Onyx Lynx

My father, a World War II veteran, entertained my schoolboy dreams of military fame and fortune. But one day while sitting in the family car, he told me we were going to take a trip to the VA Hospital. He wanted me to see the “basket cases”—men with no arms or legs, their bodies destroyed by war. I was scared, embarrassed, as my made-in-Hollywood and by video game militarism and masculinity wilted away. I never did take the trip to the VA. It’s easy to play wannabe soldier when you don’t have to face the human consequences of when the bullets are real, and the pain is not pretend.

Neoliberalism is a product of late 20th century capitalism and a belief that the market should control every aspect of social, political, and economic life. It uses the language of “efficiency,” “choice,” “freedom,” “hard work,” and “opportunity” to seduce the public into believing that the “the Commons” ought to be eliminated. Corporations, in this twisted vision, should run all things. The concept of collective bargaining, positive liberty and freedom, and that the state and government can do good, are anathema to it. Neoliberalism transcends party lines. To varying degrees, it is the political religion and a type of uncontested commonsense for both Republicans as well as “New Democrats” like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.