Live data from Hacker News

Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

static1.squarespace.com

1–10 of 14 posts

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#3
Neoliberalism as practiced in the United States isn't a good idea. In other countries it's had much more success. For instance, Denmark doesn't have a minimum wage, and has very high labour mobility. A generous social safety net and strong trade unions enables this.

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#4
post #2

Is this an academic paper? Telling a story the way the author sees it, causal relationships established as if they are obvious, no need to actually show they exist. This is indoctrination, not analysis.

The author is a contributor to Jacobin Magazine which according to Wikipedia "has been variously described as democratic socialist, socialist and Marxist" so it would seem you're spot on.

As far as a critique of the actual paper, it seems to be predicated on the idea that democracy and freedom are synonymous when in fact they're orthogonal concepts. You can have tyrannical democratic structures, in fact that's what the founding fathers sought to combat in the original system they laid out which was less democratic than it is now (e.g. only land owners, people who have skin in the game, can vote).

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic." – Benjamin Franklin

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#5
post #2

Is this an academic paper? Telling a story the way the author sees it, causal relationships established as if they are obvious, no need to actually show they exist. This is indoctrination, not analysis.

It seems to be an article from a book written by an academic. There's a page of citations at the end that you may have missed.

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#6
post #2

Is this an academic paper? Telling a story the way the author sees it, causal relationships established as if they are obvious, no need to actually show they exist. This is indoctrination, not analysis.

Here is a list of the author's work. This is very consistent with "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" and numerous bodies of work that highlight the tactics used. This essay (if not an academic article) was interesting for providing more context and subtext around the drivers for the movement. It's honestly a political and economic masterclass regardless of your ethical position. https://www.jasonhickel.org/#/academic-work/

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#7

Neoliberalism as practiced in the United States isn't a good idea. In other countries it's had much more success. For instance, Denmark doesn't have a minimum wage, and has very high labour mobility. A generous social safety net and strong trade unions enables this.

Then is it really neoliberalism in Denmark? It seems strong social safety net and trade unions are somehow anathema to neoliberalism.

Sure they could participate in the global economies and reap rewards from the globalization but they're also a smaller player w/ less power on the world stage.

American neoliberalism has been a bad idea not just for us, but maybe for the whole world. It's all gonna come to a head though if they really do evict 40 million people this year.

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#8
post #2

Is this an academic paper? Telling a story the way the author sees it, causal relationships established as if they are obvious, no need to actually show they exist. This is indoctrination, not analysis.

The author is a contributor to Jacobin Magazine which according to Wikipedia "has been variously described as democratic socialist, socialist and Marxist" so it would seem you're spot on. As far as a critique of the actual paper, it seems to be predicated on the idea that democracy and freedom are synonymous when in fact they're orthogonal concepts. You can have tyrannical democratic structures, in fact that's what t…

You cannot have freedom without democracy (unless of course you're part of the ruling class). When someone else rules over you, you aren't free.

Democracy does not guarantee freedom but it greatly increases the chances and distributes it more equally. Your chance of being "tyrannized" by the majority is less than 50%. A ruling class you aren't part of will tyrannize you.

Re: Neoliberalism and the End of Democracy [pdf]

#10
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is a contributor to Jacobin Magazine which according to Wikipedia "has been variously described as democratic socialist, socialist and Marxist" so it would seem you're spot on. As far as a critique of the actual paper, it seems to be predicated on the idea that democracy and freedom are synonymous when in fact they're orthogonal concepts. You can have tyrannical democratic structures, in fact that's what t…

You cannot have freedom without democracy (unless of course you're part of the ruling class). When someone else rules over you, you aren't free. Democracy does not guarantee freedom but it greatly increases the chances and distributes it more equally. Your chance of being "tyrannized" by the majority is less than 50%. A ruling class you aren't part of will tyrannize you.

> When someone else rules over you, you aren't free.

That is the case in today's so called democracies. Just because you pick your ruler doesn't mean you have any say in the fate of society.

check the video for actual democracy: https://youtu.be/qH43YHaUGyQ

Post reply on HN