Exploring Neoliberal Faith and Traditionalist Conservatism
This chapter explores how neoliberalism functions like a religion, with leaders like Reagan and Thatcher promoting the belief in the free market as a solution for government and society. It also compares American traditionalist conservatism and Burkean conservatism, highlighting their shortcomings in countering the dominance of neoliberal ideology.
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Inspired by Chapter 26 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon entitled “The New Testament of Capitalism,” I focus on the intellectuals whose ideas undergird the faith in the “free market.” Taking both the concept of faith and what these thinkers said seriously, it’s hard to miss that their perspective runs counter to the faith of people of the book (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) because it enchants the market with godlike and irresistible “laws of nature” and promises to solve all the world’s problems. Neoliberal capitalism is another ideology that, because it is ultimately a human invention, cannot deliver the grandiose benefits it promises, and yet requires of its believers more unquestioning reverence than any truly transcendent power asks of them.
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