We are witnessing realtime implosion of neoliberal hegemony

   

Trump has unleashed neoliberal collapse through his protectionist virulently anti-globalist measures –a schadenfreude moment for the world, as neoliberal hegemony that controlled discourse across the political spectrum in last many decades, from right to left, scramble for cover screaming dire consequences for the world. To uncover this farce, let’s trace through brief history on how they pushed the world into neoliberal tentacles. The rise of European imperialism and British colonial empire during 19^th century was on the foundation of classical liberalism (Adam smith, self regulating market through invisible hand of supply and demand, free trade) that capitalised industrial revolution for economic growth, it collapsed during great depression and Second World War exposing limits of laissez faire, paving way for Keynesian model of state intervention (New Deal) that dominated through mid-20^th century before collapsing under neoliberal surge that reframed core ideas of classical liberalism seeking to unleash capitalism’s power by freeing market from all constraints, left to its own devices it is proposed to produce greatest economic growth. It works with free movement of capital, goods, information and people across borders. Neoliberal globalisation is about deregulating market, spreading capitalism through market driven innovations and monetising everything in market terms. Human actions and relations, or even nature, have value if it can be monetised and bartered for profit in market. Classical liberalism was much circumspect and had some concern for humanity in its core hence innately held that everything shouldn’t be monetised or marketised. Neoliberalism has greed in its core, unleashed by grabbing whatever came in its path for its marketable worth and transactional value. Reducing government agencies, and privatising it, so as to compete in the market to survive and decide worth through market fundamentalism. Market was metaphor to invoke unleashed freedom of jungle for survival the fittest. Neoliberal order fused ideas of deregulation with personal freedoms, open borders with cosmopolitanism, and globalization with the promise of increased prosperity for all, a sophisticated conception, a janus faced system that shows different faces to different section on the scale of power and control. A face of benign libertarian posturing for powerful and a face of brutal exploitation for poor, a face of freedom and choices, and a face of extortion and dwindling common resources....even the word liberal gives the impression of originating or caring for liberal values –it was carefully confined to market as much as freedom restricted to expanding consumer choices and actively creating more need. Greed is normalised as choice, irresponsibility is freedom. Neoliberalism integrated natural resource extraction, production and finance at a global scale extending classical liberalism of colonial exploitation by connecting and normalising democratic societies to authoritarian regimes.

Market fundamentalism defined neoliberalism means market will find efficient optimal outcome in every case. Democratic government is incapacitated to take responsibility, even in critical areas with significant social ramification and much needed financial intervention, is how neoliberal spreads its hegemony. It has led to acute level of inequalities and concentration of power and wealth with few individuals creating an ecosystem of hypocrisy and charade of concern, gradually people lose confidence in democratic institutions and pave way for authoritarian leaders –not very ironically promoted by neoliberal forces. These ‘leaders’ exhibit clear signs of compromise hence are nurtured and elevated (countries like Britain are too compromised as a society, the reason why they churn out such low quality leaders deft in school level debating skills nurtured in an ecosystem of what is spoken is rarely intended and very rarely acted upon –these turn of sentences are prized by posers in erstwhile colonies). The farce becomes theatrics of democracy. Meanwhile as democratic states are weakened and fledgling democracies collapse the authoritarian systems gain and consolidate –and with new powerful technologies priming in these exploitative frameworks it is set to get worse as countervailing capacity of state is substantially shrinked and negated, with it aspirations of millions of people asserted through process of democracy.            

