SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Neoliberalism didn't just distort our economy, it dismembered our picture of our democracy. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Media's Quadrennial Eclipse
We need coverage of people as active citizens, not just as consumers.
Nov 16, 2020
Whatever will he do next? The cable newscasters cry, eager to ply their audiences with more of the drip, drip that keeps advertisers hooked. If you're feeling withdrawal from Disaster Don's tweets, there are pictures of his golf cart and non-news of his non-lawsuits. And Joe, oh Joe, and the next four years. How will he handle the world and the pandemic and the heartbreak we call our economy? How will the Dow Jones react? And did you know the Bidens will be bringing to DC the White House's first-ever rescue pet?
All this how's-he-doing coverage is par for the course as we transition to the next administration, but someone's missing from this picture of our politics. It's us.
Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Mostly gone from the scene already are the men and women who, for a few weeks this year, were interrupted over breakfast in Iowa or bothered over burgers in Pittsburgh by reporters curious to know what they think.
It's the quadrennial eclipse. Every election season, our picture of power momentarily opens up to include something resembling a society before it snaps back to narrow in on a few so-called "power brokers" in Washington and on Wall Street.
It's that eclipsing of the demos that leads me to think that neo-liberalism's not dead yet. Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Some--progressives mostly--have started saying that after Covid, Trump and climate catastrophe, it's in trouble.
There's certainly reason to believe voters want a shift. Look across the country at the many ballot initiatives that won majority support for raising minimum wages and taxing-over the top wealth. Seventy-eight percent of Oregonian voters approved reining in corporate spending in elections, and 57% of voters in Colorado demanded workers get a fair chance to earn paid time off.
Votes like that suggest that a majority of Americans might be ready for a change in priorities, not just some new people in government.
But neoliberalism didn't just distort our economy, it dismembered our picture of our democracy. We need coverage of people as active citizens, not just as consumers. Reporting on society as if social life mattered, not just the course of the market. We need reporting on democracy that includes the actual demos. And that begins with the media.
We're coming up on Giving Tuesday. How about you take a look around and support the media that sees you back?
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Whatever will he do next? The cable newscasters cry, eager to ply their audiences with more of the drip, drip that keeps advertisers hooked. If you're feeling withdrawal from Disaster Don's tweets, there are pictures of his golf cart and non-news of his non-lawsuits. And Joe, oh Joe, and the next four years. How will he handle the world and the pandemic and the heartbreak we call our economy? How will the Dow Jones react? And did you know the Bidens will be bringing to DC the White House's first-ever rescue pet?
All this how's-he-doing coverage is par for the course as we transition to the next administration, but someone's missing from this picture of our politics. It's us.
Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Mostly gone from the scene already are the men and women who, for a few weeks this year, were interrupted over breakfast in Iowa or bothered over burgers in Pittsburgh by reporters curious to know what they think.
It's the quadrennial eclipse. Every election season, our picture of power momentarily opens up to include something resembling a society before it snaps back to narrow in on a few so-called "power brokers" in Washington and on Wall Street.
It's that eclipsing of the demos that leads me to think that neo-liberalism's not dead yet. Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Some--progressives mostly--have started saying that after Covid, Trump and climate catastrophe, it's in trouble.
There's certainly reason to believe voters want a shift. Look across the country at the many ballot initiatives that won majority support for raising minimum wages and taxing-over the top wealth. Seventy-eight percent of Oregonian voters approved reining in corporate spending in elections, and 57% of voters in Colorado demanded workers get a fair chance to earn paid time off.
Votes like that suggest that a majority of Americans might be ready for a change in priorities, not just some new people in government.
But neoliberalism didn't just distort our economy, it dismembered our picture of our democracy. We need coverage of people as active citizens, not just as consumers. Reporting on society as if social life mattered, not just the course of the market. We need reporting on democracy that includes the actual demos. And that begins with the media.
We're coming up on Giving Tuesday. How about you take a look around and support the media that sees you back?
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Whatever will he do next? The cable newscasters cry, eager to ply their audiences with more of the drip, drip that keeps advertisers hooked. If you're feeling withdrawal from Disaster Don's tweets, there are pictures of his golf cart and non-news of his non-lawsuits. And Joe, oh Joe, and the next four years. How will he handle the world and the pandemic and the heartbreak we call our economy? How will the Dow Jones react? And did you know the Bidens will be bringing to DC the White House's first-ever rescue pet?
All this how's-he-doing coverage is par for the course as we transition to the next administration, but someone's missing from this picture of our politics. It's us.
Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Mostly gone from the scene already are the men and women who, for a few weeks this year, were interrupted over breakfast in Iowa or bothered over burgers in Pittsburgh by reporters curious to know what they think.
It's the quadrennial eclipse. Every election season, our picture of power momentarily opens up to include something resembling a society before it snaps back to narrow in on a few so-called "power brokers" in Washington and on Wall Street.
It's that eclipsing of the demos that leads me to think that neo-liberalism's not dead yet. Neoliberalism as you'll recall, is that governing theory that came of age with Reagan and Thatcher by which society is seen purely as a market and the needs of humans are second to profit. Some--progressives mostly--have started saying that after Covid, Trump and climate catastrophe, it's in trouble.
There's certainly reason to believe voters want a shift. Look across the country at the many ballot initiatives that won majority support for raising minimum wages and taxing-over the top wealth. Seventy-eight percent of Oregonian voters approved reining in corporate spending in elections, and 57% of voters in Colorado demanded workers get a fair chance to earn paid time off.
Votes like that suggest that a majority of Americans might be ready for a change in priorities, not just some new people in government.
But neoliberalism didn't just distort our economy, it dismembered our picture of our democracy. We need coverage of people as active citizens, not just as consumers. Reporting on society as if social life mattered, not just the course of the market. We need reporting on democracy that includes the actual demos. And that begins with the media.
We're coming up on Giving Tuesday. How about you take a look around and support the media that sees you back?
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy