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So What's Neoliberalism?

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13 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Rather unfair competition don't you think, when highstreet shops have to pay rents, rates and all sorts of business taxes when Amazon (for example) doesn't pay it's fair share of tax at all? And gets away with it....

 

That is pure Neoliberalism in action. Win by any means and devil take the hindmost.

So long as both parties are treated fairly. The local shop doesnt have to pay postage.

China and other countries can ship items on ebay very cheaply. Maybe that is an issue rather than Amazon?

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4 minutes ago, El Cid said:

So long as both parties are treated fairly. The local shop doesnt have to pay postage.

China and other countries can ship items on ebay very cheaply. Maybe that is an issue rather than Amazon?

Then surely the government could do something about that if they chose to. But in a neoliberal, free market economy, they won't.  

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On 02/02/2021 at 13:59, El Cid said:

I understand the minimum wage is a law which must be followed, not a guideline.

Agreed but the response was to the earlier comment about 139 companies in 18 months not paying the minimum wage and i was pointing out that 139 is a miniscule number in comparison to the total number of companies operating and not really relevant

 

But i take your point and agree with it

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1 hour ago, sheffbag said:

Agreed but the response was to the earlier comment about 139 companies in 18 months not paying the minimum wage and i was pointing out that 139 is a miniscule number in comparison to the total number of companies operating and not really relevant

 

But i take your point and agree with it

Whether the minimum wage is enough to live on is another matter.

Especially  when the weekly/ monthly hours are not guaranteed.

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21 hours ago, apelike said:

Who knows but if other shops are closed how would we know?

 

It used to be markets, shops, corner shops, then supermarkets, and now online purchasing and delivery has taken off. Laws were changed in the past to stop retail price maintenance and laws repealing the 5 and a half day week allowing trading 24/7. That's what is called progress, the modern way and it's also now what the majority of consumers seem to want. Unfortunately if high street shops don't adapt they will just fade away because of competition.

Having worked in retail for 30 years I can say that online businesses have had an impact.

However, to say they are responsible for many of the mainstream retail closures is wrong.

Quite simply there are too many bad retailers out there who would not survive irrespective of online competition.

Many business took bad strategic decisions about their proposition (Debenhams), others buried their heads in the sand and refused to accept the online opportunities they had (Argos for a time).

Department stores have a high cost format and didn’t offer the right experience to attract the footfall they needed, also most of their online sites are terrible - HoF being a prime example.

Some neglected to invest in new ranging to remain relevant which is critical in the fashion world - some of which was due to bad ownership (anything to do with Philip Green).

If any sector could find it tough to compete with online it’s the independents, as they obviously have a big disadvantage on price. However, if creative they also have the best chance to differentiate, specialise and offer great customer service.

The other factor is that the expansion in retail space has been huge, too big infact which has led to retailers opening too many stores in sub-prime areas.

Think of B&Q in Sheffield opening 2 huge stores a few miles apart - absolutely crazy.

 

Yes it’s tough at the moment but the retail market will re-invent itself as it does every so often and online will help not hinder this process.

 

It’s pointless trying to fill empty retail units as there are too many, they need re-purposing to residential ideally.

 

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49 minutes ago, Westie1889 said:

Having worked in retail for 30 years I can say that online businesses have had an impact.

However, to say they are responsible for many of the mainstream retail closures is wrong.

Quite simply there are too many bad retailers out there who would not survive irrespective of online competition.

Many business took bad strategic decisions about their proposition (Debenhams), others buried their heads in the sand and refused to accept the online opportunities they had (Argos for a time).

Department stores have a high cost format and didn’t offer the right experience to attract the footfall they needed, also most of their online sites are terrible - HoF being a prime example.

Some neglected to invest in new ranging to remain relevant which is critical in the fashion world - some of which was due to bad ownership (anything to do with Philip Green).

If any sector could find it tough to compete with online it’s the independents, as they obviously have a big disadvantage on price. However, if creative they also have the best chance to differentiate, specialise and offer great customer service.

The other factor is that the expansion in retail space has been huge, too big infact which has led to retailers opening too many stores in sub-prime areas.

Think of B&Q in Sheffield opening 2 huge stores a few miles apart - absolutely crazy.

 

Yes it’s tough at the moment but the retail market will re-invent itself as it does every so often and online will help not hinder this process.

 

It’s pointless trying to fill empty retail units as there are too many, they need re-purposing to residential ideally.

 

One of the problems is that the holy grail of the economy is growth, growth and more growth. This is the way the health of the economy is measured, so you're bound to get over supply.

 

There is no control thanks to free market economics, so the little fish get eaten by the bigger fish, and the bigger fish get eaten by the enormous fish, and so on, until all that is left is the giant corporations.

Winner takes all, which is the very heart of neoliberalism.

 

We are now into 40+ years of unfettered consumerism, and we are beginning to realise the damage it's doing, and the dangers, both to individuals and the planet. We cannot sustain this growth indefinitely, but the plutocrats in charge are not going to let go easily, because they are doing very nicely out of it at the expense of everyone else.  

Edited by Anna B

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1 hour ago, Anna B said:

One of the problems is that the holy grail of the economy is growth, growth and more growth. This is the way the health of the economy is measured, so you're bound to get over supply.