Under neoliberal system state’s role was passive hence weakening of public power and consolidation of private power; reassign economic power to private market forces, prioritising free market principle over people and nature. Critical public good services were systematically eroded and transferred to private players ostensibly for efficiency that is assumed to come with greed and self interest. Simultaneously as the state’s autonomy is compromised its capacity to effectively shape market forces is outsourced and lost. Market becomes a beast with its own will. The benign ‘invisible hand’ grew talons to grab anything and everything to monetise and consume in its gargantuan greed. It is now a neoliberal state, a nominally democratic political system. Superficial transactional values create disconnect and rise of primal feudal connections rallying atavistic emotions paving way for authoritarian undemocratic value systems. Neoliberalism was positioned as political economy of freedom, this was deviously hinged to weakening of social solidarity while cleverly appropriating and replacing human urge to free from stifling regressive collective. It was being presented as natural liberal option for humanity with market replacing state as agent of natural progress. Market deemed as system without power centre, while hierarchy it creates is natural expression of competence and merit in free society, a perverse Darwinian fitness within market defined parameters. Market efficiency is constructed as very definition of human efficiency. What defines market defines humanity is the assertion. Hence all human conceptions and aspiration will be defined from markets perspective to get meaning. State machinery henceforth is subservient to the needs of market since it defines human aspiration. From neoliberal value system perspective market is as natural as jungle and the rules defined by nature/god hence state interference is interference on natural law itself. Human in such conception is consumer fighting to survive in the competition for resources, power and profit. Grabbing more is sure sign of success hence emulated. The ruse of neoliberalism as freedom is for assimilating and asserting power, in political economy of private power, in whatever way possible to monetise and gain. It is about shifting power to powerful private entities (over market) under the garb of freedom from state and encouraging unfettered competition as emulating natural laws. State is repurposed as an agent for globalised money flow –using words like investment, which sought opportunity for easy money multiplying. State was systematically deregulated to favour powerful finance capital over operating companies that were providing valuable services and essential goods.

USA and UK moved firmly into neoliberalism in 1980s, and soon the world followed, a concerted strategy to weaken state –a democratic institution to counter private corporate power, and in the long run systems that provide direction for technology to evolve. If AI is presenting the worst possibilities then it has to do with the exploitative systems that are nurtured. Democracy is a counterbalance against brutalities of state, as also against irresponsible corporate and private interest. However flawed democracy maybe it is an attempt, or framework, to represent grassroot hence opposing feudal control, while education creates awareness thus negating regressive forces, it evolves into voice of reason and assertion of enlightened collective (at the least the wisdom of crowd). Unlike greed-filled merit-neutered from existential reality that neoliberal system values, democracy provides freedom to evolve as individual synergically connected, or the extreme possibility of nihilistic disenchantment, for better deal with reality. Neoliberal value system actively works to keep the divisive agenda (it becomes easier in primitive societies), encourage primal concerns, to keep the individual isolated. The result is a society of cogs in their grim struggle to succeed while each and every milestone in these miserable lives tabulated and monetised. Inane entertainment and banal occupations incapacitates reflective thinking and awareness of existential absurdity. The individual in neoliberal system is a juvenile who needs to be kept distracted and is trained to be excited by primate sensibilities. It encourages regressive collective that reduce humans to herd unlike aware individuals who synergise into active collective deeply connected to reality for progressive change.   

Neoliberalism vandalism is treason on life on earth. It spread through exploitative value systems and feudal institutions with deviously appropriated semantics of progressive values. It is proposed as natural evolution as if emulating life itself. Money is seen as blood passing through veins of nations to energise and prosper the world. The garbled juvenile chicanery of money dealers has wrecked the world with market defined development and growth. It has severely diminished life and living systems. Every effort must therefore be made to dismantle this neoliberalism assault on life. Nature has nothing whatsoever to do with monetary system or financial institutions. To start with nature is not in competition as is being exaggerated by juvenile minds to justify their primitive ways and limited primate mind to keep itself busy. Competition, if ever, is limited to specific context to encourage diversity and robust deal with complex reality, and surely not for permanent acquisition and complete domination that infantile transactional thinking conjures. Nature doesn’t really work that way. It will collapse if it does, and wouldn’t evolve. Natural systems optimise to grow and thrive in mutualism with constant feedback to factor the possibilities and limitations of laws of nature and availability of resources. Life is evolving for billions of years; its level of sophistication is so complex that it seems a miracle. Human created systems can attempt to factor in and learn. Meanwhile crass infantile financial systems cannot be allowed to hinge itself to nature to appropriate short term gains and insatiable greed. Life doesn’t vandalise. It is deeply connected to its surrounding for its survival (extrapolate that to life on earth), its strategies are in sync with life giving forces. This consciousness attains sophistication as lifeforms evolves. Sapiens were expected to express this enlightening expressions of life. Alas.

What we have instead is unregulated market promising a connected peaceful stable world of prosperity. What it meant was state’s role restricted as guards of vandalism –by keeping common people in control, for blatant neoliberal exploitation as “investment friendly” while corporate circumvent the same rules (take for instance exploitation of water and energy by carbonated sugary water manufacturers that was documented more than two decades back https://depalan.blogspot.com/2011/03/anecdotal-study-on-nature-of-mncs.html). Legitimate role of democratic institutions were seen as interference, common resources were opened up as trade and environmental laws deregulated for “investment and development”. Through feudal structure and greed neoliberal system extended its hegemonical influence to all spectrum of political persuasion from right wing to left (indeed china is major lynchpin in neoliberal world order). Under neoliberal sway authoritarian undemocratic societies and regressive values extended their influence and consolidated control. Neoliberalism is so entrenched and naturalised that we have strange presence of neoliberal centre right and neoliberal centre left mock fighting for control as a touchstone for colossal hypocrisy –their saccharine laden apple not falling too far from neoliberal tree (far left posing as progressives showcasing characteristic irresponsibility by pushing for globalisation’s unfettered migration as high moral commitment the reason why far right have gained intuitive traction over majority of voters). With all spectrums of political parties supplicating to neoliberal order the opposition is equally compromised (take glaring examples of US and UK –that unleashed neoliberalism vandalism onto world, whether Democrats or Labour). The backlash against wanton greed, irresponsibility, increasing inequalities, deterioration of environment, was capitalised by opportunist forces. They played with the fear, growing insecurity and apathy, by invoking primal urges and theatrics of primate masculinity perceptions as decisive leaders who will lead them to secure world. President Obama was presented with unique opportunity in 2009 to reign in the neoliberal vandalism as it stood at the precipice utterly exposed at its ethical lack and greed saturated hypocrisy of horrible world that was constructed over the last many decades, but he went for safest, indeed ‘nicest’ (aligning with market image) option of going with big banks. Neoliberalism order has so compromised and weakened countervailing institutions that democracy has become a cynical exercise for common people. Acceptance of authoritarian leaders and theatrics of demonstratively decisive is rooted in this backlash against ineffectual and compromised status quo wherein common people are bartered for bigger claims all the while nothing substantial is done to evolve or deconstruct the oppressive system. Don’t forget brutal dictator Pinochet (insurrected by CIA backed coup) facilitated neoliberal experiment in Chile to begin with. Neoliberalism needs brutality of state under the garb of rule of law, it works well when democratic institutions are weak, social contract corrupted and individual are isolated and competed into wrongly appropriated Darwinian natural law. It is therefore natural for brutal societies to gravitate towards neoliberal value system. While democratic nations are increasingly shifting to authoritarian right as a backlash of decades of neoliberal vandalism, it facilitated authoritarian countries like China, Russia, Saudi etc to consolidate their power in an anchorless world devoid of ethics. Primitive Saudi feels empowered enough to control and degrade important international meet like CoPs that has immense ramification on humanity.       

What Trump has set free through his disruption is a pernicious mutant variety of neoliberalism that shed globalism (especially migration, its demographic and economic consequences on local population) to perceived superiority of native intelligence and revivalism of folklorist hearsay, all this in the frame of social media mediated chaos of misinformation and disinformation, lack of authenticity and incapacity to critically think. This mutant is extremely vary of globalist liberal world for unleashing, ostensibly progressive, value systems that threaten their carefully constructed world -sold to herd as nostalgia of great past, essentially selectively tailored myths. “Many supposed disruptors of status quo are agents of less of a backlash against global capitalism than a frontlash within it” (Quinn Slobodian in Hayek’s Bastards). The irony is, unlikely Trump is better suited to deconstruct disestablish neoliberal order than likely (but disappointing) Obama. Strange as it is, it is the right that has undertaken this role with much seriousness while the left is reduced to stuttering spectator increasingly out of touch with emerging reality. Neoliberal order is imploding in realtime. Trump is demolishing its edifice and exposing the slithering fattened specie that was thought to be sacred by all conventional wisdom across the spectrum controlling the narration. Stock exchange (another of exaggerated manipulated neoliberal short term speculation gain) plummeted, market media went into frenzy –they are immune to real existential crisis such as the dangerously rising temperature (deplorable bbc still seeks balance). Another irony, not noted by compromised systems, is that as the neoliberal economic system implodes it is a respite for earth and most lives on earth (including humans- it is assumed that neoliberal channelized wealth and glitter indicates well being, and that wanton consumption and irresponsible market friendly ways is approximation of human worth). Though devoid of progressive underpinning and ethically contradictory Trumpism is still better suited to dismantle neoliberal world order. We live in a strange shifting anchorless time. It is a ripe moment for a new narration that sync and is responsive to the reality we live in. We cannot have same mistakes repeated and expect things to be right (accumulation of power is never good nor feeding herd solution) as the stakes are too high. Critically, neoliberalism is incapable to face crucial problems of our times (let alone solve) like increasing inequality, climate crisis, global demand and consumption model that severely degrades biodiversity, weakening of democratic institutions and rise of religious fundamentalism, humans increasingly incapable of critical thinking so on, when it is deeply embedded in the cause. Neoliberalism is a degradation that excites primitive value system; opportunism and greed creates regressive ecosystem for technological innovations and evolution. It is a significant concern for AI going rogue since the ecosystem incentivise short term gains while delegating/outsourcing consequences to common space. What is at stake is human civilisation, indeed life on earth itself, which needs large scale long term investment, innovative thinking, something that is impossible without active and effective participation of empowered state at global level. It cannot be about opportunism efficiently accomplished to please the money counting investors and share holders before moving to next opportunism of wanton consumption. Problems created and accentuated by neoliberalism cannot have neoliberal solutions. Modern economics has failed to factor in powerful externalities, which are not found in economic theories, and have significant impact.       

