George Monbiot's article in The Guardian, Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems, provides a clear and much-needed definition of the ruling economic/political philosophy of our time. He clearly describes the major elements and trends, and identifies the biggest culprits. He also highlights the failure of the left to come up with a comprehensive alternative during the last half-century as the neoliberal engine gained momentum.
Monbiot notes an important point often glossed over by liberal economists, which is that Keynes had a good and thorough answer to the failures of capitalism in his time, but his analysis and remedies do not fit our time. Of course, Keynes cannot be faulted for not foreseeing the distortions that would arise from globalization and the damage to the global environment that would ensue. Liberal economists like Krugman should, however, be held accountable for praising Keynes while failing to come to grip in any comprehensive manner with those issues about which Keynes had little or no clues.
It seems curious to me that Monbiot mentions some of the present day players on the Right like Trump, Slim, and the Kochs, but he has nothing to say about the the current political confrontations in the UK and the US except for a generalized condemnation of the historic lack of response by the Left. It seems like he could have spared a few words about the ties of the Clintons to the neoliberal establishment, or about the challenges from the left being mounted in his own country or here. Sanders has certainly embraced every one of the issues which Monbiot mentions.
(español)
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