Your weekly excerpt from one of my books. This week: "The Hidden History of Neoliberalism: How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness"
We really are an uneducated and stupid society. These guys have been writing what they were going to all along in plain sight. Project 2025 merely operationalized it. The financial elite get enough people to identify with them and their point of view of freedom and their silly concepts that allow them to run roughshod over the rest of us. No healthcare, no education, a deteriorating environment and society …that is a prison not freedom.
Can trace most of the Heritage Foundation goals to Reagan's administration, where some of the architects were SCOTUS CJ John Roberts and Associate Justice Alito. Friedman served as an unofficial economic advisor to Reagan, acting as a crucial intellectual champion for "Reaganomics."
I've written several times about the failure of the Pinochet government in Chile and how my office consulted re administrative law after a democratic government was elected and overcame fascism.
Friedman was a consultant to Pinochet. Friedman's remedy for hyperinflation -- privatization, deregulation, and spending cuts— eventually caused high unemployment and extreme social inequality. Friedman was oblivious to and or complicit with a murderous dictastorship. While not involved in the coup itself, Friedman visited Chile in 1975 to give lectures and met with Pinochet to discuss economic strategy.
Policy Impact: The reforms initially led to a deep recession followed by growth, termed the "Miracle of Chile". Critics highlight this came at the expense of human rights and labor rights.
Controversy: Friedman faced protests for providing legitimacy to a brutal regime, arguing that economic liberalization would bring political freedom.
The land we live on has become the property of Individuals, yet, belongs to individual countries all carved into little packets of properties. There is a lot of contradiction in that.
We can no longer live in a reciprocal manner with our land and its varied creatures to support ourselves. We must live in relative close proximity to other humans, and in order to do this peacefully requires cooperation.
However, when one or more see themself as more deserving or even privileged, fairness and cooperation disappears and justification takes over.
Freely elected representatives works, but how do we protect the vast majority from dishonesty and those who demand power over others for their own personal glorification, gain, and greed?
We have a system of laws and punishment for misdeeds and criminal activities, but we have come to believe that the only way to go forward is with force and destruction shifting to justification instead of law.
We have come to believe that certain human faults are so commonplace and somehow understandable they must be ignored—like lying and cheating.
The few have somehow convinced the many that the faults of greed and criminality are somehow acceptable. This is where education of our real history as a people through the ages needs to be taught. We need to remind ourselves why law is in place and structure necessary.
We do not have a pretty past—period. The only way to learn in this world is to acknowledge our mistakes and our stormy past and to somehow develop a workable system that rises above our limited desire for glory, control, and power over others and allows for difference yet moves forward with compassion. A tall order for humanity.
We have a Republic in place and a structure that can work but an economic system that rewards greed, lying, and cheating. We need to rise above our limited past that rewards and glorifies greed and learn, somehow, that lust for power is NOT a virtue but rather not only weakness as a species but our downfall.
If you think about it, Firedman's Free-market notions (embraced by both parties - Reagan and Clinton especially), not only allowed more careless and ruthless exploitation of citizens, it also enabled and promoted tech nerds to become multi-billionaires by rewarding them with lax regulations, tax incentives, and big government loans and contracts. The Tesla empire sells cars that can incinerate their passengers. The entire company was funded by federal loans and tax incentives. Techbros sell AI that tells people how to commit suicide or embarrass people by putting their faces on porn movies. States do not issue building codes that discourage wood houses in an era of climate change disasters caused by promoting fo$$il fuels because wood houses are more profitable than concrete. et cetera...
The intentional malignancy and evil of Friedman, reagan, rumsfeld, cheney and the rest of those ghouls knew no bounds. Finally, they exhibited no decency. Reagan was an actor - not a very good one really - but good enough to sucker the citizenry with his aw shucks good guy grin hiding his complete and thorough malevolence. They claim to be anti-regulation. They are not. They instead furnish to their corporate oligarchs the "right to regulate" what we can drink and breathe by making their waste disposal into our water and air "free." MAGA and its cross-burners and swastika bearers are the inevitable result
The term neoliberal is misleading. It uses liberal, which usually implies some concern for the less fortunate. The more accurate term might be retro-conservative. For, as you point out, it is a value system disguised as science to reestablish the dominance of the 1% of the 1%.
As Dostoevsky said, the best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he doesn't know he's in prison. That is what the neoliberals have done to the Democratic party establishment.
