Have we really let it get this bad?

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. Let's check the Encyclopedia...

https://www.britannica.com/money/neoliberal-globalization

neoliberal globalization
Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

neoliberal globalization, an approach to economic globalization, or the integration of the world’s economies, based on neoliberalism, an ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition. Neoliberalism is characterized by a belief in sustained economic growth as the best means to achieve human progress, by a confidence in free markets as the most efficient means of allocating resources, by an emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and social affairs, and by a commitment to the freedom of trade and capital. The globalization that has taken place since the late 1980s (understood by some economists as a “third” globalization, following the spread of new transportation and communication technologies beginning in the late 19th century and the adoption of an international monetary system in the mid-20th century) has been guided by the neoliberal model, insofar as the national and international economic policies by which it was enabled reflect neoliberal beliefs and values.

Critics of neoliberalism have argued that neoliberal policies effectively aim at raising the profits of private companies by minimizing the costs of investment, reducing or eliminating social welfare programs, and emphasizing economic individualism. With the rise of neoliberalism, they argue, all of society is increasingly dominated and penetrated by a capitalist logic that transforms every aspect of life into a commodity and leads to asymmetrical power relations, both internationally and domestically.

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