Neoliberal and Neoliberalism are words we don’t hear that often in the U.S. mainstream media, they are heard more often in academia and more progressive journalistic outfits. What neoliberalism refers to is the whole philosophy of “free markets” where proponents believe that the government should have no role in the markets and that most things should be run by private corporations, including education, healthcare, and so on. This line of thinking is the driving force behind the massive privatizations and austerity measures occurring in Europe.

It is interesting to listen to Naomi Klein speak about these economic policies we are experiencing today, how corporations have taken over governments and it’s contributing to the massive disparity between the rich and the poor.

In an earlier post, Ms. Klein shows in her book The Shock Doctrine, that the neoliberal doctrine has resulted in the United States doing some pretty horrible things to other countries in the name of implementing this philosophy on others, and even though it has failed time and time again, people still think it’s the way to do things.