My online dictionary defines neoliberalism as “a political approach that favors free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending.” For a deep dive into the origins and meaning of this term, I recommend a 2017 piece in The Guardian, “Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world”.
Both main parties In the current Canadian federal election are led by neoliberals. Both believe that markets must be the ultimate rulers of society. To enforce this, both promise to cut government spending, stop expanding the federal civil service, and cut taxes.
In fact, the carbon tax is already gone. The proposed increase in the capital gains tax is gone. Both would reduce personal income taxes. And they will deregulate, e.g., no more federal assessment of major private sector projects, such as new oil and gas facilities, pipelines, or mines.
It has been argued that the U.S. president represents the “ultimate triumph of neoliberalism”. He discusses territorial expansion into Canada – colonial ambitions. But he is actually seeking control through indirect economic means. He is a neocolonialist – empowering corporations to dominate subject nations such as Canada through the operations of international capitalism rather than by means of direct rule.
Few Canadians know, even in general terms, what the terms “neoliberal” and “neocolonial” mean. Most think this election is about choosing a strong leader to counter the U.S. threat – one who can best restrain the current U.S. president in his colonial ambitions. But this distracts us from the reality that Canada’s mainstream parties remain solidly in league with the U.S. in promoting a neoliberal agenda.
Neoliberalism and neocolonialism go hand-in-hand. Neoliberals – true believers in free market capitalism – seek perpetual growth of the economy. This requires unregulated extraction and consumption of energy and mineral resources. It forces neoliberals to seek control of resources outside their own countries and become neocolonialists.
In essence, the U.S. president has already won the Canadian election. His actions demonstrate that multilateral agreements on trade, environment, defense, nuclear weapons, etc. are dispensable. National borders and democratic institutions have little significance in a globalized, capitalist, free market world.
We think Canada is an independent nation. This is fiction. The current U.S. president is simply making more obvious our subservience to multinational corporations.
Whichever major party forms the next government will continue the current trend towards global dominance by wealthy individuals. Its leader will join the ranks of other neoliberals (many of them “autocrats”) who do favors for their corporate supporters.
Neoliberal leaders rule over an increasingly unstable planet, in both political and environmental terms. The gap between rich and poor grows ever wider. Environmental degradation and climate breakdown accelerate, with more fires, floods, and tornados.
To most Canadians, a “planned economy” sounds like communism. But without a democratically developed vision for the future, market forces lead to chaos. Without democratic planning, governance devolves into cronyism and corruption.
People in Nordic countries have a better overall quality of life. They retain some ecosocialist principles. Canada would benefit from an ecosocialist alternative. Proportional representation would provide an opportunity for more progressive parties to emerge, helping undo the stranglehold of neoliberalism.
As an environmental advocate, I recommend the book Half-Earth Socialism, by Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass. Building on the premise that half the planet should be rewilded, they offer a set of policies that would afford an excellent quality of life – a transition to largely vegan diets, strict individual energy consumption quotas, and most importantly, worldwide socialist planning.
You might enjoy chapter 4, News from 2047, in which a young man is transported into a socialist future in rural New England. Or if you believe that free market economics and neoliberalism represent the pinnacle of human civilization, perhaps not.
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