What we call today neoliberalism has deep roots in history, as we have seen. There has been this remarkable pursuit of individuality since the 15th century in Europe.
This is the result of many social and complex developments and when we look at our current neoliberalism, it is not just the result of party political preferences.
Thinking in terms of increasing individual freedom and autonomy opens the door to individual competition as part of social life,
sociologically to thinking in terms of market and market forces as the structuring principle of society. Where did the current trend come from?
I think first of all of the process of cultural change that started in the West from the 1960s onwards. The revolt of students, young people, artists, and other "minorities"
that began at that time was emphatically against any form of authority, especially when police officers, mayors, and other government officials embodied that authority.
Instead, many pursued greater individual freedom of movement and maximum self-development. In the 1970s, this led to a pluriformity of lifestyles, to which companies could respond quite easily.
In any case, I believe that the rise of market thinking in the 1980s was stimulated by an increasing proportion of the population embracing the ideal of individual autonomy.
Market thinking was then given an extra boost by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the disappearance of the Soviet Union a little later.
The long-standing process of globalization, strongly stimulated by the developing information technology, entered a new phase from the 1990s.
This development is an apparently unstoppable rolling process. You see it happen in new economies like China, Brazil, Indonesia.
It is a peculiar mixture of liberal thinking and illiberal thinking. I mean this: on the one hand there is a strongly market-oriented society in which individual freedom plays the leading role,
but on the other hand there is an equally drastic government, rather illiberal, that mainly stimulates markets and competition.
Really hot and I have experienced it myself during my time as a teacher, was NPM, New Public Management.
It was a collection of approaches that were developed during the 1980s as part of an effort to make the public service more "businesslike" and to improve its efficiency by using private sector management models.
I can tell you, it meant the end of social solidarity and the welfare state. The policy became privatization, deregulation or constant austerity, where today the pandemic painfully exposes the negative results of.
Another clear criticism is that the ruling class has succeeded in increasing the accumulation of capital on an unprecedented scale.
All barriers that could hinder or slow down the free movement of capital flows, such as legislation, tax rules, trade unions, forms of solidarity, etc., were removed,
with the result that shareholders, companies, and financial institutions all over the world had got unprecedented power.
Seen from the ruling class, the neoliberal project was thus a great success. But things look different for employees.
For example, rising productivity and real wages in the US and in Europe too kept pace until 1975, but later diverged further and further.
While productivity has nearly doubled since then, real wages have declined. The main achievement of the neoliberal regime is not so much the production of new wealth, but its extremely skewed distribution of wealth.
We only have to mention here "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" (2013) by French economist Thomas Piketty, who exposes this situation.
Thank you for your attention again....
The Discussion
[13:17] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): (sings ABBA) THE BOSSES TAKE IT ALL! THE WORKERS HAVE TO FALL!
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): :(
[13:18] herman Bergson: Where will this development lead to.....the rich getting richer only?
[13:19] herman Bergson: That songtext is not some phantasy indeed Bejiita
[13:19] CB Axel: It's a stupid system. If you produce a product or service, who will you sell it to if 95% of the population has no money.
[13:20] Laila Schuman: factor in... climate change... it is going to make a big difference.... if we don't get busy
[13:20] CB Axel: I suppose they think that the market will even itself out, but his hasn't yet.
[13:20] herman Bergson: The population has money, but not in relation to the wealth they produce as workers
[13:20] CB Axel: True
[13:20] Laila Schuman: and they will have less when it is every man for himself via. climate change
[13:21] herman Bergson: But on the other hand...more money means more consumption...is that what we want?
[13:21] Laila Schuman: we have been led into that assumption
[13:21] CB Axel: The rich will be able to protect themselves from climate change a lot longer than the poorer people will.
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): funny how the idea leading to this misery have the same name as a code system i currently work with NPM = Node Package Manager
[13:21] Laila Schuman: when you don't have food... you have different thoughts
[13:21] herman Bergson: More consumption means more production.....and so on
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i prefer that one though
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm indeed but only the already rich gets anything from it
[13:22] Laila Schuman: did not mention higher wages
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the company owners
[13:22] herman Bergson: I really wonder...where does it lead to?
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and the stock market fill of already icky rick costume clowns
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): rich
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm indeed, no good development
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): :(
[13:23] herman Bergson: The basic belief of neoliberalism is markets...production and consumerism....
[13:23] Ludo (quippe.wylder): More money for those who don't have it now and less for the superrich means more consumption of necessities and less conspicuous consumption, I hope
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): everyone should have a share at least
[13:24] Laila Schuman: the wars will be over food and trying to stay alive...... in overpopulation...
