Volume 3a Neo-liberalism
Fiat Justitia et Pereat Mundus (let justice be done, though the world perishes)
-Ferdinand I (1503,Äì1564)
,ÄúWe need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values.,Äù
- Project For the New American Century
,ÄúFrancis Fukuyama is a fucking idiot who defines ,Äúretarded,Äú,Äù
-Cain, shortly before being ,Äútaken outside and had a quiet word at,Äù at a Neo-Conservative group meeting last year.
Neo-liberalism is the name of the game in the 21st, allegedly post-American century. The historical debate is over, this is the wave of the future, and everyone who disagrees is retrograde and backward in the extreme. Or so people would have you believe. Apparently, the end of the USSR means American style democracy has triumphed over every other sort of ideology, and humanity has reached political perfection. That,Äôs part of the myth of neo-liberalism, the telling of its ,Äúmanifest destiny,Äù, its sovereign right of leadership over the world. And we all know what happened the last times those 2 phrases were in common use, don,Äôt we?
Surprisingly, people don,Äôt like to talk about it much, outside academic journals. If it is at all, it is referred to ,ÄúGlobalisation,Äù or the ,Äúfree market,Äù (for economic features), or neo-Conservativism for its social features. People don,Äôt like them being linked though, because then coherent arguments can be made against it. And people also don,Äôt like it to be told that Neo-cons are just the logical conclusion of the whole theory.
What,Äôs more, it,Äôs probably the most haphazard stringing together of economic, political and social theories in modern history, not seen since National Socialism. The arguments are generally flying in the face of facts, obnoxious, and strangely compelling if you don,Äôt factor reality and common sense into the equation. Even worse, it uses language and good intentions that make attacking it look like you are a tyrant/Communist/Islamic suicide bomber who is against democracy and freedom for all.
These people are the new Crusaders of the 21st century. The quote from Ferdinand the First is the whole nature of this new beast. They will talk of spreading democracy to promote peace, going back to giants of history such as Kant and Wilson to justify bringing it about by the sword. These crusading moralists know what,Äôs best for everyone. You,Äôre not against democracy are you?
I wont even go into the economic arguments, because they,Äôre so boring and well known there is no need to say them again, ,Äúfree market blah,Äù and all that.
What I will say is this: they will carve a sea of blood through every land they can in order to bring about the democratic peace theory (that democracies don,Äôt fight each other). Am I the only one who sees a problem with this idea, spreading freedom by killing anyone who disagrees with your interpretation? Because that,Äôs why the Neo-Cons target Chavez, and others,Ķ
The other part of their mythology, their ,Äúcreation story,Äù is kept much quieter, now the facts are out. When Chile was turned into a giant torture chamber and experiment is free markets, the ,ÄúChilean economic miracle,Äù was hailed, and the story of its ,Äúsuccess,Äù was used as the justification for bringing the revolution abroad. I mean, don,Äôt you think thousands of dead and tortured bodies were a success? They were against ,Äúfreedom,Äù after all. And their economic theories were all taught personally by the acknowledged founding father of neo-liberalism, Milton Friedman. There,Äôs a happy thought.
It wont stop, either. Not until the rest of the world accepts that this is the way forward. The entire theory is unpragmatic in the extreme and aggressively expansionist. There are times we need to support dictatorships, to carry out necessary, if unpleasant, acts for the defence of the state. But this isn,Äôt it, and never will be. We will all drown in their righteous, patronising moralizing if we don,Äôt choke on the blood first! Their acts will cause eruptions of revenge and bloodletting against us that will make Africa in the 70s look like a minor dispute. And it,Äôll be us in the crosshairs, as always. Squeezed between those looking for revenge and our heavily protected leaders, who have a worldview as rigid and unhinged as those they oppose. There wont be any ,Äúpeace,Äù if they get their way, no matter if their intentions are good or ill. Do the Iraqis look peaceful to you? And how many bodies will it take before someone says ,Äúlet us take the fight to the infidels/imperialists/warmongering pigs!,Äù
These people are the worst sort of idealists. You know about Marxist ,Äúhistoric inevitability?,Äù Well, these guys have that too, so they think. They are the tide of progress, the people who will usher in a new dawn for humanity. Needless to say, these people are not very good historians in general, and fail to note the patterns of hubris and nemesis, condemned to it as we are by our own nature. And those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it. Nazism started off as a world embracing synthesis of left and right values too, as they were interpreted in the 1930s.
