The Capitalist Coup Called Neoliberalism: How and Why it Went Down
In examining what had gone wrong in the 60s and why so many people had the audacity to demand more self-determination, the notorious Trilateral Commission convened in 1973, bringing together economic and political elites from North America, Europe, and Japan. The Commission, as described by Encyclopedia Britannica , “reflects powerful commercial and political interests committed to private enterprise and stronger collective management of global problems. Its members (more than 400 in the early 21st century) are influential politicians; banking and business executives; media, civic, and intellectual leaders.”
In 1975, Michel Crozier, Samuel P. Huntington, and Joji Watanuki published a report for the Commission, titled: “The Crisis of Democracy: On the Governability of Democracies.” In assessing the various movements that gained momentum in the 60s (racial justice, economic justice, anti-war, etc.), the report determined that these “problems” stemmed from an “excess of democracy.” Huntington specifically noted that, “the vitality of democracy in the United States in the 1960s produced a substantial increase in governmental activity and a substantial decrease in governmental authority.” The solution to this, according to the report, was to reverse direction - decrease “governmental activity” and increase “governmental authority” to restrict democratic impulses from the masses and maintain the capitalist power structure internally, while retaining “hegemonic power” internationally. In other words, rather than government serving people and regulating capitalists, government should serve capitalists and regulate people.
Since maintaining a “middle class” had become such a fragile proposition, the capitalist class forged a new direction. Rather than rely on this historical buffer and continue the concessionary and fickle balancing act , they decided it would be more effective to simply take ownership of the legislative and judicial process. This process began when executive officers from several major corporations joined together to form private groups like the Business Roundtable, for the purpose of “promoting pro-business public policy.” In other words, to make sure that the “excess of democracy” which occurred during the 60s would never return. Why? Because any such mass movement toward relinquishing power to the people is a direct threat to capitalist profit and corporate America’s existence as a collection of unaccountable, authoritarian, exceptionally powerful, private entities. The Business Roundtable, which included executives from corporations like Exxon, DuPont, General Electric, Alcoa, and General Motors, gained instant access to the highest offices of the government, becoming extremely influential in pushing for corporate tax cuts and deregulation during the Reagan era.
Since the 1980s, the Business Roundtable has run roughshod over American workers by using the federal government to:
- reduce consumer protections,
- obstruct employment stimuli,
- weaken unions,
- implement “free trade” agreements that spur offshoring and tax havens,
- ease environmental protections,
- increase corporate subsidies,
- loosen rules on corporate mergers and acquisitions,
- open avenues of profit in the private healthcare system,
- privatize education and social programs,
- and block efforts to make corporate boards more accountable.[1][2][3][4] [5]
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