment for efficient resource allocation. It sounds like Reagan's failed " trickle-down economics" to this writer. Neoliberalism takes this idea, puts it on steroids, and then distorts it and perverts it. What is left is this corrupt and wrapped system based not on individual self-interest but corporate interest.
The results and effectiveness of these factors have been nothing short of the complete devastation of the once vibrate American middle-class. Our research here in the House of Public Discourse uncovered the organization and implementation was a reaction to the embedded liberalism imposed after the Depression and World War II.
Embedded liberalism was the system of embedding market forces into a structure where the state could regulate them. This regulation by the state meant a considerable expansion of the Welfare State. Social Safety nets like public services, state-led planning, and nationalization of major industries of the economy like iron, steel, even automobiles.
This system remained until the 1970s when stagflation took hold.
The Stagflation of the 1970s
In layman terms, stagflation means high inflation, high unemployment, and stagnant economic growth. The effects of this stagflation reverberated throughout the world. There are conflicting views as to what caused stagflation. However, one thing is for sure it did not help that in 1973 the OPEC countries placed an oil embargo on anyone thought to have been supporting Isreal in the Yom Kippur War.
The Banks then use this money for loans to foreign governments, and to organize bribes and coos against democratically elected governments in foreign countries. This activity happened in Nicaragua, Iran, Chile, and more recently Iraq, and Libya. [See WarPropaganda an American Tradition!]
The first thing to understand, this money helped install the first case for Neoliberalism.
During the 1970s, America participated in an extensive covert activity in Chile. The purpose of this activity was to prevent and then subsequently sabotage Salvador Allende presidency. America was fearing a Marxist government arising and wanted to protect the United States interest and investments.
The CIA planned out multiple plots to take down Allende. Including, bribing of high ranking officials, spreading propaganda, and ultimately assisting in the military coup that overthrew Allende. This coup brought Augusto Pinochet to power.
Pinochet dismantled Congress. Banned all mostly left political parties, installed a military dictatorship and then used the Chicago Boys to install a neoliberal regime.
Milton Friedman's Boys
To understand the significance of this, we must rely on history to guide us. Back in 1956, the United States, as part of their plan to counter the spread of Communism to Latin America, invited 25 Chilean students to come to the University of Chicago to learn about monetarism.
Monetarism Is One of the Basic Tenants of Neoliberalism.
These students studied under Milton Friedman. Friedman, along with Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises spearheaded the neoliberal school of thought. They also formed the Mont Perlin Society. The primary purpose and goal were to spread the neoliberal ideology. These students became known as the Chicago Boys. After completing their studies, they returned home to work for various South American governments including and no surprise the now military dictatorship of Chile under Pinochet.
What transpired was the complete engineering of neo-liberalization of the economy. This engineering resulted in the privatization of dozens of state enterprises. Deregulating financial and economic activity and removing barriers to imports. This activity proved to be beneficial for U.S. investments.
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| Regan and Thatcher |
This experiment in Chile provided the first test case of Neoliberalism in practice. This meddling in the affairs of another country served as a blueprint for Regan and Thatcher in the 1980s.
Infiltrating our Institutions
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Mont Pelerin Society garnered funding from various wealthy individuals and corporations. Neoliberal ideology slowly began to infiltrate our various institutions. Our schools, our universities, our courts, our media, and all our think tanks and institutions like the Cato Institute.
The Cato Insititute and others were created explicitly for conducting research and performing arguments that favored the neoliberal policy. These institutions remained under the radar for the most part until the 1970s. It was in the 1970s when corporations banded together to fight off consumer protection legislation, workers rights laws, and regulatory constraints.
Also, these adherents of Neoliberalism and corporations sought to reform tax law and antitrust legislation. These neoliberal factions buddied up to the Republican Party formed political action committees and eventually bought their way into political favor. What we now know is in the present system of things, these same adherents and corporations have bought their way into both political parties establishments favor.
The Neoliberalist did a great job appealing to people's frustrations, fears, and insecurities. They achieved this by centering their message on freedom and liberty. The neoliberal message is that society built on free-market principles, and ownership of private property deserves to be called free.
Free Planning, Regulation, and control are seen as a tax on this freedom and therefore deserve to be abolished. When Reagan and Thatcher took control, this is what precisely happened. With both these neoliberals now in charge of their perspective countries. Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Reagan in the United States in the early 80s. What our research here in the House of Public Discourse found and history never lies a complete dismantling of the social safety nets put into place during the years of embedded liberalism.
