[lbo-talk] Defining Conservatism Down

Marvin Gandall marvgandall at videotron.ca
Mon Aug 22 11:44:12 PDT 2005


Jim Farmelant wrote:


> Big capital thus still needs parties like the Democrats
> in the US or New Labour in Great Britain to get portions
> of their neoliberal program enacted, precisely because
> the right cannot, on its own, mobilize popular support
> for such a program. Big capital needs the Democrats
> in the US or Labour in the UK to convince the general
> public that it's necessary to save the welfare state
> by destroying it.
----------------------------------- By this logic, shouldn't the capitalists have turned to Democratic and Labour politicians like Mondale, Dukakis, and Michael Foot as instruments of their post-70s offensive to privatize and deregulate the welfare state rather than to Republicans and Conservatives like Reagan and Thatcher? Shouldn't Wall Street have supported Kerry over Bush as the better bet to privatize social security and defend the tax cuts for the rich, as well as to push other items on the corporate legislative and regulatory agenda?



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