The consequences of neoliberalism are profound and devastating. From greedflation and right-wing extremism to the risk of global war and climate catastrophe, this ideology undermines society's stability, health and future. Economic inequality and reduced democratic rights threaten future social cohesion and global peace.
Greedflation after 2020
Companies raise prices well above their cost increases to maximize profits. This phenomenon, reinforced by deregulated markets that have enabled more monopoly firms, creates financial stress for households and drives inequality. It is a clear result of profit-driven priorities within neoliberalism.
Risk of global third world war over dwindling resources
The struggle for dwindling resources and the control of global production profits risks leading to a third world war. The West may lose this war because production is largely outsourced to countries like China. Historically, the most industrialized countries have won wars, which means that the economic and military competitiveness of the West is now being undermined.
The fall of democracy and authoritarian tendencies
Trump has said, among other things, that if he wins in 2025, his voters will never have to vote again. Projects like “ Project 2025 ” and ISDS agreements threaten democracy by strengthening corporate influence. Increased surveillance, as we see with “ ChatControl ”, for example, harsher prison sentences and reduced freedoms undermine democratic rights and can lead to a totalitarian development.
As far-right forces grow , respect for human rights is declining. LGBTQ and women's rights in particular are under attack, and we see a global movement that seeks to reduce their freedoms and rights.
The social and economic divides have led to a rise in right-wing and racist movements , which exploit people's frustration and fear. Racism divides society and further exacerbates inequality. Racism threatens the rights of asylum seekers and spreads false rumors that immigration is not profitable.
Mental and physical ill health, less free time and less pleasure
Economic inequality, stress from precarious employment, high housing costs and inadequate access to healthcare have led to increasing mental and physical ill health. This mainly affects the poorest, but also wealthier groups are negatively affected . Happiness is not increasing . There is more propaganda in the entertainment supply . Although leisure is productive , the squirrel wheel often prevents this. The disabled are falling further behind.
Market rents, rampant mortgages and lower pensions and higher retirement age
These are needed to create shortages of money that cause people to borrow. Without private loans, the wheels of neoliberalism cannot be kept rolling.
More financial crises that increase the gaps
When people reach their creditworthiness, they stop borrowing and/or pay off their loans. Then we get ever-greater financial crises with increasing class gaps.
Gang crime and social unrest
Gang crime and social unrestGrowing inequality and residential segregation have increased gang crime, especially in deprived areas. This creates a vicious circle of violence and social unrest, which affects the most marginalized in society and increases tensions between different groups.
Shorter life expectancy and more obesity, especially for the poorest
Inequality in access to care and better working conditions leads to shorter lifespans for the poorest, but the richest are also affected. Stress, poor access to health care and economic uncertainty shorten the lives of many.
Privatization of healthcare
The privatization of healthcare, both in publicly funded private care and fully privately funded systems, has led to increased deaths due to profiteering. Companies prioritize profits over patients' needs, leading to poorer care and more deaths, especially among poorer groups.
Worse school results
When the school is privatized, segregated and given fewer resources, results drop. Privatization has reinforced social divides and given children from poorer families poorer educational opportunities, which in turn hinders their future opportunities.
Declining productivity growth
Since the Alliance, workers have been pressured to work harder for lower wages. This has led to and continues to lead to a decline in productivity growth. When workers are stressed and overused, long-term productivity gains are undermined, which hurts the entire economy.
Know-how and industrial competence move abroad:
When production is outsourced to countries with cheaper labor, the West loses its industrial competence. This undermines our global economic competitiveness in the long term, as important skills and knowledge disappear.
The Western world has transformed into a rentier economy , focusing primarily on marketing, stock market rallies, property prices and interest costs, rather than producing goods. This development weakens both economic and military competitiveness and makes the economy more vulnerable to crises.
Increased poverty and precariousness
Despite the increase in economic wealth for a few, poverty has increased for large groups, especially in the precariat who live with insecure jobs and low wages . Economic uncertainty creates constant stress and prevents people from planning for their future.
Social dumping and exploitation of labor immigration:
Companies exploit cheap labor from other countries and lower working conditions for everyone. This practice, known as social dumping, creates conflict and tension within countries, as well as a downward spiral for working conditions and wages.
Cultural polarization and identity conflicts:
Increased inequality has created deep cultural divides and conflicts. Marginalized groups feel outside society, which increases the risk of radicalization and violence. The polarization contributes to social division and threatens social stability.