We the People, saw mass deregulation in finance and industry take place and substantial tax cuts for the wealthy. There was an all-out assault on workers rights.[See Source]
The Neoliberalist did a great job appealing to people's frustrations, fears, and insecurities. They achieved this by centering their message on freedom and liberty. The neoliberal message is that society built on free-market principles, and ownership of private property deserves to be called free.
Free Planning, Regulation, and control are seen as a tax on this freedom and therefore deserve to be abolished. When Reagan and Thatcher took control, this is what precisely happened. With both these neoliberals now in charge of their perspective countries. Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Reagan in the United States in the early 80s. What our research here in the House of Public Discourse found and history never lies a complete dismantling of the social safety nets put into place during the years of embedded liberalism.
We the People, saw mass deregulation in finance and industry take place and substantial tax cuts for the wealthy. There was an all-out assault on workers rights.[See Source]
Regan's showdown with Air-Traffic Controllers Is The House of Public Discourse Evidence In Support.
Capitalism + Privatization + Prison Industrial Complex= Largest Prison Population In The World [See Source]
George Monbiot writes:
"Freedoms from trade unions and collective bargaining mean the freedom to suppress wages, freedom from regulation, to poison rivers, endanger workers, charge iniquitous rates of interest, and design exotic financial instruments. Freedom from tax means freedom from the distribution of wealth that lifts people out of poverty."
Freedom does not exist but for the people who can afford it. [Johnny Hill-House of Public Discourse]
The facts do not lie Neoliberalism has led to this truism personified, " The Rich Are Getting Richer, and The Poor Are Getting Poorer." What is even more striking and a major focal point of Sen.Bernie Sanders(I-VT) an Independent running for president in the Democratic Pary is the gap between the riches and the poorest continues to widen.[Read: Why Ending The Ills of Plutocracy Matter?]
In Russia, the privatization of state assets like steel mills and oil fields led to the concentration of wealth and the seven oligarchs.[See Source] Privatization of land in China led to an elite capitalist class formation. This formation came at the expense of nearly 180 million peasants. These peasants were forced from their homes. Carlos Slim became the richest man alive through monopolization of Mexico's telecommunications company Telmex. This monopolization was made possible when Mexico privatized the industry.
Neoliberalism during the 1990s solidified its position as the Democrats in the United States and the Labor Party in the United Kingdom. Both Bill Clinton and Tony Blair adopted neoliberal policies. Bill Clinton, like more recently Barak Obama betrayed his traditional constituency. Clinton bought into the neoliberal agenda and became the champion of welfare reform. [See Source] You would think Republicans would love Bill Clinton. Moreover, this with multiple other factors is one reason the House of Public Discourse did not support or trust his then-first lady Hillary Clinton for her attempt at the White House in 2016.
It was Bill Clinton along with support from other Democrats like then-Senator Joe Biden(D-DE) and later Vice-President of the United States in the Obama Administration. That implemented the disastrous three strikes crime bill. It is the viewpoint of the House of Public Discourse, one of the biggest blunders ever committed by an American president was the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act by the Clinton Administration that played a part in 2008 financial crisis. What we are getting at here is all of these facts history tells the truth every single time served to deepen social and economic inequality. America's social policy effectively was put in the care of Wall Street bondholders. Once again, Republicans should love neoliberals like Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.
Another critical point, the justification for these neoliberal policies like deregulation of Finance is to create wealth at the top, which will trickle down to the bottom by some invisible hand. If Adam Smith ever got anything right, it was the Invisible Hand. The hand remains invisible to this very day.[Johnny Hill-House of Public Discourse]Trickel-Down Economics does not work; we have a vast history of empirical data to back this proclamation up history never lies wealth is not even being created. The main achievement of Neoliberalism is to redistribute rather than to generate wealth.[See Source]
The neoliberal lie is this redistribution will trickle-down to We the People, when in fact, this redistribution goes upward. There is a term associated with this upward flow of wealth called the "Accumulation by Disposition." Accumulation by Disposition has happened through commodification and privatization of land and the violent removal of peasants in China, debt peonage, and the credit system. Instead of increasing wages and expanding workers rights unions, neoliberalism has created a system which Regan exploited to the fullest this writer knows because he saw it with his own eyes and had the debt to back it up, a system that says " Buy Now, Pay Later."
Personal debt soared under Republican GOD Ronald Regan.
It Is The View of the House of Public Discourse That Reaganomics Proved One Thing: Debt Is The Slavery of The Free.[Johnny Hill-House of Public Discourse]Personal debt has been a critical problem for American's. Debt essentially enslaves people and holds them captive to the neoliberalist future commodity " We the People's" future labor.
