Neo-liberalism itself was a response to the growing feeling in the 1960s and 70s (in Europe, at least) that socialism was running out of steam, not because it had failed, but because it had succeeded. 50 years of socialism had empowered large numbers of people, giving them welfare protection, job security, education, decent housing and purchasing power beyond their wildest dreams. The problem was that it was all done through a top-heavy state and trade union bureaucracy, which was fine as long as many people were poorly educated, but as education levels improved, they saw no reason to be told what was good for them by their (largely self-appointed) “betters”. Being myself of that generation, I know what I’m talking about here!

Alternatives? Communism? We didn’t know then what we know now about the corruption of the communist dictatorships but the communists blew their own brains out in Prague in 1968 and compounded the error in Portugal in 1974.

Hence arose neo-liberalism. The perceived evil was state bureaucracy, so why not just dismantle the state bureaucracy and leave people free to do what they wanted? Sounded great, but then came Thatcher and people saw that neo-liberalism simply meant dismantling the welfare state, artificially creating unemployment to push down wages and re-creating the sort of super-rich elite and miserable mass of poor that Europe had spent 75 years trying to get rid of. Problem was, the socialists were still preaching the old cloth-cap dogmas straight out of the 1930s. The socialists had become conservatives, so the neo-liberals became progressives! And so they got away with it! For a while anyway, until the pudding proved to be inedible! Globalisation, the natural next step in the process, became the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Communism is discredited, socialism has run out of steam, neo-liberalism is a cure worse than the disease. A new ideology for the 21st century? For the young, it’s ecology and the great blessing of ecology is that its inherently regulatory nature torpedoes the underlying deregulation ideology of neo-liberalism. Indeed, a look at the right-wing websites and news outlets will show that from libertarians all the way to neocons, that whole cabal is scared silly of ecology! So ecology it is! Let the neolobs eat cake! On condition, of course, that it’s made from healthy ingredients, obtained on fair trading terms and without damaging the flora or fauna, and is wrapped in a biodegradable package, which, needless to say, must be thrown into the trash can reserved for that type of waste. The neolibs can put that in their pipes and smoke it. As long, of course, as they don’t do it in a public place!