Political pedagogy for Marc Márquez and his defenders.

Reflections on neoliberalism around the case of young Marc Márquez and taxes.

In view of the accumulation of criticisms -positive and negative- generated by the news of Marc Márquez (Spanish bi-champion of the Moto GP world championship) about his his willingness to register in Andorra and pay taxes in the country of the Pyrenees in his subsequent declarations, I decided to give my opinion on this matter.I have decided to give my opinion on the case and thus contribute a grain of sand to the established debate. To this end, I propose an exploration at different levels of analysis: social, political and economic of the existing economic and tax situation in Spain.

My contributions must be framed within the logic of a healthy, free and open debate. I do not intend to offend anyone. I would also like to point out that the controversy over Márquez will not monopolize my analysis, but rather I intend to emphasize the context in which he is inscribed.

Conceptualization and brief history of neoliberalism

Today we live in a particular period of capitalism. The neoliberalismneoliberalism, a stage of capitalism, is an ideology and method of liberal analysis, the fruit of a new economic vision of the world, whose development took place during the years of the government of Roland Reagan y Margaret Thatcherwho led the breakup of the Breton Woods pacts. Breton Woods (1971). The latter established the rules of the global financial system, which had to respect the centrality of the dollar as the currency of exchange. With their rupture, a system of floating exchange rates crystallized. floating exchange rates.

The neoliberalism The aim, in general terms, is to denounce a strong or interventionist state in the economy and to diminish the power acquired by the working classes, translated, in part, by a welfare state. In the words of David Harvey in his book A Brief History of Neoliberalism, "Neoliberalism is, first and foremost, a theory of political-economic practices that asserts that the best way to promote human welfare is not to restrict the free development of individual capabilities and entrepreneurial freedoms, within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, strong free markets, and freedom of trade." This is very nice in theory, but in practice it translates into policies that aim to dismantling part of the stateIn other words, to break up the public sector while maintaining just enough to maintain stability or social cohesion so that companies can compete without too many regulations. This leads inexorably to less state intervention in the economy, with the aim that private companies replace that management, previously guaranteed by the state, to secure more opportunities for their accumulation of capital at the expense of society.

In short, neoliberal neoliberalismas well as globalization is the direct effect of the need of certain companies or large capitals (at the beginning mainly American financial) to guarantee economic expansion at the expense of the State. to guarantee economic expansion at the expense of the State and, at the end of the day, at the expense of the working classes, who cannot take advantage of the benefits of globalization.who cannot take advantage of the benefits of free trade. free trade in the same way since their capital accumulation is too small to leave the ideological and administrative reality imposed on them: the nation-state. nation-state.

The normalization of neoliberal ideology

The case of Marquez has been one of the most mediatized, and perhaps does not deserve so much punishment. On the contrary, a scandalous case such as the one involving the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the "tax ruling in Luxembourg has had a testimonial relevance and has barely passed the table-top sieve. Nevertheless, this event is of interest to us because it is part of a context of ideological domination neoliberal, This event, however, is of interest to us because it is part of a context of neoliberal ideological domination, which has taken root in the minds of a good part of us, crystallizing in the day-to-day activities of the citizens.

The main problem lies in the antidemocratic logic of neoliberalism. This new liberal liberal is largely exploited by those who have the capacity to move capital across borders into other countries. The argument for a neoliberalconscious or not, is based on his or her perception of the freedom acquired by this hegemonic vision. The freedom for a liberal consists of mercantilist logic: the freedom of flows of capital, goods and people with almost no restrictions or regulations. with almost no restrictions or regulations. Following this logic, Europe would be one of the freest places in the world. I do not share such a perception, at least partially, because, as this ideology implicitly shows, freedom is linked to the ability to accumulate monetary resources and, in fineof your social class. The more you have, the freer you are and the easier it is to accumulate capital, since you can take advantage of other taxes and facilities provided for big capital.

The application in the case of Marquez? Very simple. While most of us do not have the capacity for accumulation, the reality, which presents itself as a range of possibilities, is basically, that limited by the nation-state. On the other hand, the Márquez or the Pujol have a mass of capital whose quantity calls them to move from one place to another, understanding -actively or passively- the possibilities that neoliberalism can offer. neoliberalism First conclusion? The neoliberalism gives more capacity to those who own more so that they can escape, for example, from national taxation, which in the case of elite sportsmen is 56%. This characteristic, recently denounced by many high-ranking police officers in France (such as Jean-François Gayraud), brings a criminal dimension to the capitalist system.

The example of the tax evasion acts of Google o Apple to legitimize the actions of the young athlete. That these companies take advantage of the system of free movement of capital to pay taxes wherever they are offered the best conditions is absolutely true. But this does not legitimize that others can do so. In fact, the responsibility of a patriot, whether he feels Catalan or Spanish (it doesn't matter too much), is to respond to his Nation. Especially at a historical moment when its citizens need it the most, since they do not enjoy the same freedom as others. freedom. It must be understood that the young pilot takes advantage of the followership of a great number of fans who see themselves reflected in him, precisely because of his condition of national "brother"; of a prodigal son. A few days ago, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), an organization made up of the majority of the most developed countries in the world, showed statistics that ranked Spain as the fourth most unequal country among OECD countries in terms of inequality between rich and poor.. Only three countries are better than Spain: Turkey, the United States and Mexico. In addition, the study showed that Spain won the trophy for the country where these inequalities have worsened the most since the economic crisis.Welcome to Márquez's money for those who can't pay for their heating or fill their fridge! Or more realistically, welcome to try to safeguard our public accounts and our welfare state decimated, in part, by the bailout of nearly 100,000 million Spanish private banks.

To add another icing on the cake, it is worth mentioning that, in Spain, some $107,350 million dollars were evaded for tax purposes by large companies and fortunes in 2011. 107,350 million dollars in 2011 according to the Tax Justice Network. Elite sportsmen and women are part of this elite capable of evading state taxation and there are many cases found in Spanish sport (Lionel Messi is one of these cases, recently indicted and finally reached an agreement with the Treasury to pay what was claimed).

The nation: "farce for the rich, reality for the poor".

It has often been debated whether or not capitalist interests still respond to the interests of the nation-state. nation-state. The truth is that this issue is complex and I would like to cover it assuming that both cases are possible (in the following article I will propose a deeper analysis of this debate). The case of Márquez leads us to question ourselves about the schizophrenia between national ideological values and the contradiction with the individualistic interest resulting from neoliberal capitalism. The tax evasion of large fortunes, as we mentioned in the previous point, puts this issue at the center of the debate.

The national ideological anchor acts as a constraint, as it grants an identity feeling of horizontal solidarity without class distinction (identity distinctions prevail) and binds society within a framework with "real" borders. The neoliberalism and globalization open these borders wide while maintaining the ideological reality of the nation in order to cloister the claims of those who do not benefit from the privileges derived from the possession of large capitals. My personal opinion is that a patriot is the one who pays taxes in his country, exercising a political responsibility, and not the one who strongly moves the flag.

Marc Márquez must be a mess. The media pressure seems to have exerted an important weight: Cervera seems to have understood that he feeds, in part, thanks to the Spanish fans and, without them, his image as a national idol and advertising icon may be punished, losing part of its commercial appeal and, ultimately, