Thread by @LarsDenmar

Did you enjoy Monbiot's piece?
I suggest, you re-read it. Yes, much truth in it, but (IMO) only to plant establishment version of reality conveying massive #powerlessness: Friedman/Hayek sensible, Keynes is out & no heterodox today. TINA in other words.

theguardian.com/books/2016/apr…

Gotta love how the people r blamed for this reality:
"Hedges remarks that “fascist movements build their base not from the politically active but the politically inactive, the ‘losers’ who feel, often correctly, they have no voice or role to play in the political establishment”.

Monbiot continues (implying Hillary was only sane choice and facts only relat to her):
"When political debate no longer speaks to us, people become responsive instead to slogans, symbols and sensation. To the admirers of Trump, for example, facts and arguments appear irrelevant."

M. links authoritarianism to Trump, while implying its pure democracy to obey Hillary
"Judt explained that when the thick mesh of interactions btw people and the state has been reduced to nothing but authority and obedience, the only remaining force that binds us is state power."

Is THE VOTE not as vitally important today, under our neolib rules Mr. Monbiot?

"As the domain of the state is reduced, our ability to change the course of our lives through voting also contracts. Instead, neoliberal theory asserts, people can exercise choice through spending."

Whitewashing the quest for 'anonymity'?
"The anonymity of neoliberalism is fiercely guarded. Those who are influenced by Hayek, Mises and Friedman tend to reject the term, maintaining – with some justice – that it is used today only pejoratively. But they offer us no substitute."

Continues: "Some describe themselves as classical liberals or libertarians, but these descriptions r both misleading and curiously self-effacing, as they suggest that there is nothing novel about The Road to Serfdom, Bureaucracy or Friedman’s classic work, Capitalism and Freedom"

Hurra for neolib!
"For all that, there is something admirable ab the neoliberal project, at least in its early stages. It was a distinctive, innovative philosophy promoted by a coherent network of thinkers and activists with a clear plan of action. It was patient and persistent."

We learn Keynes fixed 1929, but Keynes is dead!:

"in 1929, Keynes devised a comprehensive economic theory to replace it. When Keynesian demand management hit the buffers in the 70s, there was an alternative ready. But when neoliberalism fell apart in 2008 there was ... nothing."

The neolib alt. saved 1970s (sic! read @billy_blog).
Keynes is total failure + No Alt. Econ = TINA

"This is why the zombie walks. The left and centre have produced no new general framework of econ thought for 80 years. Every invocation of Lord Keynes is an admission of failure."

In other words, people, I'm telling you that neoliberalism is terrible, that your vote is still less worth and important because money (should) count still more. Moreover, that there are clearly no alternative economic theories and solutions to neoliberalism available today: TINA

If you inv Keynes, you're a loser. Bec it's hard to mobilise (sic!)

"Every invocation of Lord Keynes is an admission of failure. To propose Keynesian solutions to the crises of the 21st century is to ignore three obvious problems. It is hard to mobilise people around old ideas;"

No 2 + 3 reasons NOT to invoke Keynes:

"the flaws exposed in the 70s have not gone away; and, most importantly, they have nothing to say about our gravest predicament: the environmental crisis."

So, 2) Neolib economics WAS & still IS the best economics for our societies (sic!)

Now again, Monbiot must be a proud Orwellian.

As he teaches us that jobs & welfare = growth is detrimental for people

"Keynesianism works by stimulating consumer demand to promote economic growth. Consumer demand and economic growth are the motors of environmental destruction."

I'll add Monbiot's two concluding quotes, before my final comment on the text:

"What the history of both Keynesianism and neoliberalism show is that it’s not enough to oppose a broken system. A coherent alternative has to be proposed."

Monbiot's final words: "For Labour, the Democrats and the wider left, the central task should be to develop an economic Apollo programme, a conscious attempt to design a new system, tailored to the demands of the 21st century."

In short:

Neolib (NL) is orig. a decent progr
It makes sense to dismiss the word 'NL'
NL solved what Keynesianism couldn't in 70s
NL needed today bec same probls
ANY invoc Keynes is failure
No other heterod Econ exists
Welf/jobs=growth=ecol disaster
Money more imp than VOTE
TINA

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thanks!