These people are the enemies of every sane being on this planet, make no mistake. Their zeal matches, if not surpasses that of any religious fundamentalist. And what more, they have power, money and millions prepared to follow them. And as that,Äôs the case, they,Äôll be following down a bloody trail which may have no easily foreseeable end.
Nice one. Which means it's nasty.
I don't think there's much of an escape for the rest of us, either. The cabbages/Montrose-zombies/sheeple/term-of-your-choice just outnumber us far too greatly. They will bury us, no matter how far we go to hide. Welcome to the end times.
Thanks. You'll have to bear with me. Next semester I'll be covering this in far more detail than ever necessary, and so will probably either explode or contemplate suicide. Its their unthinking arrogance and disrespect of plurality that gets me. That, and they dont seem to understand a democratic culture evolves, it isnt a hard wired human instinct that kicks in overnight.
Neither do they understand that "democracy" does not mean "agrees with me all the time no matter how stupid I am".
That too, though the problem is more widepsread than just Bush. Tony Blair is a neoliberal, for instance. In fact, every European leader is, to a certain degree, because this transcends the left/right dichotomy. Its all a matter of degrees.
QuoteNeither do they understand that "democracy" does not mean "agrees with me all the time no matter how stupid I am".
Affirmative!
Quote from: ataraxiaNeither do they understand that "democracy" does not mean "agrees with me all the time no matter how stupid I am".
"Democracy" means what they WANT it to mean, because they control the most powerful military machine in history.
They can't HOLD a little country like Iraq, but they can sure as fuck break shit.
Welcome to the post-American century...we're the good guys, because we SAY we are, and if you don't agree, we'll kill everyone you know.
Deal.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger...we're the good guys, because we SAY we are, and if you don't agree, we'll kill everyone you know.
Deal.
yoink.
8)
Quote,ÄúFrancis Fukuyama is a fucking idiot who defines ,Äúretarded,Äú,Äù
-Cain, shortly before being ,Äútaken outside and had a quiet word at,Äù at a Neo-Conservative group meeting last year.
This is nice. I like blunt statements that don't waltz around the argument.
8)
Quote from: East Coast HustleQuote from: The Good Reverend Roger...we're the good guys, because we SAY we are, and if you don't agree, we'll kill everyone you know.
Deal.
yoink.
8)
You can quote me on that one. :lol:
Quote from: CainThat too, though the problem is more widepsread than just Bush. Tony Blair is a neoliberal, for instance. In fact, every European leader is, to a certain degree, because this transcends the left/right dichotomy. Its all a matter of degrees.
I was actually talking about the followers, not the leaders.
Quote from: ataraxiaQuote from: CainThat too, though the problem is more widepsread than just Bush. Tony Blair is a neoliberal, for instance. In fact, every European leader is, to a certain degree, because this transcends the left/right dichotomy. Its all a matter of degrees.
I was actually talking about the followers, not the leaders.
Troof. The closer you get to the top, the less "right" and "left" mean, except as propaganda tools.
Neo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
Hugh knows where I'm coming from.
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
How are neocons ANY kind of liberal?
You looked up the definition of liberal recently?
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
How are neocons ANY kind of liberal?
You looked up the definition of liberal recently?
Actually, they are signed up to the theory of neoliberalism. The fact what the theory promotes is neither is not the point.
Quote from: CainQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
How are neocons ANY kind of liberal?
You looked up the definition of liberal recently?
Actually, they are signed up to the theory of neoliberalism. The fact what the theory promotes is neither is not the point.
Then what the fuck IS the point, man? I haven't got all day!
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
How are neocons ANY kind of liberal?
You looked up the definition of liberal recently?
