Interesting interview with Thomas Frank who wrote the book on Hillary's neoliberalism.

[Luminous Animal]

Thomas Frank, author of Listen, Liberal, discusses the Hillary Doctrine's basis in neoliberalism, how the Democratic Party stopped governing on behalf of the working class and how President Bill Clinton's major achievements actually enacted conservative goals, and ultimately hurt working people.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36035-thomas-frank-bill-clinton-s-five-major-achievements-were-longstanding-gop-objectives

Can you describe a little about what you call "The Hillary Doctrine," including how microlending is a good example of her belief in opening doors of entrepreneurship to solve the world's economic problems?

The Hillary Doctrine was Clinton's understanding of American national interest when she served as Obama's secretary of state. The idea was that the US would henceforth be the world's defender of women and girls. Hillary didn't mean this in a general sense, however. The kind of women we were committing ourselves to specifically were female entrepreneurs.

Thomas Frank. (Photo: Bonkeeyi)Thomas Frank. (Photo: Bonkeeyi)The source of this notion of liberation through female entrepreneurship is the microlending movement, in which Hillary has been an enthusiastic participant for many decades. It arose as part of neoliberalism in the 1990s: The IMF [International Monetary Fund] and World Bank would "structurally reform" a country's economy, and to help out with the human dislocation that resulted, they would give microloans to small entrepreneurs, who were encouraged to start tiny businesses like gardening or handicrafts. Over the years, the microlending movement accreted all these details: The entrepreneurs had to be women. They had to be hooked up to a bank. They had to have a Western mentor. They had to have smartphones. And so on.

You can see the appeal of this movement: It's telling you that the solution to poverty is not unions or government or anything like that, but for everyone to work hard and start their own businesses -- and, incidentally, to extend the reach of Western financial institutions to every village on the planet. A pure win-win. Everyone feels good. Everyone feels virtuous.

Except for the people who live in those countries, of course, because they know it doesn't work. You don't build a country's economy by having everyone buy a goat and sell milk to one another. All these people have to show for this strategy is debt. Some empowerment.

[BillZBubb]

1. Another home run by Frank. He sees Hillary for what she is.

Her supporters remain willfully blind.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Neoliberalism is neoconservatism with a smiley-face....hiding the bombs.

[seekthetruth]

3. C'mon Hillary supporters!!!!!

DEFEND YOUR CANDIDATE!

The silence is deafening.

[Doctor_J]

4. And a goat!

...having everyone buy a goat and sell milk to one another. All these people have to show for this strategy is debt.

Thomas, you forgot the goat!

This is a variation on Bush's "Ownership Society". The owning class are firm believers in PT Barnum's business model. At some point they will run out of suckers with money though.

[Ferd Berfel]

5. Bill was the best Republican President since Eisenhower

Hillary will be worse

[Skwmom]

6. Great article. ... these people seemed to regard her with an idealism that was almost cult-like.

[appalachiablue]

7. K & R. 'Lean in' Sandberg style women entrepenuers with smartphones

surviving in shanties of Peru and deep poverty areas around the world. The Tragic Neoliberal Fool Way.

[NorthCarolina]

8. He's absolutely right when he says "Corporate Democrats quite simply

DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU". Unless you're already part of the privileged class in which case welcome aboard.