New York Intelligencer: Chris Murphy Wants Democrats to Break Up With Neoliberalism

[Dennis Donovan]

New York Intelligencer - (archived: https://archive.ph/cteRs ) Chris Murphy Wants Democrats to Break Up With Neoliberalism

The Democratic senator speaks out about the future of his party.

By Sarah Jones, senior writer for Intelligencer who covers politics and labor

November 20, 2024
5:00 A.M.

/snip/

Over the last several years, you’ve often warned that the postwar neoliberal order is breaking down, and I was curious to know how you define neoliberalism and how you’ve reached that conclusion.

Neoliberalism is a belief that markets and in particular global markets will work for the benefit of the common good with light adjustments here or there by the government. I think neoliberalism is also about the belief in the individual as the hero of every story as opposed to the community or the collective. And so as a result, both Democrats and Republicans have been very reluctant over the past 40 years to do anything to disrupt existing markets, in particular international markets, and have sort of let society and culture and our economy slide away from a focus on the common good, instead believing that we should just align incentives so that each individual is able to have a shot at material wealth. So that to me is kind of the definition that I use in my head.

Many would argue that neoliberalism has become a core tenet of Democratic Party politics and remains so today. Do you think that’s true? And if so, why did you decide to become so critical of it?

I think there’s a fight inside the Democratic Party today about whether or not neoliberalism has permanently failed. There are still plenty of market believers and market fundamentalists inside the Democratic Party, but I would argue Joe Biden made a pretty material break from neoliberal orthodoxy. His unabashed public support for labor unions, his revitalization of industrial policy, albeit targeted industrial policy, and his work to rebuild American antitrust power was all a recognition that we needed to move beyond our neoliberal failures. And one of my frustrations is that President Biden and Vice-President Harris didn’t lead their economic messaging by talking about their break with neoliberalism, their belief in the need to break up corporate power, their belief in the need to revitalize labor unions. So the policy was really good. I just don’t think the rhetoric always matched the policy.

/snip

[Autumn]

1. A family secret we don't talk about?

[FakeNoose]

2. To me, and maybe I'm wrong, neoliberalism is equivalent to "Bernie-Sanders"-ism

... and Bernie Sanders never joined our Party.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. yeah, that's wrong. Murphy is a lot closer:

"Neoliberalism is a belief that markets and in particular global markets will work for the benefit of the common good with light adjustments here or there by the government. I think neoliberalism is also about the belief in the individual as the hero of every story as opposed to the community or the collective."

[gab13by13]

6. Neoliberalism came from Ronald Reagan

The horse and sparrow economic theory; Feed the horse more oats and the sparrows will have plenty to eat. That is neoliberalism.

[k0rs]

20. Agree w/WhiskeyGrinder

Murphy's definition is more like Ayn Rand-ism.

[gab13by13]

5. So that's your criticism of Bernie?

Maybe Democrats needed an FDR type politician like Bernie? He certainly appeals to working class Americans.

We need more outspoken Senators like Bernie.

[LT Barclay]

16. An unfortunate and confusing label. Laissez faire capitalism is also accurate.

So liberalism for corporations and indentured servitude for the rest of us.
Or think of it as liberalism that a neoconservative could fail in love with.

[elleng]

27. VERY confusing.

[LearnedHand]

31. No. Neoliberalism is what we have now

With the standard Democratic polices. Bernie Sanders and AOC and Elizabeth Warren are the antidote to neoliberalism.

[H2O Man]

35. Correct.

[gab13by13]

3. Joe Biden is the first president who actually did break with neoliberalism.

He taxed the rich a minimum 15%. He forgave student loans. He got huge bills passed that created working class jobs.

He was the first president to walk in a union picket line.

President Biden took on the 1%.

[UniqueUserName]

7. Yep. Don't blame Biden for the foolishness of the voters /nt

[CTyankee]

8. Chris Murphy is my Senator and I like him a lot. He and Dick Blumenthal.

I want more Chris Murphys and progressive women leading us. It is frustrating to me that we don't and now face this monster Trump again. But what Chris and RIchard's pollsters are telling them right now is unknown to me, a constituent of theirs. I guess Connecticut is outside the mainstream.

Right now in New Haven if I polled the people on my block, my guess is nearly 100% voted Dem at the top of the ticket.

[elleng]

29. I'd guess Conn WAY out of the mainstream, as likely the wealthiest.

[CTyankee]

32. Yes, but for different reasons. My husband, over the years, worked at every level of government (never feeling it was a

bad thing to do) and has pensions to this day. He also inherited valuable property from his parents (who were public school teachers). We do have high taxes in CT but we have valuable services. We will probably not outlive all of our money but not much to leave to our kids/grandkids. We are happy here; New Haven has a nice vibe for us at least.

[elleng]

33. Glad you're happy there, yank; thought so.

My adopted mother was born there, and aunt and uncle had a house on RFD #5 in New Milford, along the Housatonic river.

