Re: "leftist neoliberalism"

[Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Mike P:
> "Leftist neoliberalism may not be as paradoxical as it seems.

the Libertarian Party used to have a 2-dimensional diagram to describe
differences in political ideology (along with a self-test which, if I
remember correctly, was biased to suggest that the taker was a
libertarian). I don't remember what was measured along the axes, but
it was something like this:

left vs. right: sympathy for the poor vs. sympathy for the rich.

up vs. down: centralized solutions vs. decentralized solutions
(allowing more individual freedom).

a "leftist neoliberal" would involve sympathy for the poor but seeking
decentralized solutions.

I would replace the up/down axis with "top-down solutions vs.
bottom-up (popular democratic) solutions" (or maybe it's a third
dimension). Neoliberals say they believe in decentralized solutions,
but they are imposed from above (the IMF, World Bank, US Treasury,
empowering big companies and banks and the rich in general).
--
Jim Devine
"Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let
people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.