The problem of neoliberalism is the ignorance of privilege. Everyone that could be reading this has been birthed or brought into a place of privilege over others, which is exactly why the Rand-esque thoughts of neoliberalism could never work in our society: our society is not a level playing field, and our players are not meant to be sparring against one another in the first place. By being able to access the internet on a computer given to you by prestigious honors program centered in one of the richest cities in the world, each of us have an intense class privilege over many. Any of us who are white have a racial privilege; any of us who are male have an intense patriarchal privilege; any of us who are heterosexual have an intense heterosexual privilege; any of us who are cisgendered have an intense cisgendered privilege: it is the understanding of these privileges that would enable us to empathize with those without. In the first world we live happily on the backs of the third. The focus of neoliberalism on individual autonomy is not what’s the problem, but the misunderstanding that by simply saying so that autonomy can be had despite hundreds of years of society’s prejudices still alive and well today. The question then is how we can get the privileged to understand their position without them rejecting the notion entirely.

“We have to share our resources and take direction about how to use our privilege in ways that empower those that lack it.”