“Neoliberal democracy. Instead of citizens, it produces consumers. Instead of communities, it produces shopping malls. The net result is an atomized society of disengaged individuals who feel demoralized and socially powerless.
In sum, neoliberalism is the immediate and foremost enemy of genuine participatory democracy, not just in the United States but across the planet, and will be for the foreseeable future.”
Worth noting that "neoliberalism" as a term must be taken in context of the era in which Chomsky wrote this.
Both "neo" and "liberal" as word roots are relative by nature, and no longer apply in a modern context to that which they were attributed in this case.
Because "the left" has all but abandoned the working class. The used to care about shopping malls taking out the little guys and global trade undermining local jobs but the former is now seen as unwilling to adapt to the new economy and the later is seen as racist. "White male" is now used as an insult when it should form the core of the left.
In sum, neoliberalism is the immediate and foremost enemy of genuine participatory democracy, not just in the United States but across the planet, and will be for the foreseeable future.”
― Noam Chomsky