A commentator asked here last night, in the context of the discussion on neoliberalism:
Who is your audience and what do you want them to understand? You are a talented communicator, unlike Keen who obsesses with spreadsheet models, but I am not sure what you are trying to achieve. I was always taught that your audience will remember at most 3 things if you are lucky.
I find it odd that people can be confused about what I am trying to do in my work. But the comment made me think. This is my response. I reserve the right to refine it.
My audience is anyone who wants to understand why our economy is failing to meet people's needs and what we can do about it.
I am not seeking power for myself. I have never sought that. I am promoting the politics of care, which is about creating a society that puts people and their needs first.
To achieve that, I believe people must be empowered through education. They need to understand how the economy really works so that they have the knowledge, confidence and agency to demand change from the bottom up.
Neoliberalism has colonised our thinking. It has even taken away much of the language we need to imagine alternatives. We have been taught to think that markets know best, that government is powerless and that there is no alternative to the way things are.
We need to reclaim that language, challenge those assumptions and rediscover what democratic government can achieve.
That is why I talk about neoliberalism. Unless people understand the ideology that has constrained their choices, how can they recognise that other possibilities exist?
My objective is not simply to communicate three memorable messages. It is to help people think differently, so that they can create change for themselves.
That is what I am doing.
And what is neoliberalism? Try this:
Neoliberalism is the politics of austerity.
In economics, it is the belief that private businesses and markets do things better than governments, and that making profits matters more than meeting people's needs.
I think the word will definitely stay in my lexicon.
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I had occasion yesterday to look up your glossary definition of neoliberalism, and I much prefer the more concise description you have given in today’s blog post. It makes perfect sense and I imagine most people could relate to it easily. Thank you.
My thinking develops over time.
Another question worthy of an explanation, is why does nobody on the right of politics ever use the term neoliberalism?
They do not wish to confess their sins.