Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 10:27:23 -0500
From: ccaruso@sas.upenn.edu (Christopher G Caruso)
Message-Id: <199603131514.KAA11873@mail2.sas.upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: Reich and Marx
To: orgonomy@jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU
Sender: owner-orgonomy@jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU


Christopher T. Phillips wrote:
> >
> >This is interesting, but I'm not sure that neo-liberalism is even a 
> >coherent position worth attacking.  You will not find a single consistent 
> >neo-liberal in the USA, at least.  Neo-liberalism (removing all 
> >constraints from the market to allow for "free trade") is handily 
> >invoked in order to "justify" the slashing of any amount of services for the 
> >poor or killing any environmental protection laws.  Yet, those same 
> >neo-liberals seem strangely silent when the government interferes with the 
> >"invisible hand" of the market in their favor, such as repaying owning-class 
> >investor's profits by S&L and peso bail-outs with tax-payer moneys, and 
> >the wars fought by the government on foreign soil to prevent 
> >people from asserting any national interest which would interfere with 
> >American companies ability to rob and exploit them.  Basically, the 
> >neo-liberal actually advocates neo-liberalism for the other guy and 
> >government nanny-state for himself.
> >
> >The whole business of the self-regulating market is an abstraction only 
> >invoked to justify its opposite.
> 
>         What an unfair generalisation! A true Capitalist would never
> support the double-standard hypocrisy you've described. Only Statists,
> who peddle favors and vie for political power support such a hideous
> situation here in America.
>         I'm not certain if Neo-Liberalism is an appropriate label for
> those who support the concept of a self-regulating economic system.
> And I certainly disagree that everyone in America supporting free-market
> economics wants to :
> 
> >"'justify' the slashing of any amount of services for the 
> >poor or killing any environmental protection laws.  Yet, those same 
> >neo-liberals seem strangely silent when the government interferes with the 
> >"invisible hand" of the market in their favor, such as repaying owning-class 
> >investor's profits by S&L and peso bail-outs with tax-payer moneys, and 
> >the wars fought by the government on foreign soil to prevent 
> >people from asserting any national interest which would interfere with 
> >American companies ability to rob and exploit them. 
> 
> 
> 
> > Basically, the 
> >neo-liberal actually advocates neo-liberalism for the other guy and 
> >government nanny-state for himself."
> 
> Do you really beleive this? Do you think it is an accurate dipiction
> of those of us that want the state to stop it's protectionistic and
> repressive economic policies? And is it fair to lump us in with the
> ultra-conservatives that are in bed with big-business, trying to
> cater to their special-interests?

Yes, this is an accurate description of how neo-liberalism is invoked in 
contemporary American political discourse.  It is the philosophy that 
underlies the "Contract on America," which is, objectively, the single 
biggest roll-back of civil rights in this century.  It is the philosophy 
that underlies the "structural adjustments" that the IMF/World Bank 
imposes on Third World countries.  I would say that it is the dominant 
ruling class ideology of the moment.  And it should be exposed for what 
it is- pure hypocrisy.

Does this apply to you?  I have no idea.  If you would like to argue for 
the benefits of the free market system in a consistent way, like a "true 
Capitalist," and explain why we need "the state to stop it's 
protectionistic and repressive economic policies," I am sincerely 
interested in hearing it.

(Though, at this point, we seem to have strayed from the list topic.  
Perhaps this is better continued in e-mail?)

-- 
Chris Caruso                Check out: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~ccaruso/
ccaruso@sas.upenn.edu                  http://www.igc.org/fair/
Philadelphia, PA  USA                  http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html



     --- from list orgonomy@lists.village.virginia.edu ---

Many thanks for Geocities providing this free space
Get your own Free Home Page

Web Hosting · Blog · Guestbooks · Message Forums · Mailing Lists
Allwebco Web Templates · Build your own toolbar · Financial Data · Audio, Fonts, Clipart
powered by bravenet.com