Yeah, I did. The definition said "rare species of spineless hominid on Earth."
Neo-liberalism and Neo-cons say "different" things but their economic policies and social crap ends up being the same old crap. Remember, neo-liberals think that the banks owning our lives is a GOOD thing.
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
Yeah, I did. The definition said "rare species of spineless hominid on Earth."
No, that's the entry for
democrats. Try again.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCNeo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping
How are neocons ANY kind of liberal?
You looked up the definition of liberal recently?
Actually, they are signed up to the theory of neoliberalism. The fact what the theory promotes is neither is not the point.
Then what the fuck IS the point, man? I haven't got all day!
The point is to be a pain in the arse. Its one of the reasons the left and right seem so similar nowadays, they all operate under the neoliberal thinking. Its why, when we voted Labour here, we ended up with Thatcher MKII
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
Yeah, I did. The definition said "rare species of spineless hominid on Earth."
No, that's the entry for democrats. Try again.
Right you are there. Must not read while drinking. Dangerous.
Quote from: Cain
The point is to be a pain in the arse. Its one of the reasons the left and right seem so similar nowadays, they all operate under the neoliberal thinking. Its why, when we voted Labour here, we ended up with Thatcher MKII
So, define this "neoliberal" thingie you are talking about...because all *I* see is plain old fascism, and we already have a word for that.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Cain
The point is to be a pain in the arse. Its one of the reasons the left and right seem so similar nowadays, they all operate under the neoliberal thinking. Its why, when we voted Labour here, we ended up with Thatcher MKII
So, define this "neoliberal" thingie you are talking about...because all *I* see is plain old fascism, and we already have a word for that.
Neoliberalism; set of beliefs that the Free Market and Western Style democracy are the best for everyone, and that if we give it to everyone right now, war will stop and everyone will be happy and the trains may even run on time.
Quote from: CainQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Cain
The point is to be a pain in the arse. Its one of the reasons the left and right seem so similar nowadays, they all operate under the neoliberal thinking. Its why, when we voted Labour here, we ended up with Thatcher MKII
So, define this "neoliberal" thingie you are talking about...because all *I* see is plain old fascism, and we already have a word for that.
Neoliberalism; set of beliefs that the Free Market and Western Style democracy are the best for everyone, and that if we give it to everyone right now, war will stop and everyone will be happy and the trains may even run on time.
Fascism; set of beliefs that the the fascists ways are the best for everyone, and that if we give it to everyone right now, war will stop and everyone will be happy and the trains may even run on time (but nobody wants to know where they
go).
See?
Yeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger
Fascism; set of beliefs that the the fascists ways are the best for everyone, and that if we give it to everyone right now, war will stop and everyone will be happy and the trains may even run on time (but nobody wants to know where they go).
See?
That's why I said "Neo-liberal = Neo-Con = Fascist = Jeebus-worshipping"
Quote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
But it's a shinier more marketable product.
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
But it's a shinier more marketable product.
Troof. There's a lot to be said for packaging.
But it's still the same old rotten bullshit, once the colorful wrapping is torn off.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger
But it's still the same old rotten bullshit, once the colorful wrapping is torn off.
Isn;t
Everything?
Quote from: LMNOQuote from: The Good Reverend Roger
But it's still the same old rotten bullshit, once the colorful wrapping is torn off.
Isn;t Everything?
Yeah, but...yeah.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: LMNOQuote from: The Good Reverend Roger
But it's still the same old rotten bullshit, once the colorful wrapping is torn off.
Isn;t Everything?
Yeah, but...yeah.
Not everything has such nice wrappers though.
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: LMNOQuote from: The Good Reverend Roger
But it's still the same old rotten bullshit, once the colorful wrapping is torn off.
Isn;t Everything?
Yeah, but...yeah.
Not everything has such nice wrappers though.
Except corporate deathburgers, and the War of the Day(tm)
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
I dont deny more than a fair few are. They'll drown us all in a river of righteously spilt blood.
Quote from: CainQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
I dont deny more than a fair few are. They'll drown us all in a river of righteously spilt blood.
All of them. Every last one. I shit you not.
TGRR,
Shits you not.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: CainYeah, but most people don think like that. And some people actually believe its truly the best way for the world. Unfortunately, they run the banks, the political parties and alot of the NGOs.
That doesn't mean they aren't fascist. They just dressed it up with a new name and image, and sold us the same old product.
I dont deny more than a fair few are. They'll drown us all in a river of righteously spilt blood.
All of them. Every last one. I shit you not.
TGRR,
Shits you not.
From the highest most powerful financiers to the lowliest young Americorps volunteers.....fascists all of them.
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
From the highest most powerful financiers to the lowliest young Americorps volunteers.....fascists all of them.
And for every BIG Donald Rumsfeld, there are 10,000 LITTLE Donald Rumsfelds...the crooked cop, the homeowners association Nazi waving her rulebook, the pig-eyed preacher spewing poison religion, the DMV clerk with "Big fish in a little pond" syndrome, the jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
From the highest most powerful financiers to the lowliest young Americorps volunteers.....fascists all of them.
And for every BIG Donald Rumsfeld, there are 10,000 LITTLE Donald Rumsfelds...the crooked cop, the homeowners association Nazi waving her rulebook, the pig-eyed preacher spewing poison religion, the DMV clerk with "Big fish in a little pond" syndrome, the jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
to the bartendress who won't serve whisky because it's too strong to the bagpipe player nextdoor who doesn't believe in letting anyone else have quiet...to the little jerk in the alley who keeps ripping off the kids' improvised hoop because it's "against city ordnances" to the mayor of Chicago who likes annexing property and selling it to condo developers...to the usher who insists on checking everybag in case someone had the audacity to sneak in their own water....in goes on and on.
hey! Its all for love of the Free Market and human nature (fucking over the next guy because you can and people do it to you)
Quote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
From the highest most powerful financiers to the lowliest young Americorps volunteers.....fascists all of them.
And for every BIG Donald Rumsfeld, there are 10,000 LITTLE Donald Rumsfelds...the crooked cop, the homeowners association Nazi waving her rulebook, the pig-eyed preacher spewing poison religion, the DMV clerk with "Big fish in a little pond" syndrome, the jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
to the bartendress who won't serve whisky because it's too strong to the bagpipe player nextdoor who doesn't believe in letting anyone else have quiet...to the little jerk in the alley who keeps ripping off the kids' improvised hoop because it's "against city ordnances" to the mayor of Chicago who likes annexing property and selling it to condo developers...to the usher who insists on checking everybag in case someone had the audacity to sneak in their own water....in goes on and on.
Troof.
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSCQuote from: The Good Reverend RogerQuote from: Irreverend Hugh, KSC
From the highest most powerful financiers to the lowliest young Americorps volunteers.....fascists all of them.
And for every BIG Donald Rumsfeld, there are 10,000 LITTLE Donald Rumsfelds...the crooked cop, the homeowners association Nazi waving her rulebook, the pig-eyed preacher spewing poison religion, the DMV clerk with "Big fish in a little pond" syndrome, the jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
to the bartendress who won't serve whisky because it's too strong to the bagpipe player nextdoor who doesn't believe in letting anyone else have quiet...to the little jerk in the alley who keeps ripping off the kids' improvised hoop because it's "against city ordnances" to the mayor of Chicago who likes annexing property and selling it to condo developers...to the usher who insists on checking everybag in case someone had the audacity to sneak in their own water....in goes on and on.
Troof.
I am starting to think that maybe a plague could be a good thing....though the reality of it being another excuse to "kill the poor" makes me drop that "plague is good" line of reasoning.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Rogerthe jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
Hey, I know that guy! He doesn't have any tires now!
Quote from:  Quote from: The Good Reverend Rogerthe jackass in the Escalade that parks across two spaces...
Hey, I know that guy! He doesn't have any tires now!
Now you should slap him around a bit. Put the tires over him and set the whole pile on fire. It's an old African trick, trust me.