The state of our country, & perhaps the reason why !

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whinneybanksaint

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www.theguardian.com

Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems

Financial meltdown, environmental disaster and even the rise of Donald Trump – neoliberalism has played its part in them all. Why has the left failed to come up with an alternative?
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

I dont normally post anything of any meaning, politically but read with great interest what others have to say.
I am astonished by the division between most working class people when basically we all wish to have the same sort of life.
I grew up in a pre Thatcher Teesside, and have many of the values instilled in me by a steel working family. They are at odds with the world that i see around me now. I have been really troubled over the past few years by the decline of those morals and values in this country ,I am at odds with most other people who now live around me ( Southampton ). I have wondered if there was something wrong with me, am i bitter, am i uneducated, am i lacking in drive, why do i see profiteering as an evil thing ( im a self employed Builder ) why cant i not give a toss about others or those in deprived areas around the country, why does nobody else care.
Then i came across this piece of journalism and for me has been enlightening, the round pegs are dropping through the round holes.
Sorry for babbling on, im not able to articulate everything i feel in a short txt, nor in an intellectual way, fuxk , i struggled with some of the big words in it ,but im hoping that others may also add their thoughts to the link above .
 
NeoLiberalism is not only morally bankrupt but it unequivocally fails to deliver on its primary objective of economic prosperity. The idea that greater competition, cutting costs and less government intervention would make us all better off is an absolute whopper of a lie.
 
I googled Neoliberalism and the working class:

"How does neoliberalism affect poor people?
Austerity-driven financial policies leading to an increase in unemployment and poverty; reduced labour costs. Higher rates of poverty; less protection against poverty, unemployment, and healthcare risks; social exclusion; increased prevalence of mental illness.15 Nov 2017"
 
I don’t think we should despair, that’s what the rich would like to happen as stated in the article.

Life has a way of balancing out these things.

The human race has only advanced by teamwork at every level, it will return.
 
They will say "but unemployment is low" but the reality is that we are working to break even on ridiculously low minimum wages and zero hours contracts.....

This all feels likeThatcherism but worse.
 
Wiseman_Vaughn said:
There doesn't appear to be the political will to change the system
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Probably because anyone who tries to offer an alternative will be monstered mercilessly by our frank and fearless press. It happened to Ed Milliband (and he wasn't offering much change) followed by Corbyn and now they are going after the Trade Union movement (especially Mick Lynch).

They're struggling to hit Mick Lynch at the moment but they'll keep flinging muck until something sticks and then we'll never hear the end of it.
 
exiledinboro said:
I think neoliberalism is basically centerism and globalisation, open markets and I think its brought benefits but equally some people haven't felt the benefits especially the poorest and people in the North, Wales and Scotland haven't seen investment as all our taxes are spent in London and the South East

From what I listen to there's suggestions the world has gone through globalisation and is now de-globalising

America is now subsidising companies to rebuild industry and neoliberalism doesn't give any food or energy independence and we're all realising what a mistake it is to offshore all our industries

The chances and reason to stay positive is it's completely incompatible with climate change so as a model we need to find an alternative

I also think for 40 years from Regan and Thatcher we've basically had the same policies that have either caused the problems we face now or have taken away our rights like free adult education or we've sold off the public services like the utilities an royal mail

Basically I think the poorest under austerity have been hit hardest and we can't cut services so it's the middle class that are now feeling it
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I think we are witnessing the failure of ‘free for all’ capitalism and the old accepted arguments about the markets promoting efficiency and reducing waste are now under massive attack as people realise you can’t run everything like that and the poor results of it are there for everybody to see. It just doesn’t work for human society.

As you say thinks are changing and there will be redress but it will take time.
 
exiledinboro said:
I think neoliberalism is basically centerism and globalisation
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Centrism is like the b****d child of NeoLiberalism. Essentially being Blair's "Third Way" whereby socialist ideas were replaced with a capitalist model e.g. Hospital and Schools being built under PFI.

It was a clever way to show the books being balanced but it has left us counting the cost - something that was pointed out repeatedly at the time.

The postal service is another good example - sell off the profitable parts and then run the remainder into the ground to make privatisation seem like a good solution. Sell it off with the stipulation the postal service regulations apply and then slowly erode those regulations. See also: Trains, Water, Energy etc.

Centrism is just a politics of comfort - you can't be a centrist if you can't afford to eat.

exiledinboro said:
The Dan Niedle stuff uncovering Zahawi has put our press to shame and exposed the Tories Obsession with offshore tax havens.
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Dan Neidle has written about this to debunk the myth that the press are useless. It just takes a lot of time and effort to get anywhere against a liar hiding behind the government machine (where have we heard that before).

Three wrong takes on the Zahawi affair
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
There certainly wasn't with the last Labour government.

Perhaps the left will have more of a say next time
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With regard to the left having more say, I'd say that the last few years has demonstrated that the Corporate Press will go to any length to ensure the left has no say on anything ever. It would seem that the current Labour leadership is trying its best to ensure this also.

The fact that certain left-wing policies are popular (nationalisation of utilities, Rail Services) but are always discussed as being fantasy and not possible to implement is telling.

Contrast that with the favoured policies of the Right wing (more crackdowns on strikes, right to protest) and these are always worthy and indeed very sensible given the current state of the nation
 
There's nothing wrong with you, there is everything wrong with the system that we are forced to live in and the establishment that works tooth and nail to maintain it.

I've started to more recently believe that its not actually left/right politics that divide us as much as it is those with empathy and compassion and those without it that focus entirely on themselves, as long as they are okay ... true this often splits along political divides, but not always.
 
m3t4tr0n said:
There's nothing wrong with you, there is everything wrong with the system that we are forced to live in and the establishment that works tooth and nail to maintain it.

I've started to more recently believe that its not actually left/right politics that divide us as much as it is those with empathy and compassion and those without it that focus entirely on themselves, as long as they are okay ... true this often splits along political divides, but not always.
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Labour will get there chance to demonstrate empathy and compassion soon enough. Let's see if there really is change.
 
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