Exploitation and vulnerability in the Global South **: Neoliberal policies have increased the exploitation of developing countries, where resources are taken without adequate compensation and people are forced to work in slave-like conditions. This has exacerbated global inequality and vulnerability in the Global South.
Climate disaster
Neoliberalism's short-term profit maximization has exacerbated the climate crisis through unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. If current trends continue, we risk large-scale conflicts over resources that could lead to climate disasters and even world war.
Pandemic and species extinction
The exploitation of natural resources has destroyed ecosystems and led to species extinction, which increases the risk of pandemics. As humans crowd closer to wildlife, the risk of virus transmission increases, just as we saw with COVID-19.
Neoliberalism was started with disinformation about Weimar inflation , the 70s crisis and the 90s crisis . They created a fear of inflation if we didn't introduce neoliberalism. But after 2020 we got greedflation anyway.
It wasn't an ism, it was the industrial companies that had poor profitability due to overproduction. People could not afford to buy everything they could produce. So they turned to the rentiers, the idle millionaires (as it was in those days) for money. And these made demands.
They got what they asked for. Among other things, short-term speculation instead of long-term construction. Which brought with it all the negative consequences listed above. Because if production is not important, neither are working people.
We should not forget that we could have stopped it, with a little political organization. But the habit of political organization had died because people had learned to trust politicians and officials. This is life-threatening.
Disagree. After all, austerity policies were invented after the First World War to restore class divisions. Then the economists Samuelson with neo-Keynesianism in the USA and Assar Lindbäck in Sweden had been working for some time before the oil crisis for arguments to be able to get rid of Keynesianism.
It is enough to give way too much power to a few academics. There were social forces behind it. In this case, that the industrial capitalists let the finance capitalists decide because they depended on them for their funding.
In the good old days they were not this. They were able to finance the companies with current profits. But when there were too many competing in the same market, with too much production efficiency, profits dried up and financiers demanded other methods. Namely, an end to industrial Keynesianism and a focus on the gambling den.
The only thing I can't explain is why neither social democrats nor all the Marxists of various stripes who abounded in the 70s could realize this and agree on counter-forces. For example. that the state taxed the passive capitalists and offered the money to the companies on better terms for all of us. With little movement pressure behind to paralyze the will of these passive capitalists.
It wasn't the first time in world history that happened.
PS. Neoliberalism is just a name for the way the upper class thinks spontaneously, said David Harvey, https://academic.oup.com/book/40603 – it's just that the upper class is usually too illiterate to formulate it. So there were some conservative academics who saw a career path for themselves by doing this sometime after the Second World War. They were richly rewarded for it. See more https://gemensam.wordpress.com/2022/03/09/en-kortkurs-i-nyliberalism/
Neoliberalism was created deliberately after the First World War and had its second major victory in 1973. Although it arose from above, it was first accepted by the right wing of the chancellery in S and then by the masses.
So clear. Excellent. 👍👍. Yes, those are the consequences for what we are facing.
A lot has been said by you.. A few lines. To
Inequality in the world is built on wealth. The inequality in society belongs to extreme wealth that belongs to less than 1/10 of one percent of the population. It has had major negative consequences on society's development.
Original economy is based on the fact that man, society and nature are all interwoven into one another in a whole that is part of a community building and livelihood.
The cause of society is man himself. A creation, where man himself is the cause and forms the goal for society. All commerce begins with some developing useful objects.
Society is a continuation of man in what the individual himself is unable to do alone. Collaboration is the basis for the entire economy being a social process. Society social process for and with each other
The whole idea of neoliberalism is that market mechanisms should be allowed to rule over the destiny of humanity. The ideology is that the market should dictate society's rules and not the other way around.
It goes against the laws of nature as the earth is a finite resource
The financial crisis in Sweden in 1992, Asia in 1997, Europe and the world in 2008 testify to this point and disarmament and methodology takes place with created or imagined crises for an international pledging of national assets and for a public privatization.
The consequence is an anti-democratic development and that the view of man as the goal and cause of social development is abandoned to become a means for capital and market goals.
In the liberal and monetary world, everything becomes "economic".
Human beings are perceived more and more as an economic raw material, product and means of monetary growth. That path does not lead to democracy but its opposite to totalitarianism.
When the democratic countries abandon what it is to be a human being to body, soul and future then there is an enslavement of her!!
Society is slipping into totalitarianism and an economic value for a government
Man's spiritual dimension in love for his neighbor is attacked and denied for life's rank and life even for God.
The time of the Antichrist is coming
Why aren't we happier when we have as much as the authorities ask of us?