It is proposed that neoliberalism fuelled economic growth created prosperity therefore added value despite shortcomings. Hence it is assumed that we have no alternative to neoliberalism –it is the natural order, and that it has to be saved and salvaged from failure whatever may be the consequences (too big to fail). Keynesian economic growth in mid 20^th century was much robust, not only that, unlike greed it was more about hope and collective concern. Clearly, neoliberalism has created much havoc on societies around the world and carnage on environment and nature. It is about time it is dismantled. With diminishing US power, hence the lynchpin of neoliberal world order, it is fortuitous occasion for crucial international organisations like UN, WTO etc to stop acting as the instrument of neoliberalism and its nefarious hegemonical hold over democracies and exploitation of weaker nations (in the aftermath of colonial European exploitation China now has completely vandalised Africa for its resources simultaneously nurturing authoritarian regimes by providing latest surveillance/intrusive technologies). Organisations like UN are incredibly important and have crucial role to play to face the globalised threat to humanity. These need to be overhauled and democratised to respond to complex reality and not remain ossified in the past. Perceptive people are aware of unsustainable nature of neoliberalism as it sucks clean the fringes (poorer societies and natural resources) as it generates wealth, in the recent times the mounting decay expose deep fractures in its down spiral. With growing inequality, depleting resources, control and consumption by irresponsible few as also real time impact of climate breakdown, there is a political weakening of neoliberal foundation and a widening profound disconnect with reality of the world. There has to be an alternative to neoliberal vandalism.

Till recently those who questioned neoliberal consensus were ridiculed and sidelined. The fissures in toxic system was becoming apparent, late 90s saw East Asian crisis, then Enron collapse (also indicting consultant companies whose role seems to be intellectual emasculation and as henchmen of neoliberal sophistry) and tech bubble burst (2001) –pointing to corrupt ecosystem, Iraq invasion, banking crisis (2008) –state intervened to rescue private financial institutions and banks, exposing neoliberal lies of market discipline, extensive study of inequality hampering growth (Piketty, extremely relevant economist), catastrophic negligence of neoliberalism in dealing with climate change and bankruptcy of market solutions, finally pandemic exposed neoliberal incapacity during crisis and importance of state intervention. To be fair Biden administration understood the drift, and actively worked to rein in neoliberal runoff and regulate the big companies and private capital, support pro-union against corporate exploitation –this is the compelling reason why big corporate shifted to Trump. Biden was arguably one of the best US president (in the context of times) but he messed up by not delegating and making it a ego issue, a moral collapse, while it was obvious that he is cognitively declined. Meanwhile for TechBros democracy is a programming error that needs autocratic Caesarism hence Trump.       

