Profit Over People - Neoliberalism, Global Order

167 Pages·2021·5.78 MB·English

(OTHER BOOKS BY NOAM CHOMSKY.

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Profit

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People

Neoliberalism and
Global Order

Noam Chomsky

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Introduction by Rebert W. MeSh

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lism and Clobal Order... 19

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Consent without Consent
Regimenting the Publi

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The Passion for Free Markets... 65

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Market Democracy in a Neoliberal Order:
Doctrines and Reality... 97

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by Rabe W.MGChny

[Necliberlism isthe defining political economic paradigm
of our ime—it refers tothe policies and processes whereby a rl
sive handful of private interests ae permitted to control as much
‘a6 possible of social lif in oer to maximize their personal profit
‘Assocised initally with Reagan and Thatcher, for the past two
decades neoliberalism has been the dominant global political eco:
nomic trend adopted by political pares of the center and much
‘of the traditional left as well as she right. These parties and the
polices they enact represen the immediate interests of extremely
‘wealthy investors and less than one thousaed large corporations.
Aide from some academies and members ofthe business
‘community, the germ nealivralism islargely unknown andl unused
bby she publie-a large, especially ia the United States. There, to
the canteay, neoliberal initiatives are characterized a fee mar
ket policies that encourage private enterprise and consumer choice,
reward personal responsibilty and entrepreneurial initiative, and
undermine the dead hand ofthe incompetent, bureaucratic and par
aisle government, that can never da good even if well intended,
‘whieh itrarely i. A generation of corporate-hinanced public rela
tions efforts as given these terms and ideas a near sacred aura,
[Asa result, the claims they make rarely require defense, and are
tavoked to rauonalize anything from lowering taxes on the wealthy
7
eer el ehlUhcrlmrmtC SE CO LS

al chomy) Prefs Over People

snd scrapping environmental regulations to dismantling public edu
tation and social welfare programs. Indeed, any activity that might
Anesfere with conporate domination of society is automatically sus
pect because ic would interfere with the workings of the fee mar-

Ket, which is advanced a5 he only rational, fat, and democratic

allocator of goods and services. At their most cloquent, proponents
‘of neoibersisn sound 2 if they are daing poor people, the env
ranment, and everybody ele @ wemendous service as they enact
policies on bchalf ofthe wealthy few

“The economic consequences of these policies have been
the same just abut everywhere, and exactly what one woul!
expect. a massive increse in social and economic inequality, &
‘marked werease in severe deprivation forthe poorest nations and
peoples of the world, a disaseous global environment, an unsta
ble global economy and an ueprecedented bonanza for the
wealthy, Confronted with these fats, defenders of the nectiberal
‘order claim that the spall af the good bie will invariably spread
to the broad mass of the ponulation—as long as the neoliberal pol
cies that exacerbated these problems are not interfered with

Tn the end, neoliberas cannot and do not offer an empir
ical defense for the world they are making. To the contrary, they

cffer—no, desand— religious faith in the infalibility of the
“unregulated market, that draws upon nineteenth century theories
that have litle connection to the actual world. The ultimate trump
card for the defenders af neolineralism, however, i that there is
ro alternative Communist societies, social democracies, and even
rodest socal well stats ike the United States have all failed,
the neolibecals proclaim, and shir citizens have accepted neo
cralism asthe only feasible course t may well be impertect, but
‘tis the only economic system possible

Earlier inthe twentieth century some cities called fascism
“capitalism with the glove off” meaning that fascism was pure cap-
tallsm without democratic rights and organizations. Infact, we
“know that fascism is vast mare complex chan that, Neoibera
ism. on the other hand, indeed “capitalism with the gloves of”
Introduction|

Irepresents an era in which business forces are stronger and more
aggressive, and face less organized opposition than ever before
Inthispoisicl climate they temp to codify their political power
fon every possible Front, and asa resul, make i increasingly dif
ficult to challenge business—and next 9 impossible—tor nan:
market, noncommercial, and democratic forces to exist at all

Ics precisely in its oppression of nonmarket forces that
‘we see how neoliberalism operates not only as an economic sy
tem, but asa politcal and cultural system a6 well. Here the dif
ferences with fascism, with is contempt for formal democracy and.
highly mobilize social movements based upon racism and nation
alism, ase stking, Neoliberalism works best when there i formal
electoral democracy, but when the population is diverted from the
Information, acces, and public forums necessary for meaningful
participation in decision making. As neoliberal gura Milton Fried-
‘an puttin his Capital and Felon, because profit making isthe
essence of democracy, any government that pursues antimarket
policies is being antidemocratc, no matter how much informed
popular support they might enjow, Therefore itis best to restrict
governments o the job of protecting private property and enfore-
ing contracts, and to limit political debate to minor issues. (The
real matters of resource production and disenbution and social
organization should be determined by market forces)

Equipped with this perverse understanding of democracy,
neoliberals like Friedman had no qualms over the military over:
throw of Chiles democratically elected Allende government in
1973, because Allende was interfering with business control of
Chilean society. After fiteen years of often brutal and savage dic:
{orship—allin the name of the democratic fre market—formal
democracy was restored in 1989 with 2 constitation that made it
vastly more difficult, if not impossible, fr the eiizenry to chal
lenge the business-miltary domination of Chilean society. That
's neoliberal democracy in a nutshell trivial debate over minor
issues by pares that basicaly pursue the same pro-business poi
cles regardless of formal dilleences and campaign debate
20] Chomsky / Profit Over People

‘Democracy is permissible as long asthe control of business so
limits to popular deliberation or chasge, Le. so long a5 It nt
democracy

“The neoliberal system therefore has an important and nec
essary byprodact—a depoiticted citizenry marked by apathy and
‘ynicism. I electoral democracy afects ete of social lie, ti ima
tional to devote such attention 10 it) in the United States, the
spawning ground of neoliberal democracy, voter turnout in the
1998 congressional elections arguably was a record iow, with ust
over one-third of eligible voters going tothe pall. Although acca
sionally generating concern irom those established partes hike she
US. Democratic Parsy that tend to attract the vores ofthe dis
possessed, low voter turnout tends tobe accepied al encouraged
by the powers-that-be a8 a very good thing since nonvoters are,
not surprisingly, disproporcianately found among the poor and
‘working clas, Policgs thar could quickly increase voter interest
and participation rates are stymied before ever getting int the pub
lic arena, Inthe United States, for example, the two main bust
ness-dominated parties, with the support of che corporate
‘community, have reused to reform laws shat make ic virally
impossible to ereate new political parties (Chat might appeal to non
business interests} and let them be effective. Although there is
marked and frequently observed dissatisfaction withthe Republi
‘ans and Democrats, electoral politics is ane atea where notions
oF competition and free choice have litle meaning. In some
tespects the caliber af debate and choice in neoliberal elections
tends to be closer ¢o that of the one-party communist state than
that of a genuine democracy:

‘But cis barely indicates neobiberalsmis pemiciows impli
cations fora civic-centered political culture, On the one hand the
Social inequality generated by neoliberal policies undermines any
cffort to realize the legal equality necessary to make democracy
‘edible, Large corporations have resources fo influence media and
foverwhelm the political aracess, and do so accordingly. [a US.
Clectoal polities, for just one example, the ichest one-quarter of