Another misleading and imprisoning term is 'centrist'. It does not mean middle of the road. It means liberal on social policies but a Friedmanite (Reagan) conservative on economic policies. And that changed the Democratic Party from a party that cared first about the working class to a party that implemented Reagan-like economic policies, alienated the working class, and prepared the way for a savior who would shake up the establishment.
I believe the Democratic Party is the hope for America (and for the world). However, the polls show it has the lowest approval rating in recent history. Some say lower than Trump.
My concern is to find out why in a constructive criticism sense. If you disagree with my opinion, I'd like to hear reasons. There needs to be more dialogue about this.
My ultimate position is that Democrats need a clear message to the working classes that they hear that groups fears from their financial precarity and will help them get fair-paying jobs with dignity. And not as a manipulation to get votes, but from a real understanding and concern for their situation.
Thanks deeply. I was a student at The University of Chicago while Friedman was there. Got 4 degrees and STILL it took your reprinted chapter today to truly clarify the stakes!🙏
It is a safe bet, I believe, that Milton Freidman grew up in a devoutly religious household or attended a school with teachers who were quite rigid or strict and religious. People such as Friedman and his followers invariably fundamentally lack faith in people and in human nature. They are all looking for a system which can override the tendencies of individuals to become radical or extreme (or sinful or dangerous) and the chaos they expect from human failures and fallibility. Christianity, Judaism, capitalism, communism, socialism, and other "ism's" and belief systems are all manifestations of that suspicion about our natures and weaknesses. What they fail to realize is that there is no static or immutable human nature. No system which attempts to control people will ever be able to contain its own flaws and excesses. Democracy is also a system, but it hopes to accommodate the many varieties of beliefs and individuals it tolerates and encourages. Democracy is still the best bet. However, we have allowed free market fundamentalism, the imagined superiority of certain people or groups, and the capitalism they are part of to gain dominant positions. Another system has helped to keep them in power, which is the system promoting authority over autonomy, namely compulsory schooling. This system fosters and perpetuates the concepts of knowledge which is static, experts who possess it, and authority which protects it. We must decide whether we want democracy for everyone, or just for adults.
Friedman was an agnostic. Was not a follower. During the Depression both he and his wife worked in the FDR administration. He blamed virtually everything wrong in America on the Federal reserve.
More likely he did have a Napoleanic complex -- stood so low you had to pick him up just to say "hello."
I may be off base, but it seems to me that some people have a mindset that is most comfortable with theories; a
narrative that makes sense to them, that they can put down on paper and always refer to. They tend to be controlling and dismissive of challenge; I suspect they fear flexibility.
Some people function by reassessing their opinions on the basis of feedback and consequently are more flexible.
One style of functioning is not necessarily better than the other but may be better suited to good outcomes depending on the issues that need that to be addressed.
Personally I feel that economic theories can put a country into a cage that is hard to get free of even when the outcomes are not proving to be rewarding. I majored in Economics but don’t pretend to be any scholar. However, I’m aware of the various theories that have been promulgated over time and have come to the conclusion that egos have tended to become too invested in every theory, to the detriment of the reasonable fluidity of economies that need to navigate thru ever changing environments.
Very well explained. This is the heart of bad faith -- "my freedom from responsibility, free dregs for you." The emblem of sapiens immaturity -- "I'm too important to be a regular person" ("I'm pre-sapiens"). Not fit for participation in the life of the community -- a stealthy, irresponsible, lying-cheating predator.
Captain, my Captain Friedman couldn’t be more wrong to me on all this. I am definitely with Kennedy on this. Look, at where we are now, Captain. Common sense I think. They call it anything, that doesn’t help the people, who need it the most.
Thank you Thom, for your erudite explanation of The Chicago School of Economics and its leader, Friedman.
I now see the web connecting diverse nodes of political and corporate leaders who justify their Libertarian stances on politico-economics over many decades in both Europe and the US.
It seems to me that many prominent people have a subconscious bias in their views and impulses and then look for a conscious explanation to justify it (such a Hayek's philosophy) after the fact.
We really are an uneducated and stupid society. These guys have been writing what they were going to all along in plain sight. Project 2025 merely operationalized it. The financial elite get enough people to identify with them and their point of view of freedom and their silly concepts that allow them to run roughshod over the rest of us. No healthcare, no education, a deteriorating environment and society …that is a prison not freedom.
Starting in 1980, PBS ran Friedman's "Free to Choose" series, which IMHO was prpaganda. https://www.freetochoosenetwork.org/programs/free_to_choose/. A companion book was the best selling non fiction book.
Can trace most of the Heritage Foundation goals to Reagan's administration, where some of the architects were SCOTUS CJ John Roberts and Associate Justice Alito. Friedman served as an unofficial economic advisor to Reagan, acting as a crucial intellectual champion for "Reaganomics."
Reagan was partly right: with Repugnicans in charge, government IS the problem.
I've written several times about the failure of the Pinochet government in Chile and how my office consulted re administrative law after a democratic government was elected and overcame fascism.
Friedman was a consultant to Pinochet. Friedman's remedy for hyperinflation -- privatization, deregulation, and spending cuts— eventually caused high unemployment and extreme social inequality. Friedman was oblivious to and or complicit with a murderous dictastorship. While not involved in the coup itself, Friedman visited Chile in 1975 to give lectures and met with Pinochet to discuss economic strategy.
Policy Impact: The reforms initially led to a deep recession followed by growth, termed the "Miracle of Chile". Critics highlight this came at the expense of human rights and labor rights.
Controversy: Friedman faced protests for providing legitimacy to a brutal regime, arguing that economic liberalization would bring political freedom.
Milton Friedman - economic terrorist.
The land we live on has become the property of Individuals, yet, belongs to individual countries all carved into little packets of properties. There is a lot of contradiction in that.
We can no longer live in a reciprocal manner with our land and its varied creatures to support ourselves. We must live in relative close proximity to other humans, and in order to do this peacefully requires cooperation.
However, when one or more see themself as more deserving or even privileged, fairness and cooperation disappears and justification takes over.
Freely elected representatives works, but how do we protect the vast majority from dishonesty and those who demand power over others for their own personal glorification, gain, and greed?
We have a system of laws and punishment for misdeeds and criminal activities, but we have come to believe that the only way to go forward is with force and destruction shifting to justification instead of law.
We have come to believe that certain human faults are so commonplace and somehow understandable they must be ignored—like lying and cheating.
The few have somehow convinced the many that the faults of greed and criminality are somehow acceptable. This is where education of our real history as a people through the ages needs to be taught. We need to remind ourselves why law is in place and structure necessary.
We do not have a pretty past—period. The only way to learn in this world is to acknowledge our mistakes and our stormy past and to somehow develop a workable system that rises above our limited desire for glory, control, and power over others and allows for difference yet moves forward with compassion. A tall order for humanity.
We have a Republic in place and a structure that can work but an economic system that rewards greed, lying, and cheating. We need to rise above our limited past that rewards and glorifies greed and learn, somehow, that lust for power is NOT a virtue but rather not only weakness as a species but our downfall.
First of all, the form of government anf the form the economy takes are not necesarily synonimous. We are actually a "mixed" economy.
For some prople, we are still the land of opporunity. For some, not so much.
If you think about it, Firedman's Free-market notions (embraced by both parties - Reagan and Clinton especially), not only allowed more careless and ruthless exploitation of citizens, it also enabled and promoted tech nerds to become multi-billionaires by rewarding them with lax regulations, tax incentives, and big government loans and contracts. The Tesla empire sells cars that can incinerate their passengers. The entire company was funded by federal loans and tax incentives. Techbros sell AI that tells people how to commit suicide or embarrass people by putting their faces on porn movies. States do not issue building codes that discourage wood houses in an era of climate change disasters caused by promoting fo$$il fuels because wood houses are more profitable than concrete. et cetera...
The intentional malignancy and evil of Friedman, reagan, rumsfeld, cheney and the rest of those ghouls knew no bounds. Finally, they exhibited no decency. Reagan was an actor - not a very good one really - but good enough to sucker the citizenry with his aw shucks good guy grin hiding his complete and thorough malevolence. They claim to be anti-regulation. They are not. They instead furnish to their corporate oligarchs the "right to regulate" what we can drink and breathe by making their waste disposal into our water and air "free." MAGA and its cross-burners and swastika bearers are the inevitable result
The term neoliberal is misleading. It uses liberal, which usually implies some concern for the less fortunate. The more accurate term might be retro-conservative. For, as you point out, it is a value system disguised as science to reestablish the dominance of the 1% of the 1%.
