Neoliberalism "Dont let the Word Fool You" .....It's not a good one!
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: "Damn Liberal's!"
Topic: HUMANITY
Just what does the term "neoliberalism" really mean?
I am glad you asked!
Glance at this chart below I that I borrowed from the neat website ---> Political Compass


And check this link
Neoliberalism
It probably has more info than you care to read right now. Although, it does have a good explanation of describing the differences and internal weavings between the many fractions of the political spectrum, like economic liberalism to political or authoritarian to fascism, and the right to the left, just to name a few which I'm sure all my fellow Z3 readers want to know more about!

For example this quote from the global issues website:

Liberalism can refer to political, economic, or even religious ideas. In the U.S. political liberalism has been a strategy to prevent social conflict. It is presented to poor and working people as progressive compared to conservative or Rightwing.

Economic liberalism is different. Conservative politicians who say they hate liberals meaning the political type have no real problem with economic liberalism, including neoliberalism.

Readers, this next quote from the link above is a good bite of defining those pesky "Neocons" position in this neoliberal topic

U.S. neo-conservatives, with their commitment to high military spending and the global assertion of national values, tend to be more authoritarian than hard right. By contrast, neo-liberals, opposed to such moral leadership and, more especially, the ensuing demands on the tax payer, belong to a further right but less authoritarian region. Paradoxically, the "free market", in neo-con parlance, also allows for the large-scale subsidy of the military-industrial complex, a considerable degree of corporate welfare, and protectionism when deemed in the national interest. These are viewed by neo-libs as impediments to the unfettered market forces that they champion.

Well from what I was reading in that website it mentions that "The goal of neoliberlism is to be able to to allow the free market to naturally balance itself via the pressures of market demands; a key to successful market-based economies."

And I read that and think Hmmm??? well.....OK!?
"I guess it sounds ok?"
But then I read the explanation that the Average Joe wouldn't understand by just reading the language of the meaning and the spin that goes with it and the language dissemination it takes to understand what they mean or meant and to finally realize that the following is more of a better description of what neoliberalism will actually get you that the spin and the misnomer of words like Free;

*The rule of the market.
*Freedom for capital, goods and services, where the market is self-regulating allowing the "trickle down" notion of wealth distribution.
*It also includes the deunionizing of labor forces and removals of any impediments to capital mobility, such as regulations.
*The freedom is from the state, or government.
Reducing public expenditure for social services, such as health and education, by the government
*Deregulation, to allow market forces to act as a self-regulating mechanism
*Privatization of public enterprise (things from water to even the Internet)
*Changing perceptions of public and community good to individualism and individual responsibility

The underlying assumption then is that the free markets are a good thing. They may well be, but unfortunately, reality seems different from theory.

It starts to become clearer the more of the article I read.("Changing to Individual Responsibility" = fuck the poor) And Z3 Readers may I remind you this is why thousands of protesters stand up to the WTO every damn year and to NAFTA and why thousands of protesters in Latin America stood up to say NO to the CAFTA this last year and to say NO to FREE Trade.

By the way it was pushed as "good for the people and the countries" The neoliberal viewpoint is not wanted by those "informed" average joes workers,citizen, of the poor or middle class.... no not by them especially!

But it is wanted by those that will profit in their wallets and their corporations, they are the ones selling the idea of Free Markets and Free Trade ...(How Nice!) (And Phony)......(How Liberal!)


As aptly said here in a quote by J.W. Smith in, The World's Wasted Wealth One cannot separate economics, political science, and history. Politics is the control of the economy. History, when accurately and fully recorded, is that story. In most textbooks and classrooms, not only are these three fields of study separated, but they are further compartmentalized into separate subfields, obscuring the close interconnections between them.

The article refers to a book written in 1776 by ...
a British economist, named Adam Smith who published his book, The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith, who some regard as the father of modern free market capitalism and this very influential book, suggested that for maximum efficiency, all forms of government interventions in economic issues should be removed and that there should be no restrictions or tariffs on manufacturing and commerce within a nation for it to develop.
(WOW) ? so thats were the free markets got started, by being forced upon the people. Ol' Adam Smith started this ideology crap of economics I will be remembering him that's for sure!

In England what became known as The Great Transformation was produced by the creation of the free markets in the 19th century which were England's experiment in social engineering. The goal of the experiment that was attempted in mid-Victorian England was to demolish these social markets, and replace them by deregulated markets that operated independently of social needs.
Oh nice ..did you catch the part about operating independently of social needs?.....nice huh?
They basically created a selfish greedy economic system that has no regard for the society that makes it operate. The wealth goes to the owners and there is no correlations to the worker outside of his wage.(if you can sometimes even call it that!)

As very well covered in this Wikipedia link -->
HERE
I read a whole lot more of the creepy neoliberalism like this part about the World Bank and WTO...Neoliberalism generally favors multilateral political pressure, through managed-trade cartels such as the WTO and World Bank. It promotes reducing the role of national governments to a minimum. Neoliberalism favors the trickle-down theory over social programs, and measures success in overall economic gain. To improve corporate efficiency, it strives to reject or mitigate labor policies such as minimum wage, and collective bargaining rights.

This Joe Anybody is going to at least be able to put this group of neocons into the right context as I read words about Fair Trade and neoliberalism I will at least understand that it is BAD stuff ...not the spin that it sounds like it might be! Ha! don't ya love the confusion!
Boy, did some homework tonight, and the topics of compassion or social concern or freedom never did come up once.