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The Neoliberalism Order Begins to Crack
Callinicos, Alex
http://isj.org.uk/the-neoliberal-order-begins-to-crack/Date Written: 2017-03-29 Publisher: International Socialism Year Published: 2017 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX21082 Western ruling classes are now beginning to suffer political payback for 40 years of neoliberalism and nearly ten years of economic crisis. Abstract: - Excerpt: It's true that Trump has stuffed his cabinet with generals and business people -- despite running against Wall Street he's been especially kind to former Goldman Sachs bankers. One can, however, identify two ingredients in the new administration's ideological mix -- Reaganism and the racist and populist right. Reaganism in this context means deregulation, tax cuts and higher military spending. All this plays well with sections of the Republican Party and with the financial markets--it's the prospect that Trump will give business a bonanza that has sent shares soaring to record levels. The racist and populist right is another proposition. Its most important representative in the White House is Stephen Bannon, ex-chair of the alt-right website Breitbart News and now Trump's chief strategist. Bannon's political power was underlined when he was appointed a member of the key Principals Committee of the National Security Council, while both the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of national intelligence were not. Bannon is widely credited (if that's the right way of putting it) with the cannonade of executive orders after the inauguration on 20 January, most notably the entry ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. Subject Headings |