Title correction: "Patrick Collison AMA: Stripe CEO, technologist, builder of economic infrastructure for the internet (on /r/neoliberal)."
(Providing the much needed context, "who is Patrick Collison?")
Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
11–20 of 55 posts
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#12Interesting to see individuals show pride in the “neoliberal” label, which is usually a stand-in for “complacent”.
I have only ever seen the neoliberal label used as an insult against the Democratic party for their lack of real progressive policies and for basically being the pawns of big banks and global elites.
Perhaps self-identification is the next logical step for Democrats? Instead of rigging the primary against a likable progressive candidate like Bernie and causing internal backlash and resentment, maybe they can get Democrat voters to support and embrace a named neoliberal doctrine. Maybe they too can get people to passionately vote against their own self-interests just like the Republican voting base.
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#13>It reminds me in some ways of net neutrality: yes, fast lanes and slow lanes have real downsides. But there's vast capex required to build the infrastructure we need. How should that be paid for? Defending credit card fees by criticizing net-neutrality. I guess at least he’s being interviewed in the right subreddit...
I had to read that several times and I still can't understand his argument. Perhaps the phrasing didn't come out as he intended.
He is defending allowing companies with significant capex to collect rents, with the justification that if the rents were not allowed then the capex would not be expended.
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#14Interesting to see individuals show pride in the “neoliberal” label, which is usually a stand-in for “complacent”.
That's not what it means here. The label was rehabilitated by Sam Bowman back in 2016: https://medium.com/@s8mb/im-a-neoliberal-maybe-you-are-too-b... Basically used here to describe a politics which is fond of market-based policies but supportive of redistribution when it is necessary for positive outcomes.
Tough statement. I doubt you can rehabilitate a such negative term in not even 2 years.
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not what it means here. The label was rehabilitated by Sam Bowman back in 2016: https://medium.com/@s8mb/im-a-neoliberal-maybe-you-are-too-b... Basically used here to describe a politics which is fond of market-based policies but supportive of redistribution when it is necessary for positive outcomes.
Tough statement. I doubt you can rehabilitate a such negative term in not even 2 years.
I don't agree with you on this.
I think that the existence of the AMA itself proves that at least in some circles you can.
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#16Interesting to see individuals show pride in the “neoliberal” label, which is usually a stand-in for “complacent”.
It is very peculiar. Whether it is an attempt to "reclaim" the word or not, that subreddit's usage of "neoliberal" bears little relation it's usage as defined in books such as David Harvey's 'A Brief History of Neoliberalism', where it is most commonly associated with privatization, financialisation, tax cuts, the retrenchment of social welfare and rapid growth in inequality. Critically, the neoliberal state is not '…
perhaps i misunderstand, but these things you list seem to be compatible with libertarianism (at least the right-libertarianism most commonly encountered in the US)
> privatization, financialisation, tax cuts, the retrenchment of social welfare
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#17Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tough statement. I doubt you can rehabilitate a such negative term in not even 2 years.
I don't agree with you on this. I think that the existence of the AMA itself proves that at least in some circles you can.
An AMA in a sub called "neoliberal" is hardly an indicator.
Re: Patrick Collison AMA on r/neoliberal
#19Interesting to see individuals show pride in the “neoliberal” label, which is usually a stand-in for “complacent”.
I have only ever seen the neoliberal label used as an insult against the Democratic party for their lack of real progressive policies and for basically being the pawns of big banks and global elites. Perhaps self-identification is the next logical step for Democrats? Instead of rigging the primary against a likable progressive candidate like Bernie and causing internal backlash and resentment, maybe they can get Demo…
“Neoliberalism” is not a partisan term. I guess that is the most common context lately, but many contemporary republicans fit this description and the more nuanced ones.
Decoding neoliberalism in the wild often requires a cultural critique because of the complacency associated. A politician might wager cultural symbolism to corral voters but have an entirely neoliberal agenda. Republicans have actually been keen on this longer than democrats but democrats have a higher ceiling because they are unbeholden to the limits of performing symbols of commitment to tradition now that their voter base thinks of itself as “progressive” which is an advertising notion, not an actual value. So neoliberalism values “progressivism” on the surface and self-interests below the surface.
Donald Trump is very much a neoliberal in the classic republican sense, but he realized the needle oF decadence has shifted away from tradition toward hedonism. Most of the tea party movement was led by neoliberals, too.
Contemporary libertarianism is literally hardcore neoliberalism, whereby the surface-level “progressivism” is peeled back, revealing ultimate individualism.
When we understand neoliberalism, we come to understand Trump and Clinton are mere equals on this spectrum.