https://solosalon.clinamenic.com/prospectus?s=09
Much of the evolution of our economic regimes over the last few centuries, and particularly during the twentieth century, can be understood as a dialogue between the values of individual economic liberty and collective economic welfare. These values are often embodied in policies and ideologies in such ways that present them as inherently antagonistic to one another, but such is not necessarily the case.
Indeed, one could meaningfully interpret the great geopolitical conflicts of the twentieth century as a contention between an economic order prioritizing individual economic liberty, namely liberal democracy, and the orders prioritizing collective economic welfare, namely the various forms of statist collectivism such as communism and national socialism. In choosing to understand this portion of our history this way, namely in a dialectical fashion, one can argue that liberal democracy erred too far in the interest of the individual, entailing widening economic disparities, whereas communism and national socialism erred too far in the interest of collective, entailing a suppression of pluralistic individual autonomy.
This discourse aims to provide a conceptual framework for understanding how the values of individual economic liberty can be reconciled with the values of collective economic welfare, and to set the stage for some more distilled and cogent discourse to follow. Toward this aim, a certain degree of terminological clarification is warranted, as well as an explanation of the epistemological approach taken toward constructing such a framework. Cursory definitions will be provided for the following terms: individualism, collectivism, progressivism, liberalism, market fundamentalism, and capitalism.
The terms ‘individualism’ and ‘collectivism’ are here understood largely in distinction from one another, where individualism refers to the set of values, economic or otherwise, pertaining more to individual interests, whereas collectivism pertains more to the interests of the collective in which the individual is a member.
Individualism, in the economic sense, is commonly associated with the freedom to conduct one’s own economic activities and business enterprises, relatively free from the coercion of some sovereign or collective state entity. Individualism here is understood in the foregoing sense, and not in the pejorative sense in which it refers to selfish behavior. Indeed, individualism so understood is arguably the basis of the western trends of the enlightenment and the industrial revolution, insofar as the individual became empowered, as an autonomous agent, to engage in free trade and pursue knowledge in manners relatively unencumbered by dogma.
The term ‘liberalism’ is understood in its classical economic sense, referring to economies where the state or governing authority exercises minimal intervention in market dynamics, and instead allows competitive markets to shape the economy at large. It is worth noting that the term ‘economic liberty’ is not interpreted as freedom from want, as it is understood from a collectivist perspective, but rather as the freedom to make economic decisions, as it is understood from a classical perspective. That is, the freedom to create businesses, develop products, and set prices in a competitive fashion, rather than in a fashion entirely prescribed by a central institution planning the economy.
The term ‘market fundamentalism’ is here used to refer to a set of values and mode of logic whereby markets are treated as the ultimate determinant of the general welfare of society. Some degree of market fundamentalism tends to undergird liberalism in general, but this degree varies, as will be addressed later.
The term ‘capitalism’ thankfully will not be used as heavily in this discourse, but it will be interpreted as shorthand for an industrialized liberal political-economic order wherein companies and individuals practice the profitable deployment of capital. The term ‘capital’ is taken in its classical sense, namely that portion of a person’s wealth which that person uses to generate revenue, as opposed to that portion of a person’s wealth which is consumed or otherwise spent in consumptive fashion.
The term ‘collectivism’ is taken to refer to a class of ideologies and value systems in which the interests of the collective are widely prioritized over those of the individual. This term can run the spectrum from the more totalitarian forms of collectivism, where individual opinions and pursuits can be suppressed by state institutions, to the more moderate forms of collectivism, which are concerned with protecting basic interests of the collective, such as the democratic rule of law and certain social welfare provisions.
The term ‘progressivism’ is here understood as a set of values concerned with the advancement of human welfare and, at least lately, the promotion of greater equitability across demographic disparities and the empowerment of historically disenfranchised communities. While progressivism is not necessarily a form of collectivism, it often involves collectivistic means, such as certain state programs, toward its desired ends.
While certain collectivistic means employed toward progressive ends can render progressivism incompatible with liberalism, progressive ends can also be pursued by means more amenable to the values of liberalism. Indeed, the conceptualization of such means is a chief aim of this discourse. Before that, however, a word is warranted on the epistemological nature of this discourse, to prevent the risk of my discursive methodology confusing the reader.
The mode of this discourse can be understood as a sort of auto-discourse, insofar as the discourse is not only about its topic of choice, but also about the development of the author’s understanding of said topic, the methods employed to aid such development, and how the reader may choose to emulate said methods.
The term ‘rhizome’ is a concept taken from post-structural continental philosophy, referring to an epistemological approach where, instead of attempting to distill everything down into a single absolute understanding, a plurality of possible understandings are advanced, accommodating an assortment of perspectives. The discourse itself can be understood as a rhizomatic prospectus, tasked with laying out a variety of related lines of inquiry jointly geared around the unifying topic, namely the balancing of individual economic liberty with collective economic welfare. The reasoning here is twofold: firstly, that the subject matter at hand involves a number of conflicting value systems which may each suffer disservice if a monolithic discursive approach is taken; and secondly, that proper liberalism is fundamentally a pluralistic regime insofar as it empowers individuals to pursue their varied interests, rather than conform to some authoritarian set of values.
The term ‘prospectus’ merely designates an exploratory and prognostic mode of discourse, in which solutions are worked towards and suggested for consideration, rather than definitively prescribed. That is to say, this discourse is chiefly tasked with aiding the reader in their own sensemaking efforts regarding the reconciliation of individual economic liberty with collective economic welfare. Given the complex, multifaceted, and often terminologically ambiguous nature of the subject matter, the reader may benefit from a discursive approach which presents solutions in provisional and circumstantially qualified capacities, rather than in absolute capacities. It is also worth noting that this discourse is intended to resonate with readers from a variety of ideological perspectives, indeed socialists and capitalists alike, which is arguably the primary forcing function justifying this otherwise byzantine format.
What is perhaps most fundamentally important in understanding neoliberalism is the distinction between its intellectual basis and its reality as a globalized political economy, and the manner in which the former has diverged from the latter over the course of the twentieth century.
Intellectually, neoliberalism is a return to classical liberal economics, or ‘liberalism’ in the classical economic sense. In order to understand neoliberalism, and how it constitutes a novel intellectual and political regime, we must first address liberalism. While the history of markets and their structure is much older, the origins of liberalism proper are mostly associated with 18th century economic thinkers such as Adam Smith. The primary thesis of liberalism is that markets, when left alone by sovereign powers, naturally tend toward arrangements in which the general prosperity of the people is best promoted.