Soviet-style communism failed because in practice it didn't come close to delivering what it promised in theory. The only way it could perpetuate itself was through brutal suppression of any political opposition. But with the advent of modern communications technology, the reality that western-style economic systems delivered a far superior lifestyle to the great majority of citizens became impossible to conceal from the masses. Communism was thus ultimately destroyed by its own internal contradictions.

What is ironic is that even as communist ideology was being abandoned in Eastern Europe, the dominant western ideology was mutating into something far removed from FDR's enlightened "capitalism with a conscience", and much closer to the Social Darwinist, "survival of the fittest" doctrine that became a dominant theme in western democracies in the late 19th century. It was almost as if the removal of the communist threat made the ruling elite in North America and Western Europe secure enough to unleash their inner apex predators.

Since 1980 the dominant philosophical motif in the US, Britain, and western countries in general has been a philosophy that is essentially an updated version of the Social Darwinist critique that was so popular during the first Gilded Age. Tracing its origins back to the 1930's and the writings of an Austrian expatriate named Freidrich Hayek, the impact and implications of neoliberalism are explored in two very worthwhile essays that appeared on the web this week:

The Zombie Doctrine, by George Monbiot

When Neoliberalism Was Young: A Lookback on Clintonism Before Clinton, by Corey Robin

Monbiot summarizes the central tenants of neoliberalism as follows:

Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.

Attempts to limit competition are treated as inimical to liberty. Tax and regulation should be minimised, public services should be privatised. The organisation of labour and collective bargaining by trade unions are portrayed as market distortions, that impede the formation of a natural hierarchy of winners and losers. Inequality is recast as virtuous: a reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles down to enrich everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counter-productive and morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve.

A telling point made by Monbiot is that the philosophy has now become so pervasive and widely accepted that it's now not even commonly recognized as an ideology, but instead viewed as an expression of some immutable force of nature. "But," Monbiot says, "the philosophy arose as a conscious attempt to reshape human life and shift the locus of power." In that effort, it has certainly succeeded most admirably.

With the rise of the Democratic Leadership Council and an agenda driven principally by the desires of the Democratic Party's corporate clientele, neoliberalism now provides the philosophical underpinnings for policies pursued by both of the mainstream political parties. It's instructive that social issues falling outside the parameters of neoliberal orthodoxy now represent nearly all of the criteria by which one is defined as either liberal or conservative. On the issues that truly impact the economic elite's bottom line, there is in fact no real space between your typical Clinton Democrat and Paul Ryan Republican.

The common refrain offered up by the defenders of the faith is basically a regurgitation of Margaret Thatcher's off-stated assertion that "there is no choice". But this, as is the case with so many other aspects of Thatcher and Reagan's spruced up Social Darwinism, is a lie. Of course there is a choice. And the fact is that we, as a society, have made a terribly bad one. Neoliberalism as a philosophy and societal blueprint is not only morally and intellectually bankrupt, it is also a colossal failure in the real world in terms of delivering on its stated promises.

Instead of promoting robust economic growth, since the 1980's growth has been stagnant compared to earlier eras. Instead of raising incomes and living standards for the many, these have declined for all but a tiny sliver of those who sit at the apex of the wealth/income pyramid. Instead of ensuring economic stability, the sustained and reckless assault on the physical environment has created the very real potential for a cataclysmic collapse of human civilization, not too many years down the road. As it turns out, an all-encompassing faith in the power of the marketplace to successfully resolve all of humanity's problems is in reality a fraud, a snare, and a delusion.

And yet, neither the bellicose buffoon nor the warmongering witch now vying for the position of Leader of the Free World can offer any more imaginative prescription than to boldly lead us even further down the road to ruination. "Pity the nation" indeed, to invoke Khalil Gibran's famous 1934 poem. And even more, pity the planet. Human activities that are not only allowed but actively encouraged by neoliberal policy makers have now taken both planet Earth and human civilization to a darker place than anything likely ever imagined in Josef Stalin's most malevolent fantasies.