We Need New Political Story To Replace Neoliberalism
By Mark Karlin for Truthout - Starting with the formation by Friedrich Hayek and others of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947, the neoliberals, with sponsorship from some very rich backers, built a kind of international network. They set up think tanks, sponsored and captured academic departments, brought journalists and editors into their meetings, and managed to insert advisers into key political departments. They knew that, when Keynesian social democracy was broadly accepted by parties across the political spectrum, that they had no chance of immediate success. But they were patient. Across the course of 30 years, they built their networks, refined their arguments, and brought more and more people into their orbit. They knew that when an economic or political crisis came along, they would be ready to go. As Milton Friedman remarked, "When the time came that you had to change ... there was an alternative ready there to be picked up." Every generation or so, political stories need to be refreshed or replaced. But most importantly, they had something which their opponents did not: a new story.
