Originally Posted by
Matt Jackson
As a theory, economic neo-liberalism purports to want to maximize economic freedom for the individual by reducing state interference to the bare minimum, which includes removing government restrictions from transnational movements of goods, capital and people. In order to incessantly grow, which it must do in order to survive, capitalism identifies limits, redefines them as barriers and does whatever necessary to smash through those barriers by manipulating peoples' perceptions and opening up new markets. Politicians are paid to act as accountable authority figures who have our interests in mind, and they pretend they are in total control of this process.
Reagan and Thatcher led us to believe financialization and globalization, and the rich paying less tax, would make us all wealthier due to the trickle-down effect. They really sold it to the working class and middle class, describing it as leveling out the playing field. The far left's Marxist critiques of capitalist society would be naturally undermined by everyone behaving as self-interested individuals, motivated by profit and the instinct of self-preservation, and if they were hard-working and inventive enough, the little empires they grew could have the altruistic side-effect of creating job opportunities and wealth for others. Wonderful!