As Dostoevsky said, the best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he doesn't know he's in prison. That is what the neoliberals have done to the Democratic party establishment.
Another misleading and imprisoning term is 'centrist'. It does not mean middle of the road. It means liberal on social policies but a Friedmanite (Reagan) conservative on economic policies. And that changed the Democratic Party from a party that cared first about the working class to a party that implemented Reagan-like economic policies, alienated the working class, and prepared the way for a savior who would shake up the establishment.
You don't know jack shit arbout the Democratic Party.
I believe the Democratic Party is the hope for America (and for the world). However, the polls show it has the lowest approval rating in recent history. Some say lower than Trump.
My concern is to find out why in a constructive criticism sense. If you disagree with my opinion, I'd like to hear reasons. There needs to be more dialogue about this.
My ultimate position is that Democrats need a clear message to the working classes that they hear that groups fears from their financial precarity and will help them get fair-paying jobs with dignity. And not as a manipulation to get votes, but from a real understanding and concern for their situation.
We are a big tent party....
Thanks deeply. I was a student at The University of Chicago while Friedman was there. Got 4 degrees and STILL it took your reprinted chapter today to truly clarify the stakes!🙏
It is a safe bet, I believe, that Milton Freidman grew up in a devoutly religious household or attended a school with teachers who were quite rigid or strict and religious. People such as Friedman and his followers invariably fundamentally lack faith in people and in human nature. They are all looking for a system which can override the tendencies of individuals to become radical or extreme (or sinful or dangerous) and the chaos they expect from human failures and fallibility. Christianity, Judaism, capitalism, communism, socialism, and other "ism's" and belief systems are all manifestations of that suspicion about our natures and weaknesses. What they fail to realize is that there is no static or immutable human nature. No system which attempts to control people will ever be able to contain its own flaws and excesses. Democracy is also a system, but it hopes to accommodate the many varieties of beliefs and individuals it tolerates and encourages. Democracy is still the best bet. However, we have allowed free market fundamentalism, the imagined superiority of certain people or groups, and the capitalism they are part of to gain dominant positions. Another system has helped to keep them in power, which is the system promoting authority over autonomy, namely compulsory schooling. This system fosters and perpetuates the concepts of knowledge which is static, experts who possess it, and authority which protects it. We must decide whether we want democracy for everyone, or just for adults.
Friedman was an agnostic. Was not a follower. During the Depression both he and his wife worked in the FDR administration. He blamed virtually everything wrong in America on the Federal reserve.
More likely he did have a Napoleanic complex -- stood so low you had to pick him up just to say "hello."
Thank you for this information, and the exposure again to it.
I just read 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' by John Perkins. Very eye opening about how all this works.
I may be off base, but it seems to me that some people have a mindset that is most comfortable with theories; a
narrative that makes sense to them, that they can put down on paper and always refer to. They tend to be controlling and dismissive of challenge; I suspect they fear flexibility.
Some people function by reassessing their opinions on the basis of feedback and consequently are more flexible.
One style of functioning is not necessarily better than the other but may be better suited to good outcomes depending on the issues that need that to be addressed.
Personally I feel that economic theories can put a country into a cage that is hard to get free of even when the outcomes are not proving to be rewarding. I majored in Economics but don’t pretend to be any scholar. However, I’m aware of the various theories that have been promulgated over time and have come to the conclusion that egos have tended to become too invested in every theory, to the detriment of the reasonable fluidity of economies that need to navigate thru ever changing environments.
Very well explained. This is the heart of bad faith -- "my freedom from responsibility, free dregs for you." The emblem of sapiens immaturity -- "I'm too important to be a regular person" ("I'm pre-sapiens"). Not fit for participation in the life of the community -- a stealthy, irresponsible, lying-cheating predator.
Captain, my Captain Friedman couldn’t be more wrong to me on all this. I am definitely with Kennedy on this. Look, at where we are now, Captain. Common sense I think. They call it anything, that doesn’t help the people, who need it the most.
Thank you Thom, for your erudite explanation of The Chicago School of Economics and its leader, Friedman.
I now see the web connecting diverse nodes of political and corporate leaders who justify their Libertarian stances on politico-economics over many decades in both Europe and the US.
It seems to me that many prominent people have a subconscious bias in their views and impulses and then look for a conscious explanation to justify it (such a Hayek's philosophy) after the fact.