A proclamation against neoliberalism

'More' or 'better' capitalism cannot save the system; more greed will not make us happier — neoliberalism has brought us to the brink of collapse.

The monetization, privatization, enclosure, and exploitation of public resources, the natural world, and billions of people is hailed by some as humanity’s greatest invention. Money rules — the market rules — and we are but a nuisance to its efficient functioning.

The argument goes something like this:

The system is failing not because capitalism is inherently flawed and destructive, but because we don’t have enough capitalism! — let the market be and it will lead us all to a prosperous, bountiful future. Stop meddling with troublesome labor rights, worker pay, or environmental considerations. Let it be free!

Let us consider some of these things.

Free markets and invisible hands — the neoliberal agenda (in short)

Neoliberalism is basically capitalism on steroids. And without conscience.

It’s recycling the same old internally inconsistent capitalist mantras  —  infinite growth on a finite planet, the relentless pursuit of profits at the expense of workers and the environment, the capitalization of ever-increasing parts of the world, the exploitation and destruction of the commons (such as Nestlé limiting access to natural water sources and then selling this water back for profits), the unwavering belief in technology and innovation, the conviction that despite all evidence to the contrary capitalism is making the world a better place. And so on.

And on top of all that, neoliberals add their own, even more incongruous, ideological beliefs:

Neoliberals are strongly opposed to the government and all forms of market regulation. They reject government intervention, taxes, tariffs, trade barriers, and all other tools used to protect or regulate markets, arguing that the market will regulate itself and that this will somehow, in some nebulous way, benefit the general populace.

The free market will lead to an optimal allocation of resources, they argue. The invisible hand will guide us; all we have to do is follow its example rather than try to contain and control it. Eventually, it will lead us to a prosperous and glorious future.

That is in fact true  —  if you define ‘us’ as ‘the rich and powerful.’

From an economic standpoint, these statements contain so many flaws that it’s difficult to know where to even start. Even though I have a master’s degree in business economics (yeah, please don’t ask — we can all grow, can’t we?), it proved difficult to articulate a comprehensive counterargument within the very limited scope of an essay like this. Brighter minds than you and I have discussed these issues.

So instead of butchering the subject here, I’ll point you to some very useful introductory articles and in-depth books that discuss and define the neoliberal agenda while also revealing its horrifying historical consequences. All of these can be found at the end of the essay.

Where ‘the uncontested rule of money’ fails

For the sake of our brief discussion here, I’ll just mention some of the most blatant inconsistencies entailed in neoliberal thought:

Neoliberals oppose government intervention only when it does not serve them.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, government intervention effectively saved the neoliberal doctrine by bailing out banks and other private institutions. That is to say, we saved the bankers and investors.

Some economists and anthropologists argue that the crisis of 2008 revealed all the shortcomings and inconsistencies of neoliberalism and that the ideology effectively died in that year. The numerous social and economic crises we are currently experiencing may all be rooted in the struggle to find something new and replace one system of exploitation and appropriation for another.

Neoliberalism has deliberately impoverished the Global South, prolonging and sustaining the misery of billions.

Neoliberal policies implemented by Western-controlled institutions such as the IMF, WTO, and World Bank (which really took off in the 1980s) have prevented the Global South from becoming economically competitive and self-sufficient. Instead, these countries were forced to open their doors to foreign Western corporations that pillaged their resources and deteriorated the living conditions of their people for the sake of profit. More on this can be found in Jason Hickel’s fantastic The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions.

Neoliberal policies benefit the wealthy and the wealthy only.

The only ones who profit from the uncontested rule of corporations, unfettered by government oversight, are the corporations themselves, and thus their owners and shareholders. In short, the rich.

Neoliberals actively lobby against all types of public spending they deem unnecessary (healthcare, social security, pensions, unemployment benefits, most forms of education, and so on) while begging governments to invest in infrastructure they need  —  this is why you’ll find so many presidents and dictators in the Global South or ‘emerging economies’ building unnecessary airports and highways. All in the name of ‘job creation’ and ‘economic development,’ of course. I’m from the Balkans, trust me, it’s true.

The spoils of economic growth and technological progress are not shared. They are hoarded.

Neoliberalism divides society and makes us miserable and sick.

By driving inequality, increasing poverty, and undermining the independence of governments and nations and thereby subjecting them to the rule of global corporations and institutions such as the aforementioned WTO, IMF — or the EU, for that matter — neoliberal policies exacerbate political and social instability. There is conclusive evidence that inequality increases unhappiness, (mental) health problems, crime, and other social issues. It’s why Cubans, to name but one example, despite decades of economic sanctions by the US, live happier, longer, and healthier lives than Americans.

The sole purpose of neoliberal policies is to make the wealthy even wealthier, in an unfounded, long-refuted hope that some of it, a tiny portion, a minuscule part, will somehow ‘trickle down’ to the poor.

It never does.

Neoliberalism is unsustainable.

In the sense that neoliberalism is merely a form of capitalism taken to its extreme, it suffers from the same unresolvable internal contradictions.

Capitalism relies on continuous economic growth. Once the machinery inevitably staggers, the entire house of cards comes crashing down. On a finite world, there can be no infinite growth. The planet has already been plundered and devastated in the name of profit; there isn’t that much left. The collapse of it all looms over our heads like the sword of Damocles.

While even most neoliberals recognize this issue, some of them ‘solve’ the dilemma by claiming that technological innovations such as cryptocurrencies, the Metaverse (what a disaster that one is), or AI will lead to a decoupling between economic growth and resource use, and thus enable us to continue growing indefinitely. The economist Jason Hickel (and many others) refute this bold claim by demonstrating that resource use has not decreased in recent years and shows no signs of doing so in the future. On the contrary, it is steadily increasing.

AI, for example, requires an astonishing amount of computational power and thus energy and resources. A large-scale implementation of AI chat programs such as ChatGPT and the like will further contribute to the relentless exploitation of the natural world and accelerate the impending collapse of most ecosystems. And when those go, the economy and we, in the sense of modern civilization, go. A certain degree of simplification seems inevitable by now — it does not seem to be a question of if, but rather a question of when.

To briefly summarize:

Neoliberalism was never a rational, thought-out system of organizing and structuring economies and societies. Rather, it was — and is — an ideological tool utilized by Western-dominated institutions and economic players to establish, secure, and further solidify their domination over both the Global South and the natural world. The privatization of everything continues to this day, with no signs of abating. It’s nothing less but an assault on life — I apologize for the dramatization but there really is no other way to say it.

---

I’m author, writer, and activist Antonio Melonio, the creator of Beneath the Pavement. If you enjoyed this piece, please consider becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack or over on Patreon. It’s the best way to support Beneath the Pavement and help me put out more and higher-quality content.

If monthly contributions are not your thing (I understand), you can also leave me a tip or some coffee money over on PayPal. Thank you.

---

Sources and further reading

To learn more about neoliberalism and its devastating effects on society and the planet, I recommend these articles as basic starting points:

• What is neoliberalism? A political scientist explains the use and evolution of the term | The Conversation

• The fatal flaw of neoliberalism: it’s bad economics | The Guardian

• The Collapse of Neoliberalism | The New Republic

After reading these, you should have a better understanding of what neoliberalism entails and where it falls short. This is of course just a very shallow introduction to a topic that has been a source of contention among economists and political scientists for decades now.

To learn more about capitalism and the dystopia it has created, start with these two books by anthropologist and economist Jason Hickel — one of my favorite non-fiction authors:

• The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions

• Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World