[lbo-talk] Iraq: neoliberal "reform" + occupation repression

[Jim Devine]

On 3/30/06, Chuck Grimes <cgrimes at rawbw.com> wrote:
> Since neoliberal `reform' is essentially war on the working class and
> the welfare state, we can see the destruction of whole US communities all
> around us---mostly urban poverty and its attendenting symptoms:
> unemployment of course, higher infant mortality, chronic disease
> rates, etc.

neoliberal "reform" (including privatization) is _also_ a matter of
"crony capitalism," in which in-group capitalists grab previously
state-owned or state-run assets and activities at cut rates. It's also
a form of political patronage, in which the government rewards its
friends (and punishes its enemies, natch) so its friends give money
and in-kind benefits back to the politicians.
--
Jim Devine / "There can be no real individual freedom in the presence
of economic insecurity." -- Chester Bowles