The Age of Abandonment
Morning Comrades.
I realise that much of what we perceive as a linear experience of time feels entirely unconnected, individual and to be solitary “events” for a lack of a better word, that continue to define out material reality. The exact opposite is the case. Neither is history linear, nor is our participation and our experience of it.
Whilst it would be easy to point to the upcoming inauguration of Trump as the next President of the US as a turning point of our reality, the opposite is much more accurate. Part of what prompted this train of thought was started by a Substack written by Branko Milanovic earlier in the week, that I can only recommend reading not just to gain more context of the below, but also because it is an incredibly good piece.
In line with the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the fast-paced fulfilment of the neoliberal experiment, aka the biggest wealth transfer from the working class to the ruling class in human history, and the masks-off moments witnessed in our Western Democracies it is fair to state that we are entering a new era. Neo-Liberalism as cover show and pretence for Capitalism and its inherent realities is over and a new era is waiting to be defined - whilst the material pre-conditions for this era have been laid down decades ago-our communal understanding of it hasn’t sunk in it. As always, the point of this project is not so much a commentary on day-to-day fuckery, as popular as that would be, but rather a root cause analysis and offering of help. Considering the fact that my generation ( X ) failed to understand the nature of neoliberalism quick enough, I am hoping that this proposed understanding will lead to a faster and more organised opposition to it all.
The Age of Abandonment: How Western Democracies Shun Their Reason for Existence
Western democracies, once heralded as bastions of equity, fairness, and collective progress, are entering what may rightly be termed "The Age of Abandonment." At the core of this phenomenon lies a systemic contradiction: representative democracies, ostensibly formed to secure and allocate resources such as care, food, and shelter, now reject their foundational promise to prioritise the well-being of the people. Instead, they cede ever-greater power to unaccountable markets and technocratic elite governance, hollowing the very institutions of popular sovereignty.
This period signals both crisis and the potential for revolutionary reckoning. Marxist theorists highlight the erosion of Western democracy’s capacity to fulfill its promises, attributing it to the inextricable link between democracy and capital accumulation. The failure to secure basic needs for the majority reflects not just policy failure but the contradictions of capitalism itself.
Theoretical Perspectives on the Age of Abandonment
Nancy Fraser argues that late capitalism perpetuates what she terms the "crisis of care," wherein social reproduction—the necessary labour of caring for people’s basic needs—is increasingly privatised and commodified. Fraser notes, "The capitalist economy systematically externalizes the costs of social reproduction onto families, communities, and ecosystems" (Fraser, Fortunes of Feminism, 2013). In the Age of Abandonment, representative democracies no longer buffer this commodification but intensify it, leaving citizens vulnerable to crises such as health care collapse and housing shortages. As care responsibilities fall to overstretched individuals and underfunded public systems, democracies fracture their own legitimacy by failing to meet this most fundamental need.
David Harvey’s concept of "accumulation by dispossession" provides a powerful lens to understand the erosion of democratic accountability. He writes, "Capitalism has to continually extend its reach, not just spatially, but into areas of life and governance that previously operated outside of market logic" (The New Imperialism, 2003). Western democracies now abandon public investments in housing, healthcare, and welfare, outsourcing these necessities to corporate entities whose profit motives perpetuate inequality. For instance, housing crises in major Western cities reveal how state mechanisms actively assist capital in dispossessing citizens of the right to shelter, often through gentrification and real-estate speculation.
In Undoing the Demos (2015), Wendy Brown critiques the neoliberal encroachment on democracy, arguing that it transforms citizens into "human capital" rather than political subjects. As a result, the state reorients itself toward protecting markets rather than meeting the needs of the population. Brown observes, "Democracy becomes a placeholder for market-driven logic, draining it of its normative commitment to equality or justice." The Age of Abandonment reflects this transformation: governments prioritise financial markets over direct investment in public goods, eroding trust and fostering alienation among their citizens.
Negri and Hardt argue that in the age of global capital, representative democracy cannot address the multiplicity of social and economic inequalities it produces. In Empire (2000), they write, "The nation-state no longer functions as the arbiter of social goods or the guarantor of public welfare but as an agent of the global capitalist order." This reality underpins the abandonment of democratic ideals, as states dismantle welfare programs under the guise of fiscal responsibility. From austerity measures to privatised services, democratic governments abdicate their most basic obligation to their citizens.
Structural Failures and Emerging Contradictions
The Age of Abandonment is a direct manifestation of capitalism’s internal contradictions, as predicted by Marx. The increasing concentration of wealth among elites, coupled with the decay of public institutions, creates a condition Marx described as the "immiseration of the proletariat." Representative democracy, operating within capitalist frameworks, cannot reconcile its duty to the people with its service to profit motives.
Moreover, as wages stagnate, and precarious work proliferates, the disenfranchised masses lose faith in democratic representation. Marx’s warning rings clear: "The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie" (The Communist Manifesto, 1848). The failure to meet the needs of the many intensifies class antagonisms, pointing toward a potential rupture in the existing order.
Toward a Revolutionary Horizon?
The Age of Abandonment is not merely an indictment of contemporary Western democracies but a clarion call for transformative change. We can elucidate the systemic roots of the crisis, highlighting how the entwining of democracy with capitalism undermines its capacity to serve its citizens. The abandonment of care, food, and shelter for the many is not accidental but structural, embedded within neoliberal governance and capitalist imperatives.
This period offers both peril and possibility. On the one hand, unchecked abandonment fosters greater inequality and despair; on the other, it creates the conditions for revolutionary awareness. As Fraser, Harvey, Brown, and Negri reveal, the failures of representative democracy are not fatalistic but historically contingent, contingent on whether the masses choose to remain disempowered or seize the moment to construct a truly emancipatory order. Only then can democracy be reclaimed as a system that exists to serve the many, not the few.
As always, thank you for your time and attention.
Yours, warmly,
V
References
Fraser, Nancy. Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis. Verso, 2013.
Harvey, David. The New Imperialism. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Brown, Wendy. Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution. Zone Books, 2015.
Hardt, Michael, and Antonio Negri. Empire. Harvard University Press, 2000.
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. 1848.