@aral
> the next administration is either going to be neoliberal or fascist

You're going to need to convince me that an administration that's been doing robust anti-monopoly enforcement for the first time since 2001 is "neoliberal".

AFAICT the neoliberal rump of the Dems was shown the error of their ways in 2016, and had to comprise with the left of the party to get Biden elected. Which worked out so well their position is even weaker now.

@gleick

Neoliberalism means (mong other things) freedom to corporations over, and above, freedom to individuals. Monopolies are harmful to the neoliberal freedom as they deepen inequality among corporations. Anti-monopoly moves also give neoliberalism "human face", so people resist less.

The assessment of the robustness I leave to those closer to the US.

I invite everybody to read an essay here:

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Julia Steinberger: Immigrant, Swiss-American-UK ecological economist at the University of Lausanne. Research focus on living well within planetary limits. Opinions my own.

@8petros
> Neoliberalism means (mong other things) freedom to corporations

> Monopolies are harmful to the neoliberal freedom

Pick one. The freedom to create and maintain monopolies is one of the most important corporate freedoms protected by neoliberal policy.

> Anti-monopoly moves also give neoliberalism "human face", so people resist less.

The *appearance* of them, sure. Not ones that actually threaten to break monopolies. So not relevant to the Biden administration.

@aral @gleick

Thanks for the link to Julia Steinberger's essay though @8petros, a relevant quote;

"As Wendy Brown masterfully tells the story ... Hayek’s neoliberal edifice starts, at its foundation, with a determination to destroy society, and democracy, understood as the ability of people to make common claims about their goals and aspirations. The imposition of market absolutism is a merely a means to an end: the goal is the destruction of democracy."

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

@aral @gleick

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}

Here's Julia Steinberger again;

"It’s worth noting that neoliberals in the 1950s did not, although they should have, predict that unfettered markets lead to concentrations in monopolies or cartels. They would arguably disapprove of the vast corporations running our current economies, even though their market-above-democracy policies predictably brought them into being."

But she gives them too much credit. I suspect they not only predicted it, it was their goal.

@8petros @aral @gleick

"The hour is late, both in terms of the triumph of neoliberal economics and its tag-along fascism ..."

#JuliaSteinberger, 2024

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

This bit misses the point though. Fascism is the plutocracy's last line of defence against outbreaks of democracy. We have seen a rise of crypto-fascism since 2008, precisely because the GFC dealt a killing blow to neoliberalism's hold on the public imagination. Open fascism is their desperate attempt to hold onto their wealth and power.

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}

"Rather than allow nameless faceless mega corporations to make predatory & destructive decisions, we should work together and trust each other to come up with better plans. This is true for every organisation, public or private, at any scale. We have a hugely diverse palette of democratic structures and processes to draw upon, from citizen assemblies to worker-user cooperatives."

#JuliaSteinberger, 2024

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

This!

#democracy

(1/2)

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}

"We should reapropriate our ability to learn and enact diverse forms of democratic governance, learning from successes and mistakes alike. As we learn how to work together and create different structures through our decision-making, we will learn to threaten the neoliberal hegemons and their power grip on our societies, including the capture and corruption of our states."

#JuliaSteinberger, 2024

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

This too!

(2/2)

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}

"... we now have technologies which would enable us to live well within planetary boundaries, but only if we invest our work in the most efficient ways of using resources (insulated housing, efficient household appliances, public transit & biking, plant-based diets, etc) AND sufficient consumption levels. Sufficiency means no deprivation, but also no major excess."

#JuliaSteinberger, 2024

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

Onwards to fully automated luxury communism!

(1/2)

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}

"If we move our economies and societies towards these measures, we could easily, within a couple of decades or even less, achieve prosperity and, yes, freedom, for all, within planetary boundaries, realising what George Monbiot has called ‘private frugality and public luxury.’ We could have beautiful, lush, safe living spaces, lower working time, more time for family, friends and community care, with greater autonomy and emancipation."

#JuliaSteinberger, 2024

https://jksteinberger.medium.com/what-we-are-up-against-2290ba8c4b5c

(2/2)

What we are up against - Julia Steinberger - Medium

Exposing the secret history of the making of the climate crisis should change everything about how we act to stop it. This has been covered and evidenced over and over, so I will just restate the…

^{Julia Steinberger (Medium)}