Neoliberalism is a form of totalitarianism , an authoritarian and dominant ideology, supported by major political and economic institutions (IMF, WTO, World Bank), which is inexorably dismantling the rule of law . The 29 crisis in the United States and the Great Depression that followed confirmed the failure of the free market and forced states to face the need for a large-scale change in economic policies.
The pioneer and architect of the new course was John Maynard Keynes , and his text “ The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money ” (1936) was its turning point. Another economy, aimed at the well-being of peoples, was possible. And so it was for many years to follow. Many countries recorded record progress in their economies, the new welfare state moved towards full employment and the valorization of the rights enshrined in national constitutions, particularly those born in the immediate post-war period. But the theorists of “ laissez-faire ” had not disappeared, not completely defeated; thus a small circle of ideologists and professors at the University of Chicago, convinced that society could be regulated entirely by “natural” forces, began to develop a current of thought aimed at supporting the market as the one and only religion.
The birth of the shock economy
The two gurus of the new anti-state movement were Friedrich von Hayek and his student, Milton Friedman , who would soon become Pinochet's first economic policy advisor. The "Chicago boys" seized the first opportunity that presented itself: the Chilean coup provided a useful tool for the practical application of the new theories, and soon the advice of Friedman's monetarist school translated into a program of unbridled privatizations and labor market deregulation in a country still reeling from shock. This was the birth of the so-called " shock economy ," the tactic of contemporary capitalism: taking advantage of a state of political, social, or economic shock to effect rapid, permanent, and irreversible change in society.
As Canadian journalist Naomi Klein writes, “ For more than thirty years, Friedman and his powerful followers had perfected this very strategy: wait for a major crisis or shock to occur, then exploit the resources of the state for personal gain while the population is still disoriented, and then act quickly to make the reforms permanent .”
What does this new school of thought entail?
But what are the characteristics of this school of thought, which is nothing other than a modern reinterpretation of the liberalism born in the early nineteenth century? A new liberalism (neoliberalism, to be precise), therefore even more extremist, fundamentalist . The theoretical premise, the underlying ideology, is the belief that economic variables (supply, demand, employment) are governed by natural laws linked to individual behavior. The market, left to its own devices, is seen as a perfect system capable of self-regulation only if individuals are given the opportunity to act according to their own interests. The necessary condition, therefore, is based on the vision of greater efficiency of the private sector compared to the public sector. All of this, for Friedman and his associates, has scientific and dogmatic value and is supported by mathematical models capable of explaining and accurately predicting situations.
Below is a video explaining the dynamics of the shock economy
Rino Carfora
