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Neoliberalism: The Unseen Policies That Shape Society

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Version 0.13
Copyright © 2008-2009 by Zack Smith.
All rights reserved.

Introduction

What is Neoliberalism? It is a set of policies that, along with neoclassical economic ideology, is embraced by both Democrats and Republicans. It is the implicit foundation upon which both political parties base their thinking and policies.

There was a "Neoliberal revolution" beginning around 1980 with Ronald Reagan's entering the White House. One result was that the US prison population shot up. It went from 500,000 in 1980 to 4 million in 2009 (with another 3 million in and out or on probation). Another is that Third World countries were shackled with debt.

Neoliberalism pervades American life, from the disturbing behavior of the police, to ballooning workers' debts and stagnating salaries and disappearing prospects.

The Rules

To define a thing, we must know its rules. Here is a minimal list.
  1. The only recognized value is economic wealth.
  2. Economic wealth is invented: It not tied to tangible currency i.e. gold and silver but rather is printed any time the powers that be wish to have more. This printed paper money is called fiat currency.
  3. Inflation exists as a form of taxation.
  4. Speculators are valued more highly than savers.
  5. There must be no discussion about fairness. As the evangelical preachers of Neoliberalism will tell you the market is always fair -- even if you are homeless or starving to death in which case you are to blame. Never mind that the market is not free in Neoliberalism.
  6. Big companies get bailed out. Small ones do not.
  7. There is a large effort to move citizens into jails and prisons similar to what occurred in the time of Charles Dickens. Many of these prisons are private and are very profitable. Some therefore call America a "gulag economy".
  8. Liberty is the right to purchase whatever you like -- but only if they deem that product or service profitable. If not then you ought not have it.
  9. Social decisions are left to "the market" to decide -- as if it were a just and natural force and not man-made -- and yet a free market must constantly be undermined.
  10. Huge companies are treated as if they are small entrepreneurs: deserving of sympathy and local support.
  11. Consumers have to be as confused as possible about economics so that they do not recognize or object to the parasitic role of the finance / insurance / real estate sector.
  12. Workers are disposable therefore:
    • If anything threatens to decrease their disposability like unions or anti-immigration sentiments then those must be wildly attacked.
    • If anything can increase that disposability e.g. reckless open-border immigration policies and amnesties then it must be increased.
  13. Every product and activity should be fee-based and all fees go to the parasites. When Bill Hicks said "Stop putting a dollar sign on everything" that was a heresy.
  14. The threat of lawsuits means everything must be insured and that is another reason for fees.
  15. Access to every service requires "going through a toll-booth" i.e. paying an access fee.
  16. Access to every service requires or will require being subject to search by poorly trained representatives of business. You already see this:
    • At movie theaters where bags can be searched for cameras.
    • In sports stadiums where bags can be searched for food.
    • In many stores where you have to leave your bag with "security" or behind the counter so that employees can steal from you.
    • In schools and government buildings where they are metal detectors to search for weapons.
  17. A catastrophe for workers is a catastrophe averted for the bankers and corporations and therefore a good thing i.e. workers take the fall for owners.
  18. In a Neoliberal society the function of a human is to spend money and become a debt slave. Their opinions simply do not matter. Their labor capacity is replaceable.
  19. Because the opinions of a human do not matter any news reporting of the opinions of the "man in the street" must convey only vapid emotional expression devoid of cognitive content.
  20. Because the opinions of a human do not matter there is no need for investigative reporting.

How is Neoliberalism like a religion?

To answer this question, we have to ask what the characteristics of a relgion are according to unbiased, objective observers. This would most appropriately be anthropologists.

According to Cultural Anthropology, a textbook by Nanda and Warms (2009), religion is 5 things:

  1. Myth and sacred stories
  2. The importance of symbols
  3. Nonempirical explanation for existence
  4. Rituals
  5. Ritual experts e.g. priests
OK, so how does Neoliberalism fulfill these functions?

Myth and sacred stories

These include the myths surrounding the power of the free market. In truth, we do not have a free market and we probably have never had one.

Another myth is that Adam Smith supported corporate power. The reality is he was firmly against it. He believed businesses should be small, not large, because big business has a corrupting effect on the market and on government and indeed prevents a free market.

The importance of symbols

Major corporate and media brands are powerful symbols that are repeated again and again.

Nonempirical explanation for existence

At the very top echeleon of society are the vastly wealthy international banking interests and corporations. They believe the public exists to perpetually pay interest and rents to them and to take part in money-making wars every so often.

In economics 101, we learn however that people exist to buy things and that humans are supremely rational beings constantly being shrewd about their finances. So they work and spend -- that's existence.

Rituals

Some of Neoliberalism's rituals involve forcing the poor to undergo enormous hardships in order to get any assistance from society or the state.

Other rituals involve embracing debt in order to permit oneself to get opportunities to succeed or to gain the appearance of success, and then making payments on those debts.

Ritual experts e.g. priests

These include both the people at the top like Alan Greenspan, as well as the media and the corrupt corporations in whose interest the media foist economic ritualism upon the public.

Seven Pillars of the Neoliberalism religion

Neoliberalism is religion-like, as such it has its own truths that can't be questioned.

Somewhat tongue in cheek:

1. Poverty is heresy and debt is atonement

Heresy is a sign of a built-in defect, a sin that must be atoned for, that the rich do not have but the masses of poor do. There is only one way out: Debt. Make your payments to redeem yourself.

2. Everything is property and property is everything

In Neoliberalism, the only valueable thing is property, which include:
  • wealth and debt
  • means of production
  • workers

3. Paradise is consumption and consumption is paradise

Neoliberalism's paradise is the consumer paradise where any delightful thing can be bought (on credit) and only the sinful are unable to buy stuff.

4. Cathedrals must facilitate consumption and indebtedness

In Neoliberalism, our cathedrals are the familiar structures called shopping malls, strip malls, online web stores and supermarkets.

5. Divided and surveilled we stand tall

Marketers have divided consumers into "tribes" in order to predict their buying patterns. Now computers are being used to extract maximum information about each consumer in order to maximize sales in every possible corner of their lives. Computers even are used to identify shoplifters in stores. It's micromanagement to the extreme.

6. Obey the pious Federal Reserve and spend spend spend!

In Neoliberalism, the central banks take the place of the Vatican. At the top is perhaps the BIS (Bank for International Settlements), under which is the Federal Reserve, which is a cartel of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan etc., and other central banks.

Their rules:

  1. Speculation (gambling) is better than saving (viz. real work).
  2. Wealthy speculators who lose will receive bailouts from taxpayers.
  3. Wealthy speculators who win will keep their winnings and avoid taxes.

7. Bailouts make the market free

  1. All companies are equal but some are more equal than others?
  2. Let bad companies fail but let terrible corrupt companies receive bailouts?
  3. A balanced free market is the goal therefore injection of money is justified?

Further reading

The origins of Neoliberalism are in right-wing Christian ideology from the 1800's, that stated that some people are born with more sin than others and had to work off their sin in work houses.

Let There Be Markets: The Evangelical Roots of Economics

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