With the system increasingly showing signs of distress and extreme inequality, they are coming to its defense. They are desperately searching for ways to defend capitalism by using various arguments: we only need to be more vigilant and we can fix what ails the system (see this for example and my critique), we can elect people who will reform the system and make it work better, or as in this article, what we have really isn't capitalism at all!
Simply put, we're not living in a "capitalist" economy, and present economic activity is not properly described by the word "market." To see and say that completely misses the facts.The author only recognizes that we are in a "neoliberal period", but refuses to acknowledge that this has anything to do with capitalism. Apparently someone stole the wonderful system of capitalism from us one night and slipped in this other thing which he/she describes as the following:
Economic predation by the powerful is not an economic system in any sophisticated sense, any more than organized bullies stealing every child's lunch money the minute she enters the building is a "system" in any complex sense. It's not even a "racket" if that term implies misdirection and a multi-step process. It's just boots on the neck and hands in the pocket.Well, to me that describes some of the end results of capitalist development. Other results are what we witness everyday: never-ending wars, a few islands of rich among oceans of poor, climate destabilization, environmental destruction, etc.