We, from NY, thought of it as our 'country' place; we visited holidays, went to Candlewood Lake, and brought a tree in from their property for Chanukah/Christmas. Aunt had served in army as nurse in Europe during WWII, and uncle lost much of his hearing 'over there,' which is where they met. I think he worked for a utility, in/near Danbury, making/repairing stuff.

[BannonsLiver]

9. While we're at it I can think of a few more things and people that need to go as well.

[Prairie Gates]

10. YAAAAAAS!

Clintonism is dead. Go hard left.

[gab13by13]

12. Define hard left

[LT Barclay]

19. FDR redux. Guided by the 4 freedoms with the goal of his second bill of rights

[electric_blue68]

28. Oh! You're the first poster I've possibly seen who's talked about FDR's Seond Bill of Rights than myself!

I learned about it from Thom Hartman back in Air America days!

[LT Barclay]

34. My wife gave me a book that included a CD of some of his important speeches and fireside chats

The book gave background on each audio segment.
To say I was stunned by his second bill of rights is an understatement. I know he wasn’t perfect but was a beautiful vision of what this country could have been.
My wife is funny though, when I told her what was there, she said “oh, they must have killed him”. I told her that I had never heard even a rumor of that. She said “I don’t care, the wealthy would never let that happen”.
And at least we 2 remember. Maybe we should make the contents a post.

[electric_blue68]

36. I was pretty amazed, myself! Never learned about it in school - even in a liberal leaning specialized HS in NYC!

Might not be a bad idea to remind people.

While he was not perfect this would have been such a safer basis for a decent, even more comfortable living for many more people!

[Solly Mack]

11. K&R

[Passages]

13. Long overdue.

[Linda ladeewolf]

14. Where corporations and most wealthy people are involved

The little people on the bottom, their needs, desires and lives are not important. We are easily replaced. I think we need to adopt the attitude that the wealthy and corporations are easily replaced, a huge corporation can be easily broken up into many smaller companies that could be run without the ability to monopolize a customer base. That would increase competition and force them to lower prices. Right now there is very little competition because so many huge corporations own most of everything and they work together to fleece the rest of us.

[LT Barclay]

22. There's a great Sierra Club magazine article about this

I tried to grab a link for you but can’t on my phone.
At the magazine website search for “meet the corporation” it’s from 2005 but a powerful and revelatory article

[LT Barclay]

23. There's a great Sierra Club magazine article about this

I tried to grab a link for you but can’t on my phone.
At the magazine website search for “meet the corporation” it’s from 2005 but a powerful and revelatory article

[orwell]

24. Neoliberalism shouldn't necessarily create...

...the great concentrations of power we see globally today. In fact that is the result of a lack of normal market constraints that should be exercised by the government to curb monopoly power. That is a political policy breakdown due to the corporate capture of most of our politicians. It is not a function of neoliberalism per se. It was engineered by Oligarchs.

When we abrogated any form of of anti-trust, the capitalist model breaks down. "Free market" capitalism requires competition.

Inflation needs two things to occur, a concentration of supply whether real or manufactured (monopoly corporations), and inelastic demand. No matter how much the price of eggs, milk, or real estate went up, we as consumers kept buying it.
Our household didn't but we a a drop in the bucket.

The inflation problem was our problem as consumers. We couldn't stop buying, even if it meant going into monstrous debt. The monopoly corporations sensed this and kept raising prices.

Oil prices fell below zero in the commodity markets during the pandemic. The most important commodity in the industrial world fell below zero one afternoon during settlement, Let that sink in for a second. That shouldn't be possible. But it happened.

Neoliberalism or not, consumers have always been in charge. They just don't realize it.

That is also engineered.

We are the commodity...

[LT Barclay]

37. And any wealth or benefits we have is a target.

I’ve been calling it “vampire capitalism” because if there is an “artery” i.e. they want to tap into it.

[mathematic]

15. What year does Chris Murphy think it is?

How far behind the times is he that he doesn't realize that liberalism has been dead across the spectrum for nearly a decade. But go on, keep talking about "community" and the "collective" while, somehow inexplicably shedding support in those very communities you say you support. What an embarrassing misread of the moment.

[Autumn]

18. The topic he's discussing is neoliberalism, not liberalism

Neoliberalism is distinct from liberalism insofar as it does not advocate laissez-faire economic policy, but instead is highly constructivist and advocates a strong state to bring about market-like reforms in every aspect of society.

Post # 16 nailed it.

[Nanjeanne]

17. Me too Sen. Murphy. Me too.

[dalton99a]

21. Future D debate: "You're a neoliberal" "No neoliberal, no neoliberal. You're the neoliberal"

Voters: "What the fuck is a neoliberal?"

[comradebillyboy]

30. Anything I don't like must be neoliberal. That's how

the term is usually used here on DU. Anything to the right of Bernie Sanders is neoliberal you know.

[soandso]

25. Neo liberalism

The Dutch and British East India companies revived.

[Blue Full Moon]

26. Conservatives are the neoliberalism