The Twilight of Neoliberalism: From Chile to Sri Lanka, Mamata Banerjee’s Democratic Socialism Awakens a Global Reckoning

Across continents, the unrelenting march of neoliberalism—once hailed as the saviour of global economies—has left a trail of shattered nations and broken dreams. From Latin America to Europe, from Asia to the very heart of capitalism in the West, the story is eerily familiar: the top 1% thrive, while the masses suffer. The system, designed to uplift, has instead chained entire populations to poverty, while the wealthy soar to unimaginable heights. Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru—all crucibles of neoliberal experimentation—stand as stark reminders of the promises unmet, the devastation wrought.

In the wake of these failed promises, a new era looms. Mamata Banerjee, a diminutive but powerful leader from Bengal, clothed in her simple cotton sari, stands poised to ignite a revolution of democratic socialism, not just in India but across the world. As global capitalism teeters on the edge of collapse, Banerjee's vision might just offer the balm for nations battered by the excesses of neoliberal greed.

1. The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism: From Latin America to the World

The neoliberal doctrine first found fertile ground in Chile under the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s. Guided by the Chicago Boys—economists trained under Milton Friedman—Chile became a laboratory for free-market economics. Deregulation, privatization, and austerity measures became the order of the day, and while the wealthy benefitted, the working class was decimated. Poverty soared. Inequality widened. The economy, while growing in the eyes of foreign investors, left the majority of its citizens in despair. Chile, the “miracle” of neoliberalism, became its first casualty.

Across Latin America, the story repeated itself. In Argentina, under Carlos Menem, and Mexico under Carlos Salinas de Gortari, neoliberalism was sold as a ticket to prosperity. Foreign capital poured in, but so did inequality and social unrest. Economic collapses, defaults on national debt, and currency crises became hallmarks of these nations. The financial elite profited; the masses paid the price.

2. The European Crisis: France, Germany, and England in the Crosshairs

The Eurozone crisis exposed the vulnerabilities of European nations, shackled by a financial system dominated by neoliberal principles. Germany, the economic powerhouse, imposed austerity measures on struggling nations like Greece and Spain, tightening the noose around their economic prospects. France, once the bastion of social welfare, began eroding its safety nets under Emmanuel Macron’s pro-market reforms. England, under the banner of Thatcherite economics, saw the gutting of its working class as manufacturing was dismantled in favour of financial speculation. The working poor, left to languish, became the new face of Europe’s economic reality.

In Sri Lanka, the collapse of its economy in 2022 became the latest example of the neoliberal experiment gone wrong. Burdened by foreign debt, austerity measures, and the privatization of key sectors, the island nation found itself in economic freefall, with shortages of basic goods, power outages, and widespread protests. The people, disillusioned with a system that served the elite, demanded change. The warning bells of economic unrest now reverberate around the globe.

3. COVID-19: The Final Nail in Neoliberalism’s Coffin

The pandemic did not just devastate health systems and economies; it laid bare the failures of neoliberalism on a global scale. In India, as elsewhere, the working class bore the brunt. Job losses, wage stagnation, and soaring inflation left millions on the brink. The money shifted from secure savings to the volatile stock market, creating an artificial boom. But this boom is a bubble—a ticking time bomb.

As wealth consolidated in the hands of the few, the vast majority of Indians were pushed further into poverty. The global crash that looms will not be a crisis for the wealthy, but an existential disaster for the millions whose livelihoods are tied to speculative financial markets. Neoliberalism, once lauded as the ultimate solution, has become the ultimate problem.

4. The Case for Democratic Socialism: Mamata Banerjee and a Global Awakening

In this fractured global landscape, Mamata Banerjee stands as a beacon of hope. Her vision of democratic socialism—rooted in welfare programmes, food security, and state intervention—offers an alternative to the free-market orthodoxy that has ravaged economies from Chile to Sri Lanka. Banerjee’s policies are not about rejecting capitalism, but about regulating it, ensuring that the state plays a central role in the protection of its citizens.

In West Bengal, Banerjee has demonstrated that government intervention can lift people from poverty, provide healthcare, and ensure food security—all while maintaining economic stability. Her success in combining socialism with democratic governance could offer a model for nations teetering on the brink of collapse.

5. The Full Circle of Neoliberalism: From Reagan to Thatcher, and Back to India

Neoliberalism’s birth in the Mont Pelerin Society, championed by thinkers like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, found its global advocates in the form of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Under their leadership, the world saw the deregulation of markets, the privatization of industries, and the erosion of the welfare state. Their vision of unfettered capitalism, designed to promote economic freedom, has instead created vast inequalities, setting the stage for economic collapse.

As the neoliberal project unravels, the global working class is rising. From the gilets jaunes in France, to the protests in Sri Lanka, to the farmer revolts in India, the signs are clear. The Chicago Boys, once the darlings of global economic reform, are now the villains. Neoliberalism is dead; the question now is what comes next.

6. A Global Reckoning: Banerjee’s Revolution and the Caging of the Chicago Boys

What we are witnessing is not merely the end of neoliberalism, but the beginning of something far greater: a global awakening to the failures of free-market capitalism. As the stock markets crash, as inequality deepens, as the middle class erodes, Mamata Banerjee’s democratic socialism will offer a way forward.

Banerjee’s rise is not an anomaly—it is a symbol of the times. From Santiago to Kolkata, from Paris to Colombo, people are looking for leaders who will put people before profit. The era of unregulated markets and corporate greed is ending, and in its place, a new social contract is being written.

The world is waking up to the fact that there is an alternative—and that alternative is not found in the pages of Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, but in the welfare-driven policies of leaders like Banerjee.

The Bombay Boys, India's own architects of neoliberalism, will soon find themselves caged alongside the Chicago Boys, as the global economy shifts away from their outdated doctrine. In the coming years, the dominance of speculative capital will be replaced by state intervention, wealth redistribution, and social welfare.

7. From the Ashes of Neoliberalism, a New Order Rises

As the economic collapse looms, nations will look for leaders who offer real solutions, not more market-driven fantasies. Mamata Banerjee stands ready to lead that charge. In the face of global economic chaos, her vision of democratic socialism may well become the blueprint for the future.

In a world where neoliberalism has failed, Banerjee’s rise is not an aberration—it is inevitable. Her success will mark the beginning of the end for the free-market orthodoxy that has dominated global economics for half a century.