Neoliberalism: The Zombie Doctrine

Check out this article on neoliberalism. It's a good analysis of what it is and why we unconsciously accept it. And it's true that we need to find a socio-economic system to replace it. But he is mistaken that as of now progressives don't have an alternative. The Neo-Commons is alive and well and gaining strength daily and fulfills all of the necessary requirements. Perhaps the author is also so embedded in capitalism that he can't see what is blatantly in front of him? An excerpt:

"So pervasive has neoliberalism become that we seldom even recognise it as an ideology. We appear to accept the proposition that this utopian, millenarian faith describes a neutral force; a kind of biological law, like Darwin’s theory of evolution. But the philosophy arose as a conscious attempt to reshape human life and shift the locus of power.

"Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.

"Attempts to limit competition are treated as inimical to liberty. Tax and regulation should be minimised, public services should be privatised. The organisation of labour and collective bargaining by trade unions are portrayed as market distortions, that impede the formation of a natural hierarchy of winners and losers. Inequality is recast as virtuous: a reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles down to enrich everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counter-productive and morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve."