The mess is a result of the complex socioeconomic outcome of the widespread adoption of #neoliberal policies and ideology. Neoliberal theorists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman developed and promoted the ideas, emphasizing competition and market-based solutions to social and economic problems. Politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan implemented neoliberal policies on a large scale, fundamentally altering over the last 40 years the role of government and the structure of society.
Business interests, capitalists and business leaders pushed neoliberal policies to restore their power and wealth, which had diminished during the era of “progressive” liberalism. Think tanks, academic institutions and university economics departments played a role in spreading and legitimizing neoliberal ideas.
The economic crises of the 1970s, stagflation and oil shocks, created an opening for neoliberal policies to be pushed as an alternative to existing economic models. This was then taken up by #mainstreaming political parties, including traditionally left-leaning parties, such as Labour in the UK, who pushed the same neoliberal agendas, contributing to the ideology’s total dominance across the political spectrum. The “mess” we are in is not the result of a conspiracy, more the failed #fashionista pushing of ideas, self-interest, and historical circumstances.
Over the last 40 years we have fundamentally altered how people, institutions, and governments see the world and their roles in society. This shift has led to social brake down pushed by the building #stupidindividualism, market-based destruction of social goods and environment. The “common sense” pervasiveness of neoliberal logic made this thinking difficult to escape, even for people who profess to oppose it. This mess is proving to be a #deathcult.
I've been thinking more of this lately.
Isn't part of the problem actually that society thinks virtually every problem is to be solved by the state?
In 1900, the state made up about 10% of GDP. There was no income tax in most places at all. Today, the state makes up about 50% of GDP, and blue collar workers might spend 50% of the last dollar they make in income taxes.
We've replaced the role of family, church, and community with the state. Instead of having duties to one another, we have entitlements granted by the global megastate. When there's a problem to be solved, often the claim is that it's the state that must fix it.
It is a sort of stupid individualism, because it isn't individualism. We replace everything with a totalitarian state that takes over everything and tries to control everything, and culturally we start to think that it's normal and desirable for the state to control more of our lives and to provide for more of our wellbeing.
No wonder society is breaking down and both men and women are in a perpetual state of peter pan syndrome, they never have to grow up because there's a tyrannical father figure who tells us it will take care of us and if we try to take care of ourselves we're doing something against nature.
The criticism of neoliberalism is in fact criticism of that totalitarian state taking from everyone to "take care" of us and once the work is done, handing the fruits of that sacrifice to a privileged few. To many people it's self-evident that such behavior is evil, but that's also the power and danger of a totalizing state presence overriding individuals, communities, and forces such as organized religion. The tyrannical father giveth, and also taketh away at his discretion alone.
Father Government says "Worry not, my child, you shall all pitch in some money, and I will use my mighty power to force a few people to give up their lands, and we will build a power plant for everyone. Ok, it's built. Now I shall be giving it to my campaign donors for a pittance because it's really absurd that everyone should pitch in money for something and that I should use my mighty power to force anyone to give up their lands so we should really prevent that." and because unlike individuals Father Government is immortal, he can do so over time spans that hide his hypocrisy.
In this way, the problem with both individuality and neoliberalism isn't the ideas themselves, but their disingenuous use as part of an effective cycle of kleptocracy. Take much from the common man while saying "we need to work together" when it's time to build common goods, then once those goods are built wait for people to forget that those are the people's common goods, and then "we need to stop having control over everything in your lives!" so those common goods can be sold at a loss.
In that way, the individual ideas of state power vs. autonomy are actually irrelevant, because both are just tools of a totalitarian regime. The same way Mao implemented freedom of speech after a long period of controlled speech, but with the intention of loosening the lips of dissenters so he could have them killed.
A result of this is that the current path isn't sustainable. Federal debt, provincial or state debt, municipal debt, and personal debt are all at levels and rising at levels virtually guaranteed to lead to a collapse or revolution that totally changes the paradigm, and I think it'll happen during my lifetime.
Yep, it’s an issue of how we think of the state – control or “common wealth” – we are so fixated on control that we can’t see any other path. This is why I am doing all the posts to build a base for thinking outside this mess, It’s why our #openweb reboot matters as it’s a path that is “native” to outside the current mess, though people bring the mess into this path, let’s try not to get swamped https://hamishcampbell.com/what-works/
@info
>The “mess” we are in is not the result of a conspiracy
oh yes it is. a multitude of conspiracies and corruption and the neoliberal ideology where ends justify the means supports that.
now stop with the deboonking conspiracies trope. the conspiracies have been laid bare.
This is why I am doing all the posts on https://hamishcampbell.com to make everything in plain site #4opens if you look you see 🙂