#1161 Anna Bocca: The Origins, Spread, and Failures of Neoliberal Capitalism

Oct 10, 2025

Anna Bocca, a YouTuber known for her insights on neoliberalism and corporate power, dives deep into the roots and consequences of neoliberal capitalism. She discusses how propaganda since the 1920s laid the groundwork for market fundamentalism, the influence of figures like Milton Friedman, and the political shifts led by Thatcher and Reagan. Bocca explores the myths of meritocracy, the rise of hustle culture, and how economic precarity fuels social movements. She questions the morality of neoliberalism and critiques the marketization of dating and self-improvement ideologies.

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ADVICE

Trace Ideas Back To Their Funding

Scrutinize policy origin stories and funding sources before accepting them as scholarly consensus.
Check how think-tank funding and PR shaped popular economics texts and public intellectuals.

INSIGHT

Cooperation Beats Greed As Default

Greed-as-human-nature is a weak claim because human cooperation underpinned evolutionary success.
Developmental psychology experiments show altruism and prosocial preferences emerge very early in life.

INSIGHT

Thatcher's Persona Was Political Strategy

Thatcher presented herself as a relatable lower‑middle-class figure to legitimize corporate neoliberal policies.
Her image helped lower-income voters identify with market individualism while she advanced elite agendas.

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Anna Bocca is a YouTuber (@annabocca). She makes videos about the scams of the corporate world, our economy, society, and other topics.

In this episode, we talk about neoliberalism. We start by discussing what it is, its origins, and how it got spread through propaganda and interventionism. We talk about Italian fascism and austerity measures, FDR’s New Deal, and Keynesianism and the post-war consensus. We discuss the 1970s and the rise of neoliberal capitalism, the influence of Milton Friedman, and whether greed is the primary human motivation. We also talk about Margaret Thatcher and the consequences of neoliberal policy. We discuss whether meritocracy is real. Finally, we talk about self-improvement, the rise of hustle culture and the manosphere, and the marketization of mating and dating.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航豊川, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JAMES, JORDAN MANSFIELD, CHARLOTTE ALLEN, PETER STOYKO, DAVID TONNER, LEE BECK, PATRICK DALTON-HOLMES, NICK KRASNEY, RACHEL ZAK, AND DENNIS XAVIER!

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