James Kwak — The Root of All Our Problems?

A friend pointed me toward an op-ed in The Guardian by George Monbiot titled “Neoliberalism—The Ideology at the Root of All Our Problems.” The basic argument is that there is an ideology that has had a pervasive influence on the shaping of the contemporary world. Its policy program includes “massive tax cuts for the rich, the crushing of trade unions, deregulation, privatisation, outsourcing and competition in public services.” Monbiot calls this cocktail “neoliberalism” (more on the name later). 

There’s a lot in the article that I agree with. The political and economic takeover of the Western world by the super-wealthy was not accomplished by force, nor by rich people simply demanding a larger slice of the proverbial pie. Instead, it happened because many people—particularly in the media, the think tank intelligentsia, and the political community—internalized the idea that competitive markets provided the solution to all problems. (The idea that unfettered capital markets and financial innovation would be good for everyone, which helped produce the financial crisis, is only a special case of this larger phenomenon.)…

Baseline Scenario

The Root of All Our Problems?
James Kwak

Chris Dillow — Over-estimating neoliberialism

All this makes me suspect that those leftists who try to intellectualize neoliberalism and who talk of a “neoliberal project” are giving it too much credit - sometimes verging dangerously towards conspiracy theories. Maybe there’s less here than meets the eye. Perhaps neoliberalism is simply what we get when the boss class exercises power over the state.

Right, but the left wants to avoid Marxist terms, so most "serious" people on the left avoid them.

Stumbling and Mumbling
Over-estimating neoliberialism
Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle

Jonathan Larson — On neoliberalism

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

— John Kenneth Galbraith

Neoliberalism is easily the most serious subject on the planet. In the name of this belief set, the ecosphere has been almost terminally damaged, billions of people have had their lives shortened, their social relationships destroyed, their means of gainful employment shattered, and the very concept of having a life worth living reduced to a hideous joke. It is believed by religious leaders, editorial writers, academics, and most certainly by the tote-baggers.

We are told that this ugliness is actually a science. It is not. It is perhaps the most thoroughly discredited con job in the history of the human species. There are tried and true methods of managing an economy that are proven to have much higher levels of generalized prosperity. Compared to the insanity of neoliberalism, WW I was an exercise in deeply rational thought.…

Real Economics
On neoliberalismJonathan Larson

Lars P. Syll — Neoliberalism — a self-serving con

Characteristically trenchant quote from George Monbiot exposing neoliberalism as the farce it is.

Lars P. Syll’s Blog
Neoliberalism — a self-serving conLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University