Monday, October 18, 2010

"a pastoral fantasy"

I learnt from this essay by Benjamin Noys that Foucault wrote about neoliberalism too.

A text by the German economist Wilhelm Röpke from 1950 sets out the objectives of government as allowing access to private property, reducing urban sprawl, to be replaced with private housing, the development of craft and small enterprises (described by Röpke as ‘non-proletarian’), and the organic reconstruction of society on the basis of community, family, and the local; as Foucault says: ‘You will recognize this text; it has been repeated 25,000 times for the last 25 years.’

I will list the objectives he fixes: first, to enable as far as possible everyone to have access to private property; second, the reduction of huge urban sprawls and the replacement of large suburbs with a policy of medium-sized towns, the replacement of the policy and economics of large housing blocks with a policy and economics of private houses, the encouragement of small farms in the countryside, and the development of what he calls non-proletarian industries, that is to say, craft industries and small businesses; third, decentralization of places of residence, production, and management, correction of the effects of specialization and the: division of labor; and the organic reconstruction of society on the basis of natural communities, families, and neighborhoods; finally, generally organizing, developing, and controlling possible effects of the environment arising either from people living together or through the development of enterprises and centers of production.

I was reminded of this by these comments, by former Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin:

"A large number of the Arabs and Turks living in this city (Berlin) has no productive function other than selling fruit and vegetables".

Herr Sarrazin objects precisely to Arabs and Turks' retention of petit bourgeois modes of living, and their failure to enthusiastically take up positions as shelf stackers at the Aldi. Together with Chancellor Merkel's lamentations about these same workers' lack of reverence for Pombär, these comments wonderfully illustrate the decomposition of rational thought among the German élite.

Neoliberalism is an ideology that does not realise its worldview. The Roman Empire, or the Islamic Caliphate, attempted to impose a system their leaders approved. Even the Soviet Union imposed an economic system - the bureaucratic command economy - that its leadership understood and approved. Neoliberalism is a sort of pastoral fantasy, created by Western capitalism's own bureaucracy, in place of the scientific analysis that they are incapable of producing.

2 comments:

Free Ads said...

╔═════════════════════╗
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
║░█░░░░████░████░████®║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░████░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░██░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░████░████░████░████░║
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
╚═════════════════════╝

╔═════════════════════╗
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
║░█░░░░████░████░████®║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░████░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░██░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░████░████░████░████░║
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
╚═════════════════════╝

╔═════════════════════╗
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
║░█░░░░████░████░████®║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░████░█░░░░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░██░█░░█░║
║░█░░░░█░░░░█░░█░█░░█░║
║░████░████░████░████░║
║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║
╚═════════════════════╝

***** said...

both quotations represent a distorted reflection of a common practice, you say? may be so