Thread by @AmericasCousin

Neoliberalism Mini-Primer and 2020:

Neoliberalism is simply an ideology that expands the private sector at the expense of the state. It's reputed to be arcane, but is fairly straightforward:

Private > Public = Neoliberalism

In a democracy, this inequation translates...

...directly into a dynamic of corporations v. people.

Neoliberalism has been the dominant ideology in the United States for forty years with roots dating back to the 1940's. Reagan and Thatcher were its exemplars in West and it captured the Democratic...

...and Labor Parties in the 1990's via Bill Clinton's "Third Way"/DLC and New Labor.

It is omnipresent to the point of being invisible. Just a few examples:

Private Utilities
Landlords > Tenants
Parking Meters sold by cities to private agencies who then raise the fees.
...

...Businesses fighting Environmental Regulations
Banks against bankruptcy/discharging Student Loans
Private Prisons
Private Health Insurance
Shipping U.S. Jobs Overseas

All examples show a scale weighted towards business/corporations that comes at the expense of citizens.

...

Since neoliberalism is decidedly bad for the public, why would it be imposed by lawmakers who are supposed to defend their interests? Simply put...

Bribery.

Bribery in nearly all practical forms is perfectly legal in The United States. Law prohibiting it...

...are useless because they're construed in way that only captures explicitly stated quid pro quos which are both abnormal and unnecessary in the understood course of doing business. Moreover, lawmakers are not interested in strengthening bribery laws because almost all...

...of them participate in it themselves. Campaign contributions are the classic examples of legalized bribery, but they also include implicit promises of future employment (the "revolving door"), gifts, perks, parties, and more. Criminal racket is not an inapt description.
...

...

One might suspect there would be more public outrage directed at a corporate government floated by bribery, but much of it is foreclosed. Business interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce anticipated for decades potential methods through which a population could...

...resist, meaningfully respond, or recognize a gradual takeover. As frogs in boiling water, the public experiences subtle and gradual change without notice until it is nearly foregone. For critics, basic counterrevolutionary tactics (discrediting, division, force) exist in...

...reserve should need arise but propaganda most efficiently eschews more brutal suppression. (See: Chomsky, N. (1988) Manufacturing Consent)

It's not accidental we have a primitive culture and entertainment style that discourages critical thought and places neoliberalism...

...and its failures as far from the mind as possible. We don't hear music on the radio fueling resistance to war as in the 1960's and 1970's. Poverty, wage-theft, and corruption are also generally off-limits. Neoliberalism prefers a population that's drunk, distracted...

...and operating at a 4th grade reading level. By all accounts this project has been a resounding success.

In this milieu, simplistic neoliberal myths flourish without challenge: "The private sector does it best" / "My purpose in life is to work hard (for another's profit)."...

...Amplifying these myths resigns non-ownership classes (re: almost everybody) into accepting bad deals, sometimes gratefully, and helps preclude significant opposition from ever congealing.

Bleak is it may be, acknowledging neoliberalism's dominance is a better and more...

...reality-based starting point for understanding modern American politics than a partisan framework or reductive inaccurate left-right spectrum that tends to conflate cultural issues with more controlling factors of power/resource allocation.

Neoliberalism is vastly...

...unpopular with the voting bases in both parties, even while many may not register their discontent using its vocabulary. By contrast, it is enjoyed and pushed by elites in both parties, earning reviled titles such as "Establishment Republicans" and "Corporate Democrats." ...

...In the Democratic primary, neoliberalism is most openly recognized by the Sanders campaign whose themes of anti-corruption, labor rights, and better living standards work in concert to refute the ideology's multi-pronged assault. It's not surprising that he is routinely...

...smeared or ignored by multimedia conglomerates seeking to mitigate the threat he presents. Elizabeth Warren also seems to understand "how it really works" though it's unclear what she's willing to compromise to straddle the contradictory lines of reform and ingratiation.
...

...Kamala Harris does not seem to care much either way about neoliberalism, taking an occasional firm stance on component issues (criminal justice) but largely discarding the rest, modifying at whim, and participating in bribes. Lacking a coherent vision appears to be a major...

...factor in her downfall.

Joe Biden is a consummate creature of the corrupt system in place, though he seems blithely unaware of its full malice. It's believable when extolling plutocrats as "not the bad guys" that he holds it sincerely, suggesting a lack of examination...

...rather than an actual malignant heart. He's unconcerned with the ideology's stranglehold on the nation and has openly stated nothing will "fundamentally change" should he become President. Unfortunate.

Of all the candidates, Mayor Peter Buttigieg is the most...

...disturbing. A bona fide studied genius with vast intellectual curiosity, he is fully aware of neoliberalism's breadth and human consequences. He abetted them at McKinsey without compunction. Having entered the race as a charismatic ideological blank slate and...

...become the champion and top bribe recipient of racketeering private insurance firms, Wall St., AT&T, and Silicon Valley, we're left with one conclusion. Peter recognizes how this system works. But rather than using his knowledge and gifts to protect his country from its...

...pillage, he has consciously decided to partake in it. I find this inimical. Peter is a talented and cynical con artist with a pernicious clientele. To aid in his exposure, I parody him here: twitter.com/Mayo2020PB

In sum, reversing neoliberalism is my top priority in...

2020. For that reason primarily, I am supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders for President. I find his stentorian censures of corruption and wrongdoing compelling on a moral level. His multiracial working/labor class coalition (the Queens rally, Nina Turner, AOC) has an energy...

...that rings true, powerful, and moving. I'm on board for the long haul. #NotMeUs

This was my first "mega tweet" ever so I hope anyone who read the above found it informative. Best to all,

-Brian