Neoliberalism is destroying Europe

[CHIMO]

The European sovereign debt crisis, which was caused by member states' public debt but increased because of the actions taken to rescue the banks after the 2008 crisis, demonstrates at least three things. First, that currency does not exist without a state. Second, that capitalism cannot be managed by the market alone. And third, that the austerity measures will not bring Europe out of the crisis but will in fact continue to make it worse – until the euro crashes.

However, the most important point to emerge from the crisis is that Europe's political reinvention will depend exclusively on the social struggle against neoliberal politics. Neoliberalism, the absurd idea of economic government based solely on the market and its ability to self-regulate, is at the root of the great illusion of a leaderless Europe supposedly unified by a euro that has controlled the internal economic and social differences according to the logic of the financial markets.

And yet, neoliberalism is still the only language used by European politicians to confront the crisis and to face the social conflicts that will break out over the next few months. There exists no European government; only management of austerity measures and of repression.

The European banking stress tests were of little use – they only breathed a bit of life back into the German and French banks that had been exposed to the sovereign debt of the outlying countries of the EU. The recent economic successes of Germany – the increase in exports, in particular to areas outside the eurozone – cannot reverse the direction of the euro's crisis.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/14/neoliberal-europe-union-austerity-crisis

[aquart]

1. Dunno about the neo but it sounds con, not liberal.

[happyslug]

5. Outside the US, Liberals means what we in America calls Conservative.

Liberal economics is the economic system desired by business. Liberal Economics includes keeping the state out of the economy and leaving the economy do as its pleases, even if this means cutting wages, jobs and the country itself.

In the 1932 election BOTH FDR and Hoover called themselves Liberals and Hoover wanted to debate FDR on that very issue. The reason Hoover was using the traditional definition of liberalism, while FDR was using the term Liberal to include concepts called progressive in the US since the 1880s. The GOP had attacked the work Progressive so much, that FDR decided it was better to call his programs Liberal then Progressive. In out eyes the New Deal was "liberal" but in the eyes of the GOP it was NOT. The GOP call things liberal when you had the right to do with it as you saw fit, even if it harm others and the country as a hold. If you did not want to serve African Americans, liberals said that was your rights, as it was your right to serve African Americans. It was ANTI-liberal to permit the Government to prevent OR require such service. Thus a Liberal of the 1920s supported opposition to segregation, but then in the 1970s the same people (by then called Conservatives) opposed affirmative action to correct the problems caused by segregation.

My point is liberalism has always means that Society and the Government has a hand's off attitude to most things, including what people do in their homes, what they produce (including pollution), and do with their property as their see fit, even if that means millions of people lose their livelihoods.

In Europe, most "Liberal" Groups ending up backing Hitler in the 1930s for the simple reason their opposed Communism. Thus in the post WWII era only the Socialist groups in Europe had any respect (most had opposed Hitler). The Conservative went back to their Liberal Roots and called themselves Liberals in the sense of opposing social/Government control over business/Industry/Finance. Thus the Liberal Party of Japan was one of the most Conservative Governments Japan has had (except if you exclude the reactionaries of the Pre WWII and WWII Eras). The Various Liberal Parties in Europe have the same attitude, pro-business more then anything else.

Thus Liberal Economics has meant and does mean what we in the US call Conservatives Economic Policy. Liberal is a bad name in the US for the GOP has attacked Liberals since the 1960s, but that is NOT true of Europe.

Just some background on the term "Liberal" as it is used in the rest of the world and some history of what it means progressive in the US.

[aquart]

6. That makes my head hurt.

Like when I learned that British public schools are private schools.

[mix]

2. Neoliberalism is destroying the world. nt

[stevenleser]

3. "Neoliberalism" and its derivatives are meaningless pejoratives. n/t

[OHdem10]

4. Neoconservatism--Free Market Theory(Let the Markets rule)

"The Invisible Hand of the Market will right all wrongs.". I think
we see what leaving everything to the Markets has wrought here
in the states. Often NeoLiberalism and Neoconservatism are used
interchangeably. This makes sense: in Europe Liberalism is
almost the same as Moderate Republican in this country. Old Labour
Party and Liberals in this country are more similar philosophically.
Neoliberalism is described as DLC on google. IMO, it is on the
way to assisting the Conservatives in ruining this country.

They just want to keep digging the hole deeper.

Unrest has been predicted throughout Europe.