#1461 Neoliberalism is Hanging on for Dear Life in Changing Times
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2021
⏱️ 76 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 12/15/2021
Today we take a look at the cracks and fissures appearing ever more quickly in the neoliberal order that was already widely criticized before the pandemic stripped it bare, exposing all of the inherent inequality and inhumanity baked right into the system.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows, Bonus Content and limited release wallpaper!)
Get the Wisdom app to join my AskMeAnything on Monday, Dec 19 at 8pm EST!
Check out TenTree.com for sustainable clothing and use the code BEST for 15% off!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Store BotL MERCHANDISE!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Advertise Sponsor the show!
SHOW NOTES
Where we examine most popular cliches, jargon, etc that economists, economic reports, and pundits use to sanitize, obscure and provide a little science-ism to what is little more than power-flattering cruel, racist, austerity ideology.
Sam and Emma host Jonathan Levy, professor of History at the University of Chicago, to discuss his recent book Ages of American Capitalism: A History of the United States.
Ch. 3: Noam Chomsky Part 1 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 11-20-21
Noam Chomsky to discuss a whole raft of issues, including the climate crisis, the military budget, healthcare, challenging the corporate structure, reforming both the tax system and our elections, and how the Democrats have abandoned the working class
Ch. 5: Noam Chomsky Part 2 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 11-20-21
Ch. 6: Reagan on Employee Ownership
Ch. 7: Ecology, Co-ops, and Profit - Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff - Air Date 12-8-21
Prof. Wolff interviews Prof. Melissa Scanlan on her new book showing how coops are a better bet than traditional capitalist corporations to solve current ecological crises.
Sam and Emma host Jonathan Levy, professor of History at the University of Chicago, to discuss his recent book Ages of American Capitalism: A History of the United States.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Many blue states are actually doing worse in some areas than red states. It is in blue states where affordable housing is often hardest to find, there are some of the most acute disparities in education funding and economic inequality.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 10: Personal disability experience - Jade from Upstate New York
Ch. 11: Thoughts on human nature and systems - Quai from North Carolina
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on the nature of laws and morality
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award winning best of left podcast in which we shall take |
| 0:07.2 | a look at the cracks and fissures appearing ever more frequently in the neoliberal order |
| 0:12.3 | that was already widely criticized before the pandemic stripped it completely bare exposing |
| 0:18.4 | all of the inherent inequality and inhumanity baked right into the system. Clips today are |
| 0:24.6 | from citations needed, the majority report, the Ralph Nader Radio Hour and Economic Updates |
| 0:30.5 | with an additional members only clip from the New York Times. |
| 0:40.0 | One thing that I'd love to hear your thoughts on is the idea that economics as a field of study, |
| 0:48.8 | as a concept kind of unto itself is a science, right? It's a cold, rational, almost academic exercise, |
| 0:56.8 | unconcerned with emotion. And this idea that you can just kind of study or understand economics |
| 1:03.5 | or even further, organize your entire society around, quote unquote, economics or the economy, |
| 1:10.4 | any economy. Oftentimes comes with another idea embedded in it kind of implicit to it, sometimes |
| 1:17.5 | glaringly explicit, but also quite gendered. The idea that the economy is set up, ordered, |
| 1:24.4 | operated by serious men making tough choices in our imperfect world. Now, how does this idea, |
| 1:32.0 | this kind of, you know, cigar filled back room is how the economy operates, but it's also very |
| 1:38.2 | cold and rational, right? It's not like human beings making concerted decisions. How does this |
| 1:43.2 | suppose a detachment from emotion help make some of the pruer elements of the economics of our time |
| 1:50.2 | of the profession of an economist? How does that kind of almost embedded cruelty, gendered |
| 1:56.3 | cruelty often become more palatable? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, well, first of all, |
| 2:00.9 | everything is political economics is political science is political. So to say, well, economics |
| 2:06.9 | is just cold hard science. Well, science is not cold hard science as we can see during the course |
| 2:12.5 | of the pandemic, obviously, and through many other examples. So that whole idea, I think, is a fallacy, |
| 2:19.6 | but I think in particular this idea that you're kind of drawing out, right? That it's, well, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.