Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order

What is democracy? Here, brilliant political thinker Noam Chomsky examines this question in detail. Is democracy a popular process of consultation, deliberation, and decision making? Is it another term for an open marketplace in which everyone is free to compete and consume? How "open" is that marketplace in reality?

Chomsky reveals how the political and economic principles that have prevailed are far removed from those that are popularly proclaimed. For example, one fundamental component of free trade (in theory) is that public subsidies are not allowed, but in practice, many large U.S. companies and banks owe their existence and success to routine large-scale government subsidy. As Chomsky puts it, "All understand very well that free enterprise means that the public pays the costs and bears the risks if things go wrong".

Instead of democratic social participation, Chomsky defines the prevailing political principle as Neoliberalism: policies that put profit over people. In his inimitable style, he combines detailed historical examples, no-holds-barred criticism, and a sense of profound hope in social activism to redefine people as citizens rather than consumers, and democracy as a global movement rather than a global market.