Neoliberalism and public unrest: Time to make the connection

[limpyhobbler]

by Mandeep Tiwana, 11 Jul 2013

The people are angry. In Turkey, Brazil, and most recently again, Egypt, thousands have taken to the streets to voice their anger and frustration at the lack of social and economic justice. Political and economic elites, working in tandem, have managed to neutralise the aspirations of ordinary people, in part spurring the disenfranchisement driving the protests.

Whether it is the removal of subsidies protecting the poor against inflation and price shocks in Egypt, or the enormous cost of hosting high profile sporting events in Brazil at the expense of social services, or government plans to commercialise a beloved public park in the heart of Istanbul, the headlong embrace of neoliberal economic policies by governments is likely to cause further dissatisfaction and unrest across the globe.

Neo-liberalism, using a dictionary definition, as a "modern politico-economic theory favouring free trade, privatisation, minimal government intervention, reduced public expenditure on social services etc.," reduces the responsibility of the state while promoting privatisation to favour those with access to resources and influence. It is playing havoc with the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people.

Despite mainstream perceptions, the sad reality is that free markets don't automatically regulate themselves nor do they naturally respect individual or community rights. In Indonesia, people are choking from fires set by agricultural companies to clear forests to allow mammoth palm oil plantations to flourish. In the United States, popular demands for effective gun control are being blocked by congressmen bankrolled by the arms industry. In Ethiopia, thousands have been displaced through forced villagisation programmes to make way for agricultural companies that want to make land more "productive." In Spain and in Greece, public property such as hospitals and airports are being sold to private players to make the economy more "nimble." In the UK, frustration is mounting about tax evasion by transnational corporations whose turnover exceeds the GDP of many countries, while the average citizen continues to dutifully pay their fair share of taxes.
...

more: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/201374123247912933.html

[persistent]

1. Its eighties policy that Latin America and

S. America have consolidated to reject.

Greece needs to take a long hard look to the east and see where the sun is rising,

[KoKo]

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