What is also true is that world is no longer flat but complex and neoliberal hegemonical simplicity is spreading thin and unravelling for all to see. The growing public discontent and economic injustice is being effectively capitalised by consolidation of authoritarian right while neoliberal left lost traction as it try to appear humane in its desperate compromises (of exaggerated identity politics that did more harm while theatrics of diversity took it to ridiculous). They are too entrenched in neoliberal to break away or accept the hypocrisy. Neoliberal left is particularly dangerous specie that weaponised woke and passed it on to neoliberal right to play havoc on nuanced understandings. The surge of authoritarian right is very much effectuated through the vacuum created by neoliberal economic policies weakened democratic institutions. For beleaguered herd primate legacy provided compelling theatrics of saviour leader, the aggressive masculinity that keeps the pack safe. Meanwhile even as neoliberalism collapses (market fundamentalism ridiculed, globalisation replaced by masculine nationalism) the power and money is accumulated with few people who use it to further their grip, it’s a plutocracy that is positioning as saviours. So as humanity face existential threats that needs urgent globalised response what we see is powerful few detaching into surreal world limited by their own lack of imagination and making it a show of ridiculous crass and utter horror. We urgently need newer innovative collective involvement and grassroot level people participation. There is still no coherent economic doctrine to replace neoliberalism but it is clear that alternate needs compelling narration of collective voice and a deep felt empathy for debilitating predicaments people face as life sustaining world as we know collapse. It must strongly dissociate from using oft repeated neoliberal semantics of concerns that will surely hang around to find traction. It doesn’t sync with reality of the world. Market lobotomised media will fret and hop in neoliberal hegemonical pit siding from left to right to capitalise the angst. They have lost their relevance (particularly the legacy media). The binary of left and right is too trite and simplistic evaluation of complexity of the times we live in. Labelling and categorising leads to activating loop of the past hence superficial evaluation of the present. Contemporary has to be evaluated in the entirety of the unique present and not extricated and weaved from frayed threads of the past. The parallel comparison to the history is too tenuous, mostly tossed in by insipid academicians seeking relevance. It’s a left wing oligarchical control of narration, of historical dialecticism so on. The reason why solution is not only always wanting but is lost on people since it doesn’t reflect their reality or concern. It’s a pedantic semantic jugglery to establish pecking order in academic oligarchy for narration control. It doesn’t impress outside their carefully selected circle nor does it have any real life impact.         

 Neoliberal facilitated plutocracy has become a serious threat to humanity. The world is not here to be entertained by their inanities and simplistic grand plans that systemically dismantle progressive foundation into frivolous participation. Also, narrations of juvenile systems specifically classified as minority and migrants must be closely scrutinised, regressive barbaric values or feudal patronising concerns cannot be normalised nor miseries delegated to common people for bigger cause -for neoliberal globalists to appear empathetic, these are superficial concerns to keep populace distracted. Whatever degrades/disconnects with reality cannot be part of collective voice nor systems that approximates people into herd has any place in emerging world. Beware of such people they seek herd, a ruse to convert neoliberal nurtured values into feudal hold as change. It is not about deviously classified minority concerns or compassion for migrants or transgender, it is about systems that creates such situations. It is not about crony capitalism or about falling wages or losing jobs or economic inequality or migrants or woke that authoritarian right is capitalising from imploding neoliberalism to nurture plutocratic control as they persistently weaken liberal democracy while neoliberal left tries to appear saviour in its hedonist plume. We have well passed the posturing, nor are we interested in constructed binaries of left and right to appropriate, capitalise and toss crucial issues into meaningless. It is systemic change that is needed while every trace of neoliberal structure dismantled as it weakens democracy and nurtures authoritarianism. Empower democratic institutions and vibrant diversity with each human evaluated as a thinking individual who synergise for collective voice and evolve for better world (be constantly vigilant against herd churning control systems and their feudal angst, only an individual can be vibrant part of democratic collective, or else it is undemocratic and source for degradation). This will empower democracy and nurture a responsive system to face the complexities of the times we live in (for instance, it is not about carbon tax –it is a typical neoliberal clever solution, a distraction, which is disconnected to reality. What is needed is renewed public investment in mitigative and adaptive measures, and an active role of state in tandem with other nations in a global effort), a strong liberal democracy hinged on progressive diversity and humanistic solidarity. The power must come from fundamentals of public good and not from fundamentals of market. The state is not transactional it has moral obligations. It is obliged to empower voice of people over herd and value human dignity as a foundation to alternate social economic structure.  Wellness matters but wealth generation is not a criteria for happiness nor meaning of life, it is only an aspect deeply connected to the context, and surely, cannot be taken in isolation to fit the neoliberal narration. It is quite clear that beyond basic needs wellness is connected to quality of world we live in. Only psychopathic system will aspire for more money while the resilience of ecosystem dangerously deteriorates with rapid biodiversity loss and the world as we know collapses and incapacitated to nurture life. It also points to deeply flawed system that claims to be rational but is incapable to rationally evaluate the unfolding existential threat.