Socialist Progressives

Given all the time I've spend studying economics (thousands and thousands of pages of reading), you might think I'd have a respectable amount of Marx under my belt, but I don't. I've read a few short sections of Capital (and The Communist Manifesto, but that's not economic theory) but that's it. And my coursework in economics definitely did not involve much Marx. So I couldn't tell you, except in the vaguest terms, where I agree or disagree with him.

Regarding the welfare state, I have plenty of criticisms (which I'll share if you want). I do think it's preferable to a number of alternatives. But it's not true that work force participation is at an all time low. It's down from its peak, but the data suggests that's due to the availability of jobs (lack of demand in the economy), not because opting out is more attractive than it once was. And the countries with the highest levels of labor force participation are nations with some of the most robust welfare states (Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany). This shouldn't be all that surprising, as a lot of welfare state provisions are tied to employment (e.g. social security, a minimum wage).

You didn't answer my question about neoliberalism; perhaps you misunderstood me? I wasn't asking about neoliberals as individuals, I was asking about neoliberalism as policy. Your answer was something about needing all the votes we can get, when what I wanted to know was what neoliberal policies (if any) meet your approval. But since you brought up voters, I'll address that. If your premise is that neoliberal reforms were in response to public demand, I think you have a very weak case. Neoliberal policies were designed and pushed by a tiny sliver of the total population. There was no public outcry for the commodities futures modernization act (how many voters even know the details of that?), for example. By far the strongest showing of an independent/3rd party presidential candidate in modern US history was Perot in 1992, who ran an explicitly anti-NAFTA campaign. When it comes to neoliberal policy, I think most Americans are somewhere along the spectrum of ignorance/confusion/apathy/reluctance. On the other hand, policies that are unquestionably contrary to neoliberalism enjoy broad popular support: social security, medicare/medicaid, minimum wages, progressive taxation, etc.

I could give you more things to think about vis a vis "the laws of economics," but you haven't even made an argument yet. If you have some kind of response to the questions I've posed, please share it. At the very least, it would add clarity to the discussion, and it might lead me to rethink things. Simply telling someone that you think they're wrong isn't a very effective debating tactic. Maybe you have some logic in your own mind, but if you don't share it, it looks to me as though you're clinging to your position as a matter of faith. By the way, I looked up "Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches." I'll quote from the jacket copy: "Harris shows that no matter how bizarre a people's behavior may seem, it always stems from concrete social and economic conditions." In other words, variations in one's physical and cultural circumstances produce variations in behavior, which is pretty much what I've been saying.