 

There is no control thanks to free market economics, so the little fish get eaten by the bigger fish, and the bigger fish get eaten by the enormous fish, and so on, until all that is left is the giant corporations.

Winner takes all, which is the very heart of neoliberalism.

 

We are now into 40+ years of unfettered consumerism, and we are beginning to realise the damage it's doing, and the dangers, both to individuals and the planet. We cannot sustain this growth indefinitely, but the plutocrats in charge are not going to let go easily, because they are doing very nicely out of it at the expense of everyone else.  

Ironically enough both the IMF and the OECD have highlighted how neoliberalism itself is a threat to growth.

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3 hours ago, Anna B said:

One of the problems is that the holy grail of the economy is growth, growth and more growth. This is the way the health of the economy is measured, so you're bound to get over supply.

 

There is no control thanks to free market economics, so the little fish get eaten by the bigger fish, and the bigger fish get eaten by the enormous fish, and so on, until all that is left is the giant corporations.

Winner takes all, which is the very heart of neoliberalism.

 

We are now into 40+ years of unfettered consumerism, and we are beginning to realise the damage it's doing, and the dangers, both to individuals and the planet. We cannot sustain this growth indefinitely, but the plutocrats in charge are not going to let go easily, because they are doing very nicely out of it at the expense of everyone else.  

But that's been the case for centuries hasn't it? Companies big and small have come and gone. 

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2 hours ago, tinfoilhat said:

But that's been the case for centuries hasn't it? Companies big and small have come and gone. 

Not really.

Prior to 1979 we had 'Responsible Capitalism.'  Keynesian economics with checks and balances put in place by the government, which considered the wider picture. We had things like the Monopolies and mergers commission which made sure no one company had too much power, and publicly owned Utilities which gave the government overall control of essential services (which are now owned mostly by foreign companies.) And a government which looked out for its people. Workers had rights, enforced by the Unions and Business had to comply with certain rules; regulated rules, no corporate raiders or asset stripping  allowed etc. 

 

All that changed under Thatcherism. The whole economic system changed under our noses to benefit big business, with  deregulation, privatisation and tax cuts for Business and insecure employment for the rest of us. It became a wild west economy, the trickle down effect failed due to lax taxation, and we became the expendable foot soldiers.

It's never changed back even under Blair's Labour.  It's now running out of control, downhill with the handbrake off. 

 

We can see the harm that rampant Monetarism is doing, and where it will inevitably lead. Money is the only thing that matters; greed is good. The gap between rich and poor is growing wider, and encompassing more and more people higher up the economic scale. And power has passed from governments to the Plutocrats.  

 

The phrase 'knows the price of everything but the value of nothing' couldn't be more apt.

Society should take heed.

 

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10 hours ago, tinfoilhat said:

But that's been the case for centuries hasn't it? Companies big and small have come and gone. 

I thought so too.  A quick search tells me there are now 2.5 million more registered businesses in the UK in 2020 than in the year 2000.  That's not conclusive but if the claimed general trend is just for big to buy the small you'd expect that number to have fallen.

 

Also, as an example, in 2019 the merger of Asda and Sainsbury's was blocked by the competition watchdog.

 

Sainsbury's-Asda merger blocked by competition watchdog | Business | The Guardian

 

Is that neoliberalism at work?

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6 hours ago, Anna B said:

Not really.

Prior to 1979 we had 'Responsible Capitalism.'  Keynesian economics with checks and balances put in place by the government, which considered the wider picture. We had things like the Monopolies and mergers commission which made sure no one company had too much power, and publicly owned Utilities which gave the government overall control of essential services (which are now owned mostly by foreign companies.) And a government which looked out for its people. Workers had rights, enforced by the Unions and Business had to comply with certain rules; regulated rules, no corporate raiders or asset stripping  allowed etc. 

 

All that changed under Thatcherism. The whole economic system changed under our noses to benefit big business, with  deregulation, privatisation and tax cuts for Business and insecure employment for the rest of us. It became a wild west economy, the trickle down effect failed due to lax taxation, and we became the expendable foot soldiers.

It's never changed back even under Blair's Labour.  It's now running out of control, downhill with the handbrake off. 

 

We can see the harm that rampant Monetarism is doing, and where it will inevitably lead. Money is the only thing that matters; greed is good. The gap between rich and poor is growing wider, and encompassing more and more people higher up the economic scale. And power has passed from governments to the Plutocrats.  

 

The phrase 'knows the price of everything but the value of nothing' couldn't be more apt.

Society should take heed.

 

I thought, in simple terms, Keynes's theory favours a private sector market economy with a proviso for state intervention during recessions and depressions.  Does your understanding differ?

 

Brown intervened after the crash in 2008 and Sunak has done much to support business during the pandemic.  Wouldn't strict neoliberal policy have just allowed them to fail?

Edited by Arnold_Lane

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Neo-liberalism is the ideological smokescreen for elitist class warfare on the working class.

 

Such experiments, ie. neoliberalism include Chile 1973 and the neoliberal state the neo cons put together in Iraq after the second gulf war.

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