So-called "free market" economics have been a disaster for most of the majority populations in countries that have "embraced" them. We're experiencing the same disaster.

From an economic standpoint, neoconservatives, who actually favor "economic liberalization" are the followers--or perhaps supplicants is more appropriate--of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics (also called globalization, Reaganomics, laissez-faire, etc). This, the dominant economic theory for the last three or four decades is summarized by adherents as "free markets, free people."

Neoconservatism is based on three pillars: privatization (turning over public resources to private control), deregulation of business (unfettered corporate capitalism), and deep cuts in social programs. The end result, universally, is an increasing wealth gap, a transfer of public wealth to private wealth, and a transfer of private debt to public debt. This is the record in every country in which "neoconservative" economic policies have been tried (usually implemented by force): Indonesia, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Iran, South Africa, China, Russia, Poland and others.

The neocons will accuse liberals of being socialists or communists, criminals, traitors, "America haters" or anything else to attempt to draw support away from them. The fact is, the neoconservative economic movement is deeply anti-democratic. Think about it. There is a much greater number of people (voters) who are below average wealth than are above it (billionaires tweak the average upward far more than poor people pull it lower). The majority's self-interest, obviously, lies in policies that provide more for them, such as a reduction in the wealth gap. It is only those very few who benefit from the wealth gap who knowingly vote for policies that reduce opportunities for everyone but the very wealthy. To retain power, they must trick, coerce or force the masses to support these policies that are against the individuals' self-interest.

So, those who support neoconservative policies are either complicit (that is, they know these anti-democratic policies are bad for most, but are good for them, and thus support them), gullible (they believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that "a rising tide lifts all boats"), or distracted (those who are led by fear of Communists, drugs, street crime, "Islamo-fascists", terrorists or minorities; or those who are ignoring their own self-interest in order to confront a perceived threat from pregnant women seeking abortions, gay people seeking marriage etc.).

The impact of "free trade" policies (privatization, deregulation, cuts in social services) has not been benign in any of the countries on which these policies have been imposed, including China and Russia. Sometimes extreme force was required. Friedman, Reagan, Thatcher and Rumsfeld, among others, were very good friends with the brutal dictator Pinochet and they both encouraged and assisted him in transferring the vast publicly owned natural resource wealth of Chile to private corporations. The same program has "revolutionized" all of the countries I mention above, among others.

They have succeeded spectacularly at lining their pockets and those of their corporate sponsors at the expense of vast numbers of people in every country they have "liberated." The latest of these of course is Iraq, in which the oil wealth of that country, once publicly owned is now being transferred to the multinational oil companies. Additionally, in Iraq the "neocons" have succeeded in privatizing one of the last remaining functions of government, national defense, shifting huge amounts of tax dollars to companies including Blackwater, Halliburton, KBR, McDonald's, KFC and others.

In the case of the credit crisis as well as the war, the debt is passed on to the public. These bailouts have been happening for decades. Citibank, Chase, Ford, Bear Stearns; all have been bailed out of financial crises by the tax dollars of countries all over the world. The national wealth of these countries, including our own, has been shifted into the hands of the already rich and powerful, while the private debt from bad corporate policies and outright corruption and theft, has been shifted to the public.

Our tax dollars, once pledged to creating better opportunity for many, is now pledged to paying the interest on the obscene debt created by these irresponsible policies. The ballooning of the national debt is much more of a Republican creation than most people know.

Our national ascendancy was based on a strong middle class, which we created through investment of government dollars on education, infrastructure and housing. The shift to neoconservative "trickle-down" policies has trashed the middle class and weakened our future. It is my hope and dream that we will awake from this nightmare and embark on a goal of building a just society with opportunity for all and a commitment to the public good, not just private gain.