On Tue, 1 Aug 2000, Christoph Reuss wrote:
> Another interpretation would be that the "de-" stems from "de-programmer"
> -- one who de-programs the minds that were previously brainwashed
> (programmed) in an ideology/cult. (in this case, neoliberalism)
That would be a reasonable interpretation and I confess to having thought
of it when coining the job title but I believe that people have to de-program
their own minds.
The notion of neoliberalism *as a cult* deserves taken literally.
Let's suppose that cults arise from the ashes of dead myths,
which themselves can no longer be believed because they are contradicted
by observation. Then we might say the cult of neoliberalism is a spectre
of the myth of Ragged Dick (the hero in Horatio Alger stories).
Neoliberalism is profoundly different from the Horatio Alger myth. One
might say it is the negation of the Alger myth. Alger's hero *did not*
pursue wealth for wealth's sake. Ragged Dick pursued learning and virtue
for their own sake and was rewarded by *providence*. His good character
and self-improving ways enabled him to seize opportunities that presented
themselves by luck.
The myth claims virtue will (or perhaps may) be rewarded monetarily.
The cult claims that the pursuit of monetary reward is in itself
virtuous; in its most extreme expression, the pursuit of financial gain is
the only virtue.
Temps Walker
Sandwichman and Deconsultant
