Thursday, May 08, 2008
Jeffrey Sachs, Neoliberal Anarchist
Say what!? Sachs, in his work Common Wealth, also advocates the abolition of states in the face of a crowded planet?? The same Jeffrey Sachs responsible for shock therapy in the Eastern bloc after the collapse of the Soviet Union? Apparently, he's created a new socioeconomic way of evaluating society: neoliberal anarchism. Anyone know more about it?. . . A narrative of catastrophe is gradually building – stockpile or perish. The Wall Street Journal (April 25) was one of the first to issue the clarion call: ‘Start Hoarding Food Americans!’ The paper had various suggestions. Stock up on some products – dried pasta, rice, cereals, canned products. Buy them all in bulk to save. Sit the children down give them a good talking to – no, not about the birds and the bees, but about ‘how our generation and the two behind it, screwed their world into a death spiral through greed and predatory capitalism.’
Solutions suggested by such economists as Jeffrey Sachs, somewhat patchy yet desperately needed, are forthcoming: allow easier access for sub-Saharan African farmers to fertilizers; reduce the amount of crops going into bio-fuel development; shore-up climate change policies. Sachs, in his work Common Wealth, also advocates the abolition of states in the face of a crowded planet. But it was state regimes besotted by neoliberal economics that brought us here. They can take us back and remedy the damage. Abolishing them would simply absolve their regimes.
Labels: Anarchism, Neoliberalism
