The failure of neoliberalism?
Discussion
I saw a fascinating talk between Nadhim Zahawi, Abbey Innes and Gary Stevenson the other day. The topic was failure of neoliberalism (ie the Thatcher-Regan doctrine)
It was good natured, and at times amusing, I particularly liked when Zahawi claimed that the average person today was wealthier than an 18th century monarch (I assume he was referring to access to information, energy, healthcare etc.) Gary Stevenson retorted that the average person today was struggling to feed their kids at the same time as turn on the lights and he wondered if that was a problem for C18th Monarchs! It was a real Marie Antoinette moment!
But the real take home message seemed to be that there are ultimately only two commodities, human capital and the resources of our planet (ie the environment)
Logically therefore it would seem sensible to maximise the efficient use of both, by preserving the climate and making the conditions for as may people to be productive which relies on education, health, but also a reasonable expectation of a happy fulfilled existence which would be conducive to that productivity.
Neoliberalism however with its obsession with the power of the market incentivises away from these, instead towards greed, environmental exploitation and inequality.
It’s hard not to see some of the societal issues we now face as an inevitable consequence of neoliberalism.
Depressing thought, though it makes the idea of wealth taxes seem much more pressing.
It was good natured, and at times amusing, I particularly liked when Zahawi claimed that the average person today was wealthier than an 18th century monarch (I assume he was referring to access to information, energy, healthcare etc.) Gary Stevenson retorted that the average person today was struggling to feed their kids at the same time as turn on the lights and he wondered if that was a problem for C18th Monarchs! It was a real Marie Antoinette moment!
But the real take home message seemed to be that there are ultimately only two commodities, human capital and the resources of our planet (ie the environment)
Logically therefore it would seem sensible to maximise the efficient use of both, by preserving the climate and making the conditions for as may people to be productive which relies on education, health, but also a reasonable expectation of a happy fulfilled existence which would be conducive to that productivity.
Neoliberalism however with its obsession with the power of the market incentivises away from these, instead towards greed, environmental exploitation and inequality.
It’s hard not to see some of the societal issues we now face as an inevitable consequence of neoliberalism.
Depressing thought, though it makes the idea of wealth taxes seem much more pressing.
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