Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, and Technocracy

Oligarchy

In Socrates’ Law of Social Cycles, the Oligarchy follows after the Aristocratic cycle.

Contrary to popular belief, Oligarchy is the rule by money, not the rule by a few. This is because the aristocratic cycle is also ruled by a few people.

The main driver of an oligarchy is the need for wealth and economic growth.

There are 2 main subforms of Oligarchy today.

1. Technocracy

A technocracy is the rule by experts.

This can be seen as a modern Timocracy, which is the sub-cycle in between an aristocracy and an oligarchy.

According to Socrates, this happens when the philosophers become steadily drawn by the love of money. And so they use their expert skills to make money.

The moderm philosophers are now scientists, engineers, economists, etc.

These are like private consultants who are hired to solve specific problems that require specialized knowledge.

Technocrats believe that governance should be guided by scientific principles and data-driven policies rather than by political ideologies or popular opinion.

Technocrats often advocate for centralized economic planning that is guided by data and expertise.

• This includes managing resources, production, and distribution to ensure efficiency and sustainability.

2. Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism emerged from the Bretton Woods system established after the end of World War 2.

Instead of managing the world through a council such as the League of Nations or the United Nations, the strategy changed to using Economics through the following economic institutions:

1. The World Bank

This provided loans for capital expenditures such as infrastructure and power plants.

2. The IMF

This provided financing for government services and operating costs and non capital expenses.

3. World Trade Organization

This set the rules for world trade.

Free Markets and Deregulation

Instead of competing through destructive warfare, nations agreed to compete in terms of goods and services.

This required deregulation and the opening up of markets, including the privatization of state-owned enterprises.

The resulting global free trade was called globalization. This included the free movement of capital, goods, and services across borders, which often leads to reduced tariffs and trade barriers.

Instead of state solutions, the burden of solving problems fell to companies which were tasked with providing market-driven solutions. This is based on the belief that the market can solve social issues (e.g., healthcare, education) better than government intervention.

Examples of neoliberalism are the policies implemented by Margaret Thatcher’s UK, Ronald Reagan’s USA