Neoliberals just don't get it.

or which country has the best economy? Britain Vs. Japan

Here's an article that should be called "Mass unemployment and industrial stagnation are A Good Thing 'cos then we'd have slightly better TVs, or something." Have a shufti:

https://origin-www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-20/japan-must-let-zombie-companies-die


It basically argues that the Japanese are stupid, evil and bad because they subsidize some of the biggest companies in the world. What they should do is embrace neoliberal solutions, let everyone go bust and embrace "creative destruction" (an insane slogan that had to have been dreamed up by an economist on the really bad drugs).

This company is Bad and Wrong and A Failure.

Now, imagine that you are a high-ranking government official of a medium-sized, advanced, industrial country. What would you rather have? The possibility of slightly better TVs together with the certainty of mass unemployment, industrial stagnation and social unrest, or the dreaded "OMG zombie companies" and *gasp* public debt! ...together with... high employment, cheap goods, and world-class corporations?

Put it this way: Would you rather be Japan, which has one set of things, or Britain, which has the other - and all of the problems that each of those lead to?

The UK has followed a strict neoliberal prescription since the late 1970s: Tight budgets, slashed social spending, no industrial subsidies, regular bonfires of regulations, freewheeling enterpenerurial capitalism, broken trade unions, corporations can do what they like, the City can do what it likes, and blah, blah, blah, yadda yadda yadda.

Sucessful British factory enjoying fruits of happy times boomtown neoliberal economics 

Japan followed a neo-Keynsian policy since the 1990s when the bubble economy burst and it became obvious to even the most stupid person that capitalism sometimes needs a helping hand and a little cash to grease the wheels, especially when times are hard and orders are thin.

Failing Japanese factory, enduring failed policies that don't work because reasons

Japan makes consumer goods, solar panels, industrial equipment, robots, computers, and cute cartoons. It's an industrial and cultural behemoth. Sure, it has a lot of public sector debt. But this can be managed and kicked down the road, and that debt buys you something: Social stability (which the Japanese prize). After 2011's triple-horror real life disaster movie of an earthquake, tsunami and raging nuclear meltdown all at once, the country bounced back and is still basically functional. It has its problems, but so does every society. The worst? Japanese people work too hard and they live a long time! IT'S CHAOS I TELLS YA!

The UK makes: Crap TV shows, some of the best comics nobody's ever heard of... er... the Raspberry Pi! Er... oh yeah, weapons! We make lots of guns, tanks and bombs... er... um.. ah... I'm sure there's more but that's about it.

Exports are good, though!

And it shows. We have millions on the breadline and hundreds of thousands on actual breadlines living on food handouts. Also mass homelessness- nobody quite knows how many Britons live on the street, but slumped, emaciated figures sleeping rough are a common sight here, as are small but growing shanty towns consisting of tents routinely handed out by charities to the homeless - because there is such a housing shortage, at least anywhere near where the jobs are, that people can't afford to live anywhere.

There is a lot of luxury housing, but that's because housing is considered a luxury.

 As a result of all this human misery and industrial mega-fail there is such social instability that cities periodically erupt into mass rioting - the last time, 2011 - the same year as the tsunami in Japan- involved every city in England and lasted five days.

That creative destruction, working its, er...

traditional neoliberal economic, er... magic. Yes.

Our relationship with our neighbours is poor and deteriorating as public anger is whipped up into a frenzy and channelled into an orgy of xenophobic scapegoating by the newspapers, which all seem to be owned by the same handful of rich, right wing men.

The government seems to actively despise the people while using said scapegoating to leverage even more power; meanwhile Scotland and Northern Ireland are openly talking about secession - raising the possibility of actual Soviet-style national dissolution to go with our Soviet-style stagnation and poverty. Creative destruction indeed!

We don't even make better TVs. In fact, I have no idea when we last made a TV. I know we used to make computers, back in the '80s... you can probably see them in one of our many museums. But perhaps I'm being unfair: I mean, we do have the Rasbperry Pi...

British computer

 Japanese computer

Oh, and about that debt everyone goes on about? We also have massive debt, but it's all either off the books (thanks, PFI and bailouts!) or private - which means that when people can't pay anymore because they need to buy food or pay bills, we're going to get another crash.

So yeah, "Zombie companies" and government bailouts, while indeed lossy and imperfect, are better than the alternative.

It's better to be Japan than Britain. Neoliberals just don't get it.

We've got a PR problem...

I've been thinking about politics more recently (as you can see if you've come here from my Twitter and Facebook TLs) and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of the reason the Right are doing so well and the Left and Centre are doing so badly is simply that the Right have very good Public Relations. They know how to communicate with people - and the Left, and Centre, do not.

It's all about presentation. If you are political and go on demonstrations or whatever, think about how the public - ordinary passers-by - are affected by your behaviour. What do they see? Are you forthright and confident? Or just intimidating? Do you look like a concerned citizen or a troublemaker? Perception is VERY important.

This is GOOD P.R.

You may be aware of a slogan: "The whole world is watching!" Well, the world is watching - and the world is quite a judgemental place, so if you look like stupid or threatening, you are going to turn people off.

This is BAD P.R.

Black hoodies, dark glasses and a thousand-yard stare are BAD PR. So is randomly smashing things up for the cameras, even if it does get you media attention- it gets you the WRONG KIND of media attention. It also puts off people in the street who might otherwise join in with your protest, especially vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with children.

In potentially dangerous situations, such as anti-fascist demonstrations, dressing all in black and staring people down also confuses people - traditionally it's Fascists who wear uniforms and intimidate people, so wearing a uniform and intimidating people at anti-Fascist demos, as well as being BAD P.R. could even conceivably create a risk of what are termed "blue-on-blue" or "friendly fire" type situations. Which you DO NOT WANT.

However normal clothes, a friendly engaging manner and a ready smile are GOOD PR. It's important to make your point, but it's also important to make a good impression and get people to join you. You want to be inclusive, right?

I'm not always great at this myself - I've been known to yell at people on my own side and look like a dickhead myself. Nobody's perfect! Generally when I get so pissed off I'm going to make a fool of myself I try to leave the area though. It's just not worth it.