Ideological abusings

The dominant ideology these days, as I said last time, is Neoliberalism, unbridled capitalism. Its purpose, of course, is the justification of the outrageous economic inequality that we are all experiencing and the exploitation of the climate and natural resources that are becoming ever more threatening.

The foundation of this particular ideology is what has become known as the Washington Consensus, first expressed in 1989 by John Williamson, the then chief economist and vice-president of the World Bank. Its goal is simple: the privatization of the world, and this by means of a very few simple principles:

• Tax reform: fewer taxes on the rich; more taxes for the working and the poor
• Total deregulation of all financial markets and the worldwide economic sector
• Protection of foreign investment and investors
• Increased protection for private property
• Reduction of national deficits
• Elimination of public subsidies
• Elimination of the public sector

Now, there is nothing in this list that we haven't seen being put into practice (well, except, of course, for the elimination of public subsidies ... as long as major corporations can get an extra hand from government, one shouldn't become too radical), but there is also nothing in this list that is a good idea because it is based on sound experience.

The rich and the benefactors of capital gains received preferential treatment, as was recently noted around Tax Day in America. The deregulation of capital and financial markets produced an economic meltdown that the little tax-payers got to bail out; the next (I believe, more severe) crash is on its way. And, we only need to look at what is being done to Greece (or look back to what was done to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Poland, or even Russia) to see what the results of these principles are. Yet, even though there is no factual evidence to support these principles, they are pushed and propagandized to such a degree that even their victims have begun to believe in them.

And so we are made to believe that this is how the world "is", that there are natural, economic laws that decide who succeeds and who fails, and yet not a word of it is true, nor can it be demonstrated by example. The propagandization of the ideology, however, and we should remember that all propaganda is based on fear, instills fear into the heart of the so-called middle class, those who thought they had risen above all that had been so painfully achieved on May Day.

I am ashamed to say that they got my generation to buy into this fantasy, but as is so often the case, converts are the worst. We have come to love and defend our oppressors. How sad is that?