Market fundamentalism

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Market fundamentalism , market radicalism or market ideology are political buzzwords that are used to denote liberal economic positions. The users of the catchphrase express that the so-called economic policy ideas of third parties overestimate the problem-solving potential of market mechanisms .

origin

The term market fundamentalism was popularized by George Soros in 1998, but was used by Jonathan Benthall , John Langmore and John Quiggin as early as 1991 . Soros turned his criticism to the crisis of global capitalism is :

Today's market fundamentalism is a much greater threat to the open society than any totalitarian ideology . ”(P. 21f) (...) This time the danger does not come from communism , but from market fundamentalism. Communism destroyed the market mechanism and subjected all economic activity to collective control. Market fundamentalism, on the other hand, seeks the abolition of the collective decision-making process and wants market values ​​to take precedence over all political and social values. Both extremes are wrong. What we need is a healthy balance between politics and the market, between making rules and playing by rules. (P. 28)

meaning

According to Soros, market fundamentalists are people who “believe that markets strive for equilibrium and that the common good is best served if participants are allowed to pursue their own interests.” Soros writes: “Market fundamentalism is meanwhile so powerful that all political forces who dare to oppose him are unceremoniously branded as sentimental, illogical or naive. "

In Soros' view, market fundamentalists misunderstand financial markets because their theory of equilibrium applies only to the world of physics. Instead of an equilibrium, he sees a “ reflexive interaction between what the participants expect and what actually happens”, which is of central importance for the understanding of all economic, political and social phenomena. (see p. 23)

Even more important for Soros is the failure of the market mechanism in the “non-market sector”, by which he means the collective interests of society, the values ​​“which are not expressed in markets.” (P. 25)

Areas that cannot be regulated by market forces alone include many of the most important things in life, from moral values ​​to family relationships to aesthetic and intellectual achievement. (...) This penetration of market ideology into areas that lie beyond the economy and economy has undoubtedly destructive and demoralizing consequences for society. But market fundamentalism is now so powerful that all forces who dare to oppose it are unceremoniously branded as sentimental, illogical or naive. (P. 27)

The social scientists Margaret Somers and Fred Block define market fundamentalism as “today's form of the idea that society as a whole should be subordinated to a system of self-regulating markets. Market fundamentalism is more extreme than (and should not be confused with) the tiered opinions of most mainstream economists. It is also very different from the complex mixture of political lines that are pursued in currently existing market societies. ”Typically, self-regulated markets would be portrayed as natural , while state intervention would be depicted as culturally determined arbitrariness. Somers / Block believe that the beliefs that market principles are superior were often based on a “quasi-religious” certainty.

Jürgen Habermas laments the " social Darwinist potential" of market fundamentalism . Even Christoph Butterwegge holds neoliberalism for a variety of social Darwinism.

Friedhelm Hengsbach refers to what he considers to be the “radical market point of reference” of the conception of the social market economy , the “ideal-typical construction of the perfect market ”.

In his 2001 acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Economics, the former World Bank chairman Joseph Stiglitz took the view that the Washington Consensus was based on “market fundamentalist principles”. The underlying “ideology” is based on the absolutization of the model attributed to Adam Smith , according to which market forces lead the economy to efficient results as if by an invisible hand . This does not take into account the fact that the market system requires complete competition and complete information. According to Stiglitz, the fundamentalist ideas are that “the markets regulate themselves, distribute resources efficiently and serve the interests of the public”. These views are an interest-driven political doctrine that has no basis in economic theory. Stiglitz described the global financial crisis in 2008 as the end of the market fundamentalism he saw. For Stiglitz it is important to leave the neoliberalism shaped by market fundamentalism behind in favor of a more balanced economic system.

Critique of the term

Jagdish Bhagwati laments anti-market fundamentalism that is now growing everywhere. Unlike z. B. Stiglitz he is unable to see any market fundamentalism during the administration of US President George W. Bush . Instead of deregulation, he saw a lot of failed regulation, which mostly had to do with lobbying.

Even Bryan Caplan criticizes the use of the phrase. For the economic mainstream, the popular accusation of “market fundamentalism” is simply wrong and foolish. Even Milton Friedman , who is much more market-friendly than the average economist, openly admits weaknesses in the market and has no quasi-religious belief in the infallibility of the free market. The only plausible candidates for “market fundamentalism” are the successors of Ludwig von Mises , especially his student Murray Rothbard and the Ludwig von Mises Institute . But these would mostly only discuss with one another because they would be far from the economic mainstream. Caplan believes that instead of market fundamentalism, a quasi-religious democratic fundamentalism is widespread.

