People's adherence to a political ideology or standpoint is often as much to do with perception as it is to do with actual underlying economic and political realities. For a long time, a majority of people in Britain have perceived that the system they live under - presented to them by all establishment media as "liberal capitalism" - was in their best interests. Whilst this was not necessarily the case, particularly long term, and entailed shutting out the fact that the system has definitely not been in the "best interests" of a significant minority of the population in Britain, let alone in the rest of the world; it has been enough to ensure the acquiescence of a large bulk of the population.
Of course the continuation of this perception depends on the system continuing to "deliver the goods" materially to a majority. Without this, the ideological hegemony is much weaker. The signs are, with looming environmental, resource and financial crises and accompanying war and civil disturbance on a global scale that this period "the long boom" is finally coming to a close. This may see the relative impoverishment of much of the previously "aspiring" class, particularly in Western economies like Britain that are heavily dependent on financial services and debt. I believe this is sometimes called a "J Curve situation".
Pro-capitalist apologists/optimists are reduced to the political equivalent of "something will come up" - i.e. assuming that some leap forward in technological advance will save the day for global finance capitalism. However, it seems extremely unlikely that the multiple crises of energy, food production, climate change and epidemic potentiality will be solved in the necessary timescale. Others of their ilk prefer to bury the heads in the sand, hence climate change deniers, oil reserve optimists, etc etc
The actual, more hard headed ruling class, as opposed to their paid apologists in the commentariat and academia, seem to have decided that the crises are unavoidable and will probably result in major strain to the system on both an economic and political level. Hence the drive by most sections of the global ruling class towards the deepening of the national security state, its extension beyond state boundaries to gain global reach and preparation for suspension of whichever rights and liberties they see fit in a dystopian future. The economic side of this is plainly ever more powerful corporatism (perhaps glimpsed most openly at the moment in the old home of the original "corporatism", Italy)
So the days of the ideological construct known as "liberal capitalism" are indeed numbered, if not already over.
The questions are around what drawing together of global forces will oppose global corporate fascism (for that is what we will soom be facing, make no mistake, however much it will dress itself up as a "global salvation coalition" advocating "necessary sacrifices" of wealth, wellbeing and lives). The current developments in many parts of the world indicate that economic organs of the working class may evolve quickly in the new circumstances - an international(ist) syndicalism to oppose the global prison state. In these circumstances talk of an "opposing political ideology" to capitalism become a little bit of a side discussion to the confrontation of real, actual class forces, neither "liberal capitalism" or "orthodox socialism" describing the reality of either the aims or content of the opposing forces.
It is ironic indeed for capitalist apologists, that just as they celebrate their "absolute ideological hegemony", their "end of history" their doom looms out of the smoke and pollution in the shape of a potentially unified global opposition driven by the realisation that the system of the ruling class is close to hitting the social, ideological, resource and environmental bumpers.
Of course the continuation of this perception depends on the system continuing to "deliver the goods" materially to a majority. Without this, the ideological hegemony is much weaker. The signs are, with looming environmental, resource and financial crises and accompanying war and civil disturbance on a global scale that this period "the long boom" is finally coming to a close. This may see the relative impoverishment of much of the previously "aspiring" class, particularly in Western economies like Britain that are heavily dependent on financial services and debt. I believe this is sometimes called a "J Curve situation".
Pro-capitalist apologists/optimists are reduced to the political equivalent of "something will come up" - i.e. assuming that some leap forward in technological advance will save the day for global finance capitalism. However, it seems extremely unlikely that the multiple crises of energy, food production, climate change and epidemic potentiality will be solved in the necessary timescale. Others of their ilk prefer to bury the heads in the sand, hence climate change deniers, oil reserve optimists, etc etc
The actual, more hard headed ruling class, as opposed to their paid apologists in the commentariat and academia, seem to have decided that the crises are unavoidable and will probably result in major strain to the system on both an economic and political level. Hence the drive by most sections of the global ruling class towards the deepening of the national security state, its extension beyond state boundaries to gain global reach and preparation for suspension of whichever rights and liberties they see fit in a dystopian future. The economic side of this is plainly ever more powerful corporatism (perhaps glimpsed most openly at the moment in the old home of the original "corporatism", Italy)
So the days of the ideological construct known as "liberal capitalism" are indeed numbered, if not already over.
The questions are around what drawing together of global forces will oppose global corporate fascism (for that is what we will soom be facing, make no mistake, however much it will dress itself up as a "global salvation coalition" advocating "necessary sacrifices" of wealth, wellbeing and lives). The current developments in many parts of the world indicate that economic organs of the working class may evolve quickly in the new circumstances - an international(ist) syndicalism to oppose the global prison state. In these circumstances talk of an "opposing political ideology" to capitalism become a little bit of a side discussion to the confrontation of real, actual class forces, neither "liberal capitalism" or "orthodox socialism" describing the reality of either the aims or content of the opposing forces.
It is ironic indeed for capitalist apologists, that just as they celebrate their "absolute ideological hegemony", their "end of history" their doom looms out of the smoke and pollution in the shape of a potentially unified global opposition driven by the realisation that the system of the ruling class is close to hitting the social, ideological, resource and environmental bumpers.
)
), then I believe that capitalism will indeed be the cause of it's own demise. I'm not saying we'll revert to a barter economy, but that mass-production, at current scales, will no longer exist.
Of course environmentalism could develop in unpleasant ways but there is no necessity for it do so?
