Quote:
Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield
I say I am. And so do Frank and Anderson, which is why I linked them. To discuss the Trump voters you say are the problem, and the Bernie voters which are similar in many regards, one must discuss the cause. The cause is neoliberalism. And when you discuss neoliberalism, you realize it’s libertarian-lite noblesse oblige.
Frank and Anderson are diagnosing the disease. You’re diagnosing one of many symptoms.
I also don’t necessarily see a problem. I see a choice, a cause. Neoliberalism is a decision to arbitrage labor costs, rendering certain lower to mid-skilled people obsolete. It’s not a problem as much as a deliberate policy choice. I’m only advocating admitting it aloud. Most proponents of it recoil or flip out when one does that. They take all sorts of crazy efforts to avoid that conversation or deflect. Why not admit it? Tell the proles what we’re doing.
I’m tired of hearing the laissez faire left blame it all on the right. The neoliberals on the right and the left are not much distinct from one another. The only difference is those on the left would give more aid to those they put out of work (to fatten their own profits). But neither camp of neoliberals, right or left, wants a more fair system that would give the losers more money at cost to their own profits.
Offering to pay a few extra dollars every year in taxes to allow the people you put out of work to have a subsistence existence doesn’t make you a hero.
|
Since you profess to be a cynic and vote on a narrow conception of your own financial self-interest, all of this comes off as concern trolling. Better to say that the problem with our country is selfishness (like yours) that gets in the way of using the government as a way to make people's lives better.
Also, this game of attacking "neoliberals" is a fundamental dodge. It's a dodge of the substantial differences between the political parties, and it's a dodge of the differences between voters and politicians.
I can't tell what you think "neoliberalism" is, which seems deliberate on your part. It's abstract enough to avoid contact with reality. You do say:
[N]either camp of neoliberals, right or left, wants a more fair system that would give the losers more money at cost to their own profits.
That's false. The signature battle of the Obama Administration, which you were around for, was over health care. Democrats enacted the ACA, to provide health coverage for everyone -- i.e., the losers too. As Hank can explain, it cost some people more money. Republicans fought it every step of the way. The ACA was flawed, in large part because of the challenges of getting it passed (and not because "neoliberalism" dictated anything). Since it's enactment, Republicans have tried to roll it back, while Democrats have reacted to its shortcomings (and Republican intransigence) by moving to the left, with more and more people supporting a form of single payer. Pretending that none of this happened, or that somehow the two parties are fundamentally similar, is a lie.
I think I know why you like to pretend that Democrats are no different from Republicans, but if you can't admit that's what you're doing, there's not much point in telling you.
