Robber baron types already trended towards this with worker scrip but the productive forces weren’t developed enough to do it at scale enough to manage an entire economy like this. Amazon, Wal-Mart, Frito-Lays, Black Rock, could totally vertically integrate to the point where they sustain themselves internally and don’t need an imperial core-periphery distinction.
Neolibs will let it happen because they ideologically disagree that capitalism can’t be capitalism without markets and thus when it outcompetes the current market systems much like how the non-market systems of the USSR outcompeted capitalism during it’s time they’ll rather argue that it’s simply not doing better (imagine the anti-China articles but they’re from the UK talking about how fascist US capital can’t be doing well). Also it’ll happen in predominantly white systems so they won’t be able to out-right demonize it happening.
What distinguishes neoliberal capitalism from fascist capitalism? Not trying to make a “they’re the same picture” joke, just trying to understand.
In my head, they’re the same economic system (where markets tend to centralize), just with different techniques and messaging to the masses.
Neoliberalism: feel-good concessions, “you too can get rich if you work hard,” and directing discontent towards electoralism
Fascism: violence, “look what they took from us,” and directing discontent at demonization of out-groups
I’d say robber baron capitalism and fascism start eschewing market forces entirely whereas neoliberalism creates centralization but it still relies still on markets, labour markets, etc. Turning more and more into fascism as neoliberal consumes what’s left of those markets/frontiers for growth. Like now that they’re running out of skilled 3rd world labourers to super-exploit since China is graduating into a middle-income country, neoliberalism is collapsing and turning to fascist economy and seeking ways to push down populaces back into super-exploitation range (China, US, UK, etc.) without the need for markets at all. And the markets that do exist resemble pure gambling rather than anything close to investment since it never seeds any growth that’s productive.
That’s the conclusion I’ve come to as well. The difference between neoliberalism and fascism is the marketing and the “vibes.”
I mean, just look at where the theoretical basis of both systems comes from, namely Hayek and the Austrian school.
Are they even different techniques? Maybe the primary difference is just the speed at which public property is privatized and state institutions captured by capitalists, with the destruction of labour rights proceeding in parallel.
I might argue that neoliberalism also creates out groups, such as low wage workers and the unemployed, but then again all flavours of liberalism do that.
Neoliberalism being bodied economically both by communism and fascism would be really funny if the fascism wasn’t so horrifying.
Lenin wrote a book about this.