[13:24] Laila Schuman: consumption will be a dream... not for those in the middle or bottom
[13:24] herman Bergson: The wars will be about fresh water too Laila
[13:24] Laila Schuman: absolutely
[13:25] Laila Schuman: California has already asked Chicago if they could dig some kind of pipeline or canal or ??? to take water from lake Michigan to California
[13:25] Laila Schuman: Chicago sad no
[13:26] herman Bergson: There it begins
[13:26] CB Axel: California should stop wasting water on golf courses and theme parks.
[13:26] Laila Schuman: and the aqua-fur in the Midwest is getting drained by irrigation... and not replenishing
[13:26] Laila Schuman: and growing grass in the dessert
[13:27] CB Axel: Yes
[13:27] herman Bergson: I am thinking about shifting the focus of the current project from neoliberalism sec to this neolib pursuit of constant economic growth....
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well thats what its main goal is for sure
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): MORE MORE MORE!
[13:28] herman Bergson: yes....but when you think it over....
[13:28] Laila Schuman: would be very interested in that
[13:28] Ludo (quippe.wylder): What's the solution
[13:28] herman Bergson: this unlimited growth......Cant be true
[13:28] herman Bergson: There are solutions Ludo....
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it will fall like a card house in the end
[13:28] herman Bergson: a circular economy for instance
[13:29] herman Bergson: produce what you need
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well the card house has already fallen several times
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but still they push on
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): who will decide what we need?
[13:29] theo Velde is online.
[13:29] Laila Schuman: people who write commercials
[13:29] herman Bergson: In a democracy we have a system for that Beertje
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the commercial makers and marketeers screaming BUY! BUY! BUY!
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): BUY EVERYTHING U DONT NEED
[13:30] herman Bergson: At least ...we don't need a new model iPhone every year for instance
[13:30] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i mean really need...
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[13:30] herman Bergson: or new models of cars
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats crazy
[13:30] Laila Schuman: electric cars and hybreds
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but its status too
[13:31] herman Bergson: What we really need is safety, security, food on the table and a house to live in
[13:31] CB Axel: Education that emphasizes critical thinking would help.
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): LOOK HOW RICH AND IMPORTAND I AM I HAVE THE LATEST IPHONE U SUCKERS; NOW IM GONNA POST A MILLION SELFIES ON INSTAGRAM THIHIHI!
[13:31] herman Bergson: from there we can work on...medical care, education....art
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like that!
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): UUUUUGHH
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): (shudders)
[13:31] CB Axel: People need to think about what they really need. What's really important.
[13:31] CB Axel: don't just listen to the marketers.
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sure i use devices like this but i dont need to get every new model out there
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as long my phones and computers do what i want and work i keep them
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and that they do for many years
[13:32] CB Axel: I drove my last car for 21 years. It ran. I had no need for a new one.
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:33] herman Bergson: Yes Bejiita but then they change the operation system and your devices begin to malfuction....not able to deal with new apps for instance
[13:33] Laila Schuman: designed obsolescene
[13:33] CB Axel: Then is started making some alarming and expensive sounding noises.
[13:33] herman Bergson: My car is more than ten years old now.....and I do not need a new one
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well thats a sad truth also that they stop sent updates out and the cheaper the phone the less upgrades it get so u have to get a new one for every upgrade almost
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats also crazy,
[13:34] herman Bergson: right, Bejiita
[13:34] CB Axel: That's business, Bejiita.
[13:34] herman Bergson: it looks like an unstoppable train....rolling on and on
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): instead of using a standard Android, like u do with Linux
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cause android is after all a Linux system
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): what about cloths? is there anyone that repairs cloths these days?
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): there are
[13:35] herman Bergson: Yes Beertje....:-)
[13:35] Laila Schuman: buy mine at the used clothing stores
[13:35] herman Bergson: I had several pants repaired at the Golden Sissors :-)
[13:35] CB Axel: Some. But I wanted to get a pair of boots fixed and no one could do it.
[13:35] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :))) good
[13:35] CB Axel: The soles were glued on, and they couldn't be glued back.
[13:35] herman Bergson: Got two repairshops for clothes here in the village!
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at city here they have done a kind thing where people having extra jackets over can leave any they dont need and others in need of one can then pick up there
[13:36] CB Axel: The boots were made so that they could not be repaired.
[13:36] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): de gouden Schaar is geweldig
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they call it wall of kindness
[13:36] herman Bergson: Yes CB...that is such another issue with current products
[13:36] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): made to be thouwed asway
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): :(
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): buy new buy new buy new!
[13:37] CB Axel: Like cars. You can't work on your own car any more. You need specialized equipment.
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): throw out! throw out! throw out!
[13:37] Laila Schuman: planned obsolesence
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes
[13:37] herman Bergson: As you see....we all seem to be some kind of prisoners of the system.....
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): all while the trash mountains grow in the seas :(
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): from all our waste
[13:38] Laila Schuman: and kill the fish
[13:38] Ludo (quippe.wylder): Perhaps hubby and I less than some. We were born during a war after a depression and we still "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
[13:38] herman Bergson: Another reason to question this belief in growth of the economy....as if there is no alternative
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): choking on plastic bags and iphone cases
[13:39] herman Bergson: Yes Ludo, I was educated accordingly :-)
[13:39] Ludo (quippe.wylder): Our car is 17 years old.
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes me too Ludo
[13:39] Laila Schuman: same here
[13:39] herman Bergson: Whatever it is, I first try to repair it
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): use things as long they work properly
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): if the manufacturers make them so, after all today things are made to break
[13:40] Ludo (quippe.wylder): but ost of what we're using wasn't made today.
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): not even the tool brand Makita is any better today, their machines used to last forever
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a while ago 2 all new angle grinders burned up/shorted out after just about a wek of not at all heavy use
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i just Makita! what happened!?
[13:41] Ludo (quippe.wylder): The thing is, how does one convince people that they can live the way we do. We have no status.
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): quality have fallen in general on stuff
[13:41] herman Bergson: Yes Ludo, it may be easy to identify the problem.....but almost impossible to get to a solution, it seems
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): it's not important for me to have status, just living is enough
[13:42] Laila Schuman: health
[13:43] Ludo (quippe.wylder): Convince someone with status that he bought to give it up. Coinvince starlets that they don't need thousand dollar outfits they will wear once.
[13:43] herman Bergson: right....Laila...the main thing that counts
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmmm
[13:44] herman Bergson: What we observe here is not just some issue....it is a wide and complex all covering system......
[13:44] herman Bergson: as an individual you are rather powerless
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but today everything seems to be about boasting yourself to everyone. Mr T is driving that culture like noone
[13:45] Ludo (quippe.wylder): And we can't blame it on the superrich, we all buy into this system
[13:45] Laila Schuman: if we don't handle climate change then none of it will matter
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): how much better u are then others and so
[13:45] herman Bergson: That is why we have GreenPeace, Amnesty international, the UN, etc.
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): because ur rick and have tons of expensive stuff
[13:45] Laila Schuman: and scott pruit
[13:45] Ludo (quippe.wylder): Thank God there are counter influences.
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaaa yes
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and I hope they succeed soon
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): this tide have to turn
[13:46] herman Bergson: The tide will turn Bejiita....
[13:46] Laila Schuman: it has.... trump made it turn
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the tidal wave of money and status boasting
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i hope so indeed Herman
[13:47] herman Bergson: Just look at history, Bejiita
[13:47] Laila Schuman: I was being snarly when i mentioned Scott Pruitt
[13:47] herman Bergson: Homo Sapiens always has found a way out ^_^
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:47] CB Axel: I hope Trump gets thrown in jail so others can see where his life style got him.
[13:47] CB Axel: But I doubt he will be.
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm
[13:47] Ludo (quippe.wylder): And then repeated the same mistakes, herman
[13:48] herman Bergson: Yhat would be very educational indeed CB
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but i guess thats why he do all he can to stay as president because he KNOW he will go to jail
[13:48] herman Bergson: I disagree Ludo....
[13:48] Ludo (quippe.wylder): Good. I'd like to think we make different mistakes.
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): every generations has his own mistakes
[13:49] herman Bergson: That's better ^_^
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): Trump should have been at bottom of marianers trench 20 years ago though
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): always been like thiis as i get it
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a boasting bluffer
[13:49] CB Axel: America doesn't punish white collar crime.
[13:49] theo Velde is offline.
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i guess not
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): :(
[13:50] herman Bergson: Since we have arrived at Mr. T. again...it may be better to close our debate unless you have that single one super remark or question ^_^
[13:50] CB Axel: We just keep letting them get away with it. People think they'll have learned their lessons, but they never do. They just get bolder.
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed CB
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): shall :)we plupp on that?
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:50] herman Bergson: Well....we'll see, CB....I still have hope
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa indeed
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): something must change soon
[13:51] herman Bergson: Thank you all again for your participation....
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and I think it might start now with Biden
[13:51] CB Axel: Thank you, Herman.
[13:51] herman Bergson: Class dismissed....
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): among othere things
[13:51] herman Bergson: Dragon extinguished :-)
[13:51] CB Axel: Bye, everyone. I'll see you Thursday. :)
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:52] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bye CB
[13:52] herman Bergson: Bye CB
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