[WS:] But that has always been true, no? But it did not have much impact on Euro states in the past. So why has that changed now? I mean the opportunities comparable to the current crisis existed in the past - e.g. stagflation of the 1970s - yet did not produce similar outcomes.
My hunch is that what changed is not bureaucracy per se, but the general stance of the intelligentsia or 'expert class' if you will. Throughout mot of the 20th century, Keynesianism and social welfarism was a generally accepted in the mainstream social thinking and the experts advising government on policy issues came from that environment and with those ideas (cf. lord Beveridge - the architect of the British welfare state.) However, since the 1970 the academia in the US and Europe has been inculcated with neo-liberal ideology - first econ departments, then policy departments (Bourdieu shows that quite nicely in his book "Homo Acadamicus" written in the 1980s) then other disciplines jumping on the "business model" bandwagon - and that inculcation eventually swayed the consensus of the entire "expert class."
So the outcome of this sea change in the stance of expertocracy is that the dominant advice that governments receive from policy wonks is consistent with neoliberal thinking - while thinking along keynesian and welfarist lines is considered "outdated." The DLC Democrats (Clinton, Obama & Co.) are a prime example - their policies were entirely neo-liberal in principle if not in appearance. Even the stimulus package was not the "old time" fiscal policy (e.g. government purchasing goods ans services ) but neoliberal ones (tax credits and subsidies.)
Wojtek
On Wed, Oct 6, 2010 at 11:30 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Oct 6, 2010, at 11:14 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
>
>> So if Hudson's argument is true, it means a rather dramatic change of
>> not just policies, but also the entire governance mode - a course that
>> may wreck not just the working class but also certain groups of
>> capitalists (e.g. manufacturing.) This, in turn, begs the question
>> how such a dramatic turnaround has been accomplished in a system that
>> was designed for muffling conflicts, balancing opposing class
>> interests , and maintaining system stability by "buying social peace."
>> The finance capital might have grabbed the UK by its balls, but I do
>> not think it is an unstoppable force in Germany, France and a host of
>> other continental Europe countries where manufacturing still matters a
>> lot.
>
> I think the Euro-elite has envied the wealth and power of their American counterparts for a long time. The current crisis gives them a chance to fight a class war from above - and so far, despite some street demos, they're largely getting away with it. When there's no war coming from below there's no need to buy social peace.
>
> Doug
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