Rutger Bregman: The neoliberal era is ending. What comes next?
In a crisis, what was
once unthinkable can suddenly become inevitable. We’re in the middle of the
biggest societal shakeup since the second world war. And neoliberalism is
gasping its last breath. So from higher taxes for the wealthy to more robust
government, the time has come for ideas that seemed impossible just months ago.
There are those who
say this pandemic shouldn’t be politicised. That doing so is tantamount to
basking in self-righteousness. Like the religious hardliner shouting it’s the
wrath of God, or the populist scaremongering about the “Chinese virus”, or the
trend-watcher predicting we’re finally entering a new era of love, mindfulness,
and free money for all. There are also those
who say now is precisely the time to speak out. That the decisions being made
at this moment will have ramifications far into the future. Or, as Obama’s
chief of staff put it after Lehman Brothers fell in 2008: “You
never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” In the first few
weeks, I tended to side with the naysayers. I’ve written before about the
opportunities crises present, but now it seemed tactless, even offensive.
Then
more days passed. Little by little, it started to dawn that this crisis might
last months, a year, even longer. And that anti-crisis measures imposed
temporarily one day could well become permanent the next. No one knows what
awaits us this time. But it’s precisely
because we don’t
know because the future is so uncertain, that we need to talk
about it.
The tide is turning: On 4 April 2020, the
British-based Financial Times published an editorial likely
to be quoted by historians for years to come. The Financial
Times is the world’s leading business daily and, let’s be honest,
not exactly a progressive publication. It’s read by the richest and most
powerful players in global politics and finance. Every month, it puts out a
magazine supplement unabashedly titled “How to Spend It” about yachts and
mansions and watches and cars. But on this memorable
Saturday morning in April, that paper published this:
“Radical reforms –
reversing the prevailing policy direction of the last four decades – will need
to be put on the table. Governments will have to accept a more active role in
the economy. They must see public services as investments rather than
liabilities, and look for ways to make labour markets less insecure.
Redistribution will again be on the agenda; the privileges of the elderly and
wealthy in question. Policies until recently considered eccentric, such as
basic income and wealth taxes, will have to be in the mix.”
What’s going on here?
How could the tribune of capitalism suddenly be advocating for more
redistribution, bigger government, and even a basic income?...
https://thecorrespondent.com/466/the-neoliberal-era-is-ending-what-comes-next/61655148676-a00ee89asee also
10 Theses on the Proliferation of Egocrats (1977)
Delilah Friedler: Capitalism Is
America’s Religion. The Virus Makes That Clear
American capitalism has dropped the mask — and its face is cruel and selfish
American capitalism has dropped the mask — and its face is cruel and selfish