International Finance systems only protect the interest of the imperial creditor nations. We had a demonstration of this in 1982 with the Latin America debt crisis. Fed Chairman Paul Volcker radically increased interest rates overnight.[See Source] Mexico defaulted on its loans to the United States setting of a rippling effect across Latin America. Regan, with the help of the IMF, agreed to roll over the debt but only if Mexico agreed to structural adjustments.
Structural Adjustment calls for the same shitty policies mentioned above that do not work — Austerity, Privatization, Deregulation, instead of domestic inequality, we have international inequality.
Western countries have gotten rich at the expense of developing countries. Neoliberalism 101! [See Source] What behooves the House of Public Discourse is these neoliberalists then calls this exchange " Free Trade." No, this is not free-trade this is neo-mercantilism! The reason so is only one country is benefiting. Neoliberalism has meant the financialization of everything. Period! Deregulation, the opening up of borders to air flows of capital increased investments in stocks, property, and other assets.
This activity created a shift in which the financial sector became more potent than the product and services. Big Corporations once focused solely on the production began to become more financial in their composition. Manufacturing Companies could now report losses in production offset by gains from finical investments. Investment and Speculation of epic proportions took place.[See Source]
New Markets sprang up based on futures trading, derivatives, and securitization. These markets led to riskier and riskier business practices. All American's know about the "Too Big To Fail," banking system. These factoids, and once again, history has 20/20 hindsight resulted in the 2008 financial crisis.
If we have learned anything from the 2008 crisis, it is that those in power would rather watch the system collapse than give up any of these powers or wealth.
The people responsible for the crisis in 2008 the financial institutions not only walk away unscathed and legally untouched they have gone on to double their bonuses.[See Source] These same financial institutions reaped enormous benefits from the breakdown of smaller businesses and individuals — neoliberalism 101. Not too much has changed since 2008. This non-action falls directly on the shoulders of the Obama/Biden regime who swore on the campaign trail they would do something and did nothing but bail them out.
American Politicians Love Socialism When It Is To Their Benefit!
It is the view of the House of Public Discourse that it is just a matter of time before another collapse happens. When Bush II invaded Iraq, he claimed to be bringing freedom and democracy to the people. However, what BushII envisioned was a neoliberal state.
The neoliberal States imagines freedom but freedom for whom? Private Corporations, Financial Institutions, and the wealthy. Neoliberalism does not mean freedom for the people who are its commodity. Moreover, Neoliberalist decisions have had a devasting effect on the average everyday working individual.
The United States and the United Kingdom led a brutal assault against the Iraqi people. This assault based on a manufactured neoliberal lie of " Weapons of Mass Destruction," as justification for this carnage. People were stripped from their homes, livelihoods, political affiliations, all to ensure the open flow of Iraqi oil to British and American markets.
It is the view of the House of Public Discourse that we see this same neoliberal play being executed in Venezuela.
Our research here in the House of Public Discourse has identified a recurring theme with Neoliberalism. Time and time again it is the neoliberal doctrine that espouses limited to no government, however, in practice, we found exceptions and, in fact, encouraged state interventions as long as it serves the interest of capitalism. What we have found in our research is that the role of the neoliberal state is to ensure a pleasant business climate by any means necessary. If democracy needs suppressing to make the free-markets easier that is okay with the neoliberal. The main focus of Neoliberalism is to protect the corporate interest if this means force and violence that is okay with the neoliberalist.Neoliberalism = By Any Coercive Means Needed!
What is paramount to the neoliberalist is to defend the property owner class and beat down all opposition. It is the view of the House of Public Discourse that Neoliberalism is one of the worse things ever in the experiment we call America.[Read: The American Experiment Is Under Crisis!
More and more people are starting to catch on to Neoliberalism. It is the view of the House of Public Discourse we must fight against Neoliberalism and the Droops who propagate it.
No one politician or person can do it alone. Thanks to Bernie Sanders and " Our Revolution," we see a concerted effort by growing millions of American's who say " Enough is Enough." People are waking up. Important to realize is this fight is a dangerous one. Influential, wealthy people and corporations will not just give up this influence. We must reside ourselves not to remain silent any longer. Hence, this two-part essay by the House of Public Discourse.
Part one of this essay goal was to give some background and history of Neoliberalism. Part 2 will cover the many contradictions of Neoliberalism.
Written By: Johnny Hill
