Odourcolon asks: Do you think it’s possible to get rid of the neoliberalist thought process that seems to have dominated, and ruined (?), the UK over the past few decades?
Doodah70 asks: Aditya, what does getting rid of neo liberalism actually mean? It seems to be a narrative of taking us back to the economic policies of the 1970s and has a rose tinted view of that period ignoring inflation, IMF bailouts and mass industrial unrest and strike action. Is there an example of a country that doesn’t follow neo-liberal ideas, that is successful, that we can emulate?
Aditya says: Hello both, these are very good questions. I rarely use the term neoliberal in my own writing. Partly because i am not sure enough readers will have a clear sense of what it means, as Doodah says, and partly because when i am talking about neoliberalism i might be referring to:
1) handing public assets to private actors
2) reducing the active role of the state in providing essentials
3) weakening the power of labour
4) the bulldozing of institutions such as trade unions and the BBC
And on and on
Some of these processes are well described by the political economist Will Davies when he describes the ideology of neoliberalism as “the disenchantment of politics by economics”.
The reality is that few countries have gone as far down the same path as the UK: the first country to industrialise and the first rich country really to de-industrialise. The first social democratic polity to privatise at this scale. Filleting the BBC, an institution which so many other countries envy
Not all of this can be reversed, at least by much. I can’t see a quick path back to major manufacturing status – not now we’ve destroyed our supply chains. After starting on his March of the Makers, George Osborne did not make it far. (For a different view of this problem, look at Reindustrialise Britain, by Costas Lapavitsas, my dear former colleague Larry Elliott and Doug Nicholls
But other avenues look more promising. Look at what Angela Rayner has begun with employment rights and renters rights – many in politics know some of the problems, it’s just that their solutions are too bitty.
John Buckler asks: Please, can you justify for me private education in our society when it sucks up our scant resources to over-educate the mediocre, elevating them to positions of power eg Mogg, Gove, Johnson, Farage ?
Aditiya says: Thank you for your kind invitation, John, but I must decline.
George Fidler asks: On your podcast Radical Thinking why did you interview Michael Gove – someone whose politics are as orthodox as they can be in Britain? A similar thing happened with Rayner’s Beyond the Bubble. You would be hard pressed to find someone more central to the bubble than Gove. Genuinely, I don’t think there’s anything “radical” that can be learned from him. A second and related question. Would you consider interviewing Andreas Malm?
Aditya says: Thanks for listening, George. Your question is the one with which I start that interview: why is something called Radical Thinking spending time with Michael Gove? The answer comes in two parts:
One, across the West (and elsewhere) the radical politics that is taking the lead is not from the Left, but the Right. Think of Nigel Farage in the UK, Alice Weidel of the AfD, Giorgia Maloni running Italy, her past in neo-fascist politics.
And two: Gove is a thinker, an intelligent man who has both led the Right (one of the fathers of Brexit, don’t forget) and followed it (think of what he publishes as the editor today of the Spectator).
FWIW, I found that interview fascinating. Here was a man accepting that the Conservatism that he’d previously championed was dead, and that its successor was a new, nastier, nativist right that derived much of its legitimacy from the failures of him and his colleagues. Think about living with that knowledge.
redstar1000 asks: Britain has some of the highest levels of deprivation in Europe. Millions of people in one of the richest countries in the world cannot eat well, keep their homes warm and take part in social life. Why is this seen as acceptable? Where is the moral outrage?
Aditya says: This is a great question that chimes with the one above. I share your outrage and so do others. Confronted with the situation you describe – around 300,000 households in England homeless, many of them with children – in one of the richest societies in human history, they would agree this is unacceptable, outrageous. But in a highly-unequal country, not everyone sees or feels or even brushes against this deprivation.
Flaxborough asks: Hi Aditya, can you answer truthfully, do you think we are heading for total economic and social collapse? How soon? Will we rise from it afterwards?
Aditya says: In truth, I think the UK is in economic and social collapse – it’s just that some people can’t see it, and others are too polite or arrogant to point it out. But what else should we call the most miserable period for wages and growth since Napoleon Bonaparte was on his horse charging around Europe? The worst decade for living standards since the end of rationing? Shit in our rivers? Joke prime ministers who blunder about, get booted offstage, then earn £££s? And no, not just Liz Truss, but Cameron and Johnson too.
The reason this isn’t recognised is because Britain is a highly unequal country where pain is heaped on those most hurt. Even in a collapsing country, some people always do well. Look at Argentina in the 1990s/2000s for an example.
Flaxborough, my friend, don’t ask when collapse will arrive: recognise it’s here already. And push for something better.
Michael Holmes asks: I have enjoyed all the talks. I am just a bit confused that the title of the talk varies between ‘Radical thinking’ and ‘Politics’, are they different categories? They seem to have the same production team. Also, the earlier programming had suggestions by you for further reading. This now doesn’t seem to happen? I thought that was valuable. I really enjoy the thoughtful interaction between you and your guests, with the time allowed for thoughtful and creative content. Great stuff! Thanks
Aditya says: Thanks so much for this, Michael. It’s great to get your feedback on the Radical Thinking podcast – and I’d love to hear more from viewers and listeners about what they are enjoying from the series so far.
Just to explain: Radical Thinking began as a one-off series of conversations. The idea was to capture some of the energy and ideas of this particular moment – a change of prime minister in the UK, Trump and the midterms, the rise of the far right. We publish every weekend here as well as YouTube, Spotify, Apple. This Saturday’s episode is with two of the best dissenting economists around on some of the central issues in this week’s Budget – it’s a corker.
You’re right – part of our (tiny) team is from Politics Weekly and because it’s a one-off we don’t have a separate channel. HOWEVER! The reaction so far has been astonishing, so strong that we’re thinking about more. So: watch this space
Glad you like the further reading. Again, I started it as an experiment – and I know it hasn’t appeared everywhere – but if it’s useful i’ll keep it up.
Aditya Chakrabortty is the Guardian’s award-winning senior economics commentator. Through his regular opinion column, he shares his thoughts on the economy and its impact on society and earlier this year he was awarded an MBE for services to public understanding of the economy and wider social issues.
This month he launched a new Saturday podcast Radical Thinking, where he interviews major thinkers about the ideas that have shaped our times. He has conducted conversations with Yanis Varoufakis on democracy and the Eurozone crisis and Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on Gaza, fascism and climate chaos.
In his latest episode he discusses doomscrolling and democracy with playwright James Graham who suggests that our algorithms have led us into ‘a massive crisis of the new’ and are preventing us from imagining a different future.
Aditya will be online at 2pm GMT (9am EDT) today to answer your questions on economics, democracy, the future of British and global politics.
Email your questions to conversations@theguardian.com or Sign up or sign in to post one in the discussion below
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