According to the sociologist Wolfgang Krohn , “the coining of the word market fundamentalism serves to morally discredit a neo-liberalist attitude”. She used their opposition to moral fundamentalism to make it clear that “the allegations of fundamentalism and hypocrisy are occasionally returned to the address of apparently demoralized actors when they invoke the relentless logic of functional imperatives of the functional systems in order to manifestly unethical practices refine. "

literature

  • Lee Boldeman: The cult of the market: economic fundamentalism and its discontents . AU E Press, Canberra 2007 epress.anu.edu.au (PDF; 1.7 MB)
  • Jean Gadrey: New Economy, New Myth , 2001, ISBN 978-0-415-30142-8 (especially chapter Market diversity and regulation and The limits of the market ; Original: ISBN 978-2-08-080023-7 )
  • Peter Schönhöffer (Ed.) U. a .: Pax Christi - World Economy Commission : The God Capital. Initiatives for a criticism of religion and culture. LIT-Verlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9316-2
  • Franz Josef Radermacher : Eco-social foundations for sustainability paths - Why market fundamentalism makes the world poor . In: GAIA 13, No. 3, 2004, pp. 170-175.
  • George Soros: The crisis of Global Capitalism . Alexander Fest Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-8286-0097-2
  • Joseph E. Stiglitz: Chances of Globalization . Siedler, Berlin 2006

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rolf Stürner: Market and competition above all else? Society and law in the focus of neoliberal market ideology . 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-56884-8 , pp. 144, 141 and 127
  2. ↑ Jonathan Benthall: Inside Information on 'the Market' . In: Anthropology Today , Vol. 7, No. 4 (Aug., 1991), pp. 1-2.
  3. ^ George Soros: The crisis of Global Capitalism , Alexander Fest Verlag, Berlin 1998.
  4. ↑ Langmore, J. and Quiggin, J. (1995), "Work For All"
  5. ↑ George Soros: Soros sees worst crisis in 60 years Welt Online January 25, 2008
  6. ^ Margaret R. Somers, Fred Block: From Poverty to Perversity: Ideas, Markets, and Institutions over 200 Years of Welfare Debate . In: American Sociological Review , 2005, Vol. 70, No. 2, (Apr., 2005), pp. 260 f. “Market fundamentalism is the contemporary form of the idea that society as a whole should be subordinated to a system of self-regulating markets. Market fundamentalism is more extreme than (and must not be confused with) the nuanced arguments made by most mainstream economists. It is also very different from the complex mix of policies pursued by governments in actually existing market societies. "
  7. ↑ Jürgen Habermas : After bankruptcy . In: Die Zeit , No. 46/2008
  8. ↑ Neoliberalism as a variant of social Darwinism - derStandard.at. Accessed December 29, 2019 (Austrian German).
  9. ^ Friedhelm Hengsbach: Social market economy - construct, battle formula, model? In: Nils Goldschmidt, Michael Wohlgemuth: The future of the social market economy . 1st edition. Mohr Siebeck, 2004, ISBN 978-3-16-148296-0 , p. 164
  10. ^ Joseph E. Stiglitz: Information and Change in the Paradigm in Economics . In: American Economic Review , Vol. 92, No. 3 (Jun., 2002), pp. 460, 461.
  11. ↑ cf. also Joseph E. Stiglitz: The shadows of globalization . 4th edition. Goldmann, Munich 2004, p. 106
  12. ↑ Joseph Stiglitz: The shadows of globalization . 4th edition 2004, p. 105 f.
  13. ↑ Joseph Stiglitz: The shadows of globalization . 4th edition 2004, p. 106
  14. ^ Joseph E. Stiglitz 2008 in Project Syndicate The End of Neoliberalism? , last accessed June 26, 2009
  15. ↑ Michael Hesse: History of ideas The Liberals and the State. (News article) FAZ, April 21, 2012, accessed April 7, 2009 .
  16. ^ Joseph E. Stiglitz: Moving beyond market fundamentalism to a more balanced economy. In: Annals of public and cooperative economics Vol. 80, H. 3, 2009, pp. 345-360, ISSN  0770-8548
  17. ↑ Financial products are like fire .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Sueddeutsche.de, November 11, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.sueddeutsche.de  
  18. ^ Bryan Douglas Caplan: The myth of the rational voter: why democracies choose bad policies . Princeton University Press, 2007, pp. 183 ff., 185
  19. ↑ Wolfgang Krohn: Functions of moral communication