Socialists and the "New Conservatism"

Abstract

By the crucial test of what it has done for the vast majority of people, the "new conservatism" has been a grievous failure wherever in the advanced capitalist world it has been in power: the most blatant example of that failure is "Thatcherism" in Britain. But Reagan in America has also increased poverty, strengthened the repressive apparatus of the state, encouraged managerial authoritarianism, provided a favorable climate for casino capitalism, and relied on the arms race to provide fuel for the U.S. economy. After years in power, the "new conservatism" has left these societies more unequal, more violent, more inhuman, and more prone to crisis.

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