Biospace wrote: ↑25 Sep 2022, 10:00pm
Cugel wrote: ↑25 Sep 2022, 3:17pm
Neoliberalism's character is one of extreme individualism, with the "better" individuals triumphing over "the second raters" (Ayn Rand terminology) via a vicious social Darwinism. Neo liberalism is libertarian in nature, not an ideology seeking a central power, of the familair "world government" kind. They don't like government, only laws establishing and enforcing fantastic privilege for themselves, even if it does seek a single hegemony of economic rules that always tend to favour the already rich elites seeking ever greater power and riches.
These would-be aristocracies of neoliberalism encourage something of a war of supremacy amongst themselves, as well as upon we second raters.. The English neoliberals of the ERG were concerned to do away with the limits imposed by another neoliberal regime - that of the EU. Their main objective was to gain even greater power, unfettered by anything or anyone. The nationalistic fervour characterising much of Brexit was precisely wrought to get rid of any fetters on those within the ERG seeking greater "freedom" for their capital and their many exploitative behaviours - particularly those most numerous fetters applied by the EU.
The logic of much of the current neoliberal stuff is that wealth and power will migrate ever-upward, eventually concentrating in perhaps just one cabal, syndicate or even individual - the individual or small group of them that own and control everything. Already there's a small number of very rich billionaires who are actually doing nearly-that: exerting vast tranns-national influence and control in every sphere you can name.
So, in that sense, there may well be a drive within neoliberalism for "centralisation of power". But it's not the sort of drive and power of the history of our heretofore, based in nation-states with leaders having visions for their nation as a whole, including its citizens. It's a Hobbesian war of all-against-all, with even the biggest neoliberal beasts wary of the other big neoliberal beasts. They all want to own everything and will do each other down to get it.
Consider Putin, Trump, Xi Jinping and others of their ilk. They all employ a variety of political and economic variations of the neoliberal theme in an attempt to increase their personal hegemony. Use of "the nation" is just like the use of a screwdriver, a dispensable tool. They'll wear it out as they do their screwing.
Cugel
Thanks for that, you put it much better than I would. How do you see the relationship between these multi-billionaires and government, how do the two 'do business' I wonder?
The relationship is fundamentally one of bribery & corruption. Big business and its quasi mafia-like behaviours benefit from owning politicians who make laws in their favour and rescind laws (" a bonfire of regulations") that hinder them. Politicians benefit from big business mafias by having large gulps of money and various aids-to-power, such as mass media propaganda organs.
These days, the businessmen are also the politicians, in many cases. Look at the "second jobs" of many Tory MPs and who employs them. Consider also the nasty Rees-Mogg type, who pose as representatives of a constituency whilst using their position and power entirely in service of their own gain and that of their helpmeets.
We second-raters are their "customers", as in a sort of large scale protection racket, in which the "protection" is from the very same rascals who are insisting we buy their "protection services". In practice, we are the victims and feedstock of criminal cabals who have managed to decriminalise their activities by making the law just another tool of their oppressions and suppressions of any truly representative government.
The process has been in train for a couple or more centuries now. For other examples, consider the history of The Honourable (ha!) East India Company and the Tory Party of their day.
Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes