What can I read or watch to understand the political right or neo-liberalism?

August 8, 2004 11:56 AM

What can I read or watch to understand the political right or neo-liberalism? [MI]

I just finished watching the documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" about the 2002 coup in Venezuela and the film is absolutely amazing. But, I also understand that many will consider it slanted. Arguments against the movie tend to be something like... the macro-economic indicators are worse now than ever before, etc. But, that's just not enough for me. I really want to *understand* how neo-liberals come to the conclusions that they do. I'm worried that I've gotten stuck so far in my own worldview that anything else has become completely unimaginable. Is there anything that I can read or watch to at least make other points of view seem reasonable again?

posted by BugsPotter to law & government (6 comments total)

Sorry if this is obvious (or if you already have), but start with Wikipedia.

Also, it might help to explain which conclusions you don't understand. (I'm not snarking).
posted by trharlan at 12:17 PM on August 8, 2004

Read The Economist for a month or two. It slants openly and heavily neoliberal, but is nice and bitchy about it so it's generally a pleasant read.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:47 PM on August 8, 2004

i don't follow your logic. what do you want to *understand*? "...yadda yadda macro-economic indicators yadda..." means the economy is fucked. can you not see why that might be a bad thing for venezuela?

i'm not saying that any particular coup was good or bad, or making a judgement about chavez - i don't know enough about the country. it just seems that in your post there's already enough information to understand people who don't think venezuela is in the best of hands. so can you be clearer about what more are you looking for?
posted by andrew cooke at 3:58 PM on August 8, 2004

(the "might" in my first sentence isn't sarcasm. i just mean that the figures i linked to could give cause for concern, yet you seemed to think that unimaginable(?). perhaps the problem is that i don't see what connection you're trying to make with the film - i would have thought you could be worried about venezuela without being a neo-liberal, for example).
posted by andrew cooke at 4:12 PM on August 8, 2004

For major media...

Wall Street Journal, & Forbes... the entire financial press actually.

Slate's econ posts are usually on the up and up, Kinsley's a good neo-liberal

*snark*
...as are most smart and financially informed folk
*/snark*

Any econo-bloggers, like Klinger or Drezner, would probably be good as well.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:14 PM on August 8, 2004

I think leotrotsky means Kling.

Though Jamie Farr's blog could seriously rock.
posted by trharlan at 8:50 PM on August 8, 2004