Idealist; one guided by ideals;

It seems that everywhere I look, every article I read, every comment or analysis remotely related to finance, economics, or the current global malaise is directed to one aim: bringing down Neoliberalism.

Blaming neoliberalism for our current problems is convenient. Very convenient. Like communism in the 50s, drugs in the 80s, or terrorism in the naughties; neoliberal economics would seem to be this decade’s convenient source of blame for all our problems.

Declaring a ‘war’ on terror ignores the causes of terrorism.

Declaring a ‘war’ on the supply and distribution of drugs in the Global South ignores the underlying demand for them by those in the Global North.

And declaring a war on Communism ignores the underlying attractions of a system that manages to achieve a Gini Coefficient (a measure of inequality in wealth distribution) on par with more developed OECD countries, despite obvious imabalances in national wealth and GDP between them.

Blaming Neoliberal thought for our current global crisis ignores the fact that those in the Global North possess a seemingly unquenchable desire to consume above and beyond their pay grade, racking up mountains of debt and houses larger than they could possibly need or afford.

But I’m not nearly qualified to debate the problem. There are many more qualified people debating the pros and cons of neoliberlism: who were the architects, where we went wrong, and what should be done now.

Some of these are particularly good arguments. Like this particularly well thought out analysis from Crikey’s Steve Keen upon the current ideological battles being fought out between current Prime Minister Rudd and former Prime Minister Howard.

Now I would never be one to fight in the corner of Neoliberalism. If I were to resist my urge against classification and generalisation I would label myself a ’social democrat’ rather than a ‘neoliberal’. But I can’t help but wonder whether this current phase of neo-Keynesianism or anti-neoliberalism is just that: a phase.

Is neo-Keynesianism this year’s ‘black’? Like cowboy hats, leveraging, the Yo-Yo or those pants that look like adult diapers, is Neoliberalism merely out of fashion for the next couple of decades, only to rear its Hydraic head in another form … perhaps NEO-neoliberalism! Or should that be NEW-neoliberalism … do two neos make a wrong?