Replacing capitalism – not with socialism, but with democracy?

Leading left economists Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis jointly wrote an article for the British newspaper, the Guardian this week. It was headlined as “We can move beyond the capitalist model and save the climate – here are the first three steps.” Jason Hickel is professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a visiting senior fellow at LSE. Yanis Varoufakis is the leader of MeRA25, a former finance minister and author of Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism.

Replacing capitalism – not with socialism, but with democracy?

Our Grim Future: Restored Neoliberalism or Hybrid Neofascism?

Meanwhile, what is going to happen to assorted fascisms? Eric Hobsbawm showed us in Age of Extremes how the key to the fascist right was always mass mobilization: “Fascists were the revolutionaries of the counter-revolution”.

We may be heading further than mere, crude neofascism. Call it Hybrid Neofascism. Their political stars bow to global market imperatives while switching political competition to the cultural arena.

That’s what true “illiberalism” is all about: the mix between neoliberalism – unrestricted capital mobility, Central Bank diktats – and political authoritarianism. Here’s where we find Trump, Modi and Bolsonaro.

Our Grim Future: Restored Neoliberalism or Hybrid Neofascism?