Henry Leveson-Gower examines two texts that explain how neoliberal thinking and human frailty brought us to where we are.
Richard Seymour, Disaster Nationalism: The Downfall of Liberal Civilization, Verso 2024
The recent Trump victory sparked a huge debate among Democratic supporters and many others about ‘what went wrong’. Some blamed ‘wokeness,’ while others argued that the Democrats had not listened to the hurt caused by the spiralling cost of living, which Trump promised to sort immediately—a promise he has now dumped before taking office.
Both these books seek to answer this question with longer and definitively leftwing perspectives. Warning: the reader will need a strong stomach as there is little light at the end of their dark tunnels of explanation.
Monbiot and Hutchinson point squarely at neoliberalism as the culprit – this might be guessed from their book’s title. They provide a highly readable and accessible tale of the development, victory and impacts of neoliberalism, from Hayek’s creation of the Mont Pelerin Society of Intellectuals in 1947 to promote their big idea that individual liberty needed to be projected from overweening states to avoid travelling down ‘The Road to Serfdom’ as Hayek’s 1944 book explained.
<blockquote>One of the most striking aspects of neoliberalism, according to Monbiot and Hutchinson, is its ability to shape our understanding of reality. </blockquote>
They relate how Thatcher and Reagan politically weaponised this idea, as stagflation in the 1970s destroyed the credibility of Keynesianism. They also explain how business tycoons, such as the Koch brothers, syphoned anonymous or ‘dark’ money through universities and think tanks to reinforce their academic authority. Big business received a manyfold return on their investment, as they gained ‘freedom’ from regulation. States were weakened and turned into market cheerleaders rather than regulators, while CEO salaries soared and ordinary workers’ salaries flatlined.
According to Monbiot and Hutchinson, one of the most striking aspects of neoliberalism is its ability to shape our understanding of reality. By promoting a narrow, individualistic worldview, it has eroded our sense of collective responsibility and our capacity for empathy. The authors argue that this has contributed to the rise of populism and authoritarianism, as people seek simple solutions to complex problems from people like Trump.
Seymour probably wouldn’t disagree with much in ‘The Invisible Doctrine’. His focus, though is very different. He explores what he sees as the perennial attraction of fascism and violence. While ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ explains how neoliberalism has pushed people into the arms of the far right, ‘Disaster Nationalism’ explores how the far right has pulled people into their orbit, not by duping them but by understanding them. Seymour locates the current resurgence of the right wing in a long tradition of fascism, not just in the run-up to the Second World War but further back, around the world in different countries and cultures, and ultimately into our very natures. He claims that we all have our own ‘jackboot’ inside us, ready to emerge in the right or rather wrong circumstances.
Seymour examines in detail how different right-wing governments, notably Duerte in the Philippines boasting about his killing sprees and Modi in India with massacres of Muslims, have used violence to gain political victory in democracies. He traces what he sees as a straight line between the establishment of Israel based on a myth of terra nullius while being an act of colonialism of Palestine to the genocide of Gaza. I found his detailed dissection of the narratives and myths of far right actors from politicians to loan shooters, particularly fascinating: how they interlink violence, disaster, sex and death. Rather than passing over this material as the mouthing of madness, he takes it seriously and requires us to do the same. It is strong stuff, not for the faint-hearted.
Ultimately I found neither totally satisfying in terms of what we should do about it but of course solutions are a lot to ask for.
Ultimately, I found neither totally satisfying in terms of what we should do about it, but of course, solutions are a lot to ask for. They both advocate building collective action as a healing tool and a fightback against incipient fascism. How precisely that is done may require further books. Seymour provides some welcome encouragement for success by pointing out the contradictions within the modern far right, such as their worship of ‘muscular capitalism’ and lukewarm support for ‘workers’.
So which should you read? I didn’t find much new in ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ but have read about the neoliberalism story extensively elsewhere. I also found the book somewhat Anglo-centric, and even then, with notable gaps such as an account of Jeremy Corbyn’s brief reign over the Labour Party in the UK and the challenges of telling ‘a new story’ to counter neoliberalism when our mainstream and social media is controlled by forces supporting neoliberalism. Still, if you are unfamiliar with the Neoliberalism story, it is well told in about 150 pages.
On the other hand, Disaster Nationalism was an eye-opener for me, packed with detail and analysis, which I had previously avoided. Its scope and depth is incredibly impressive. Everyone should read this, probably twice, to take it all in, especially if like me, you have lived to date in the relative security and luxury of the liberal middle classes in the Global North. Just make sure you have a towel over your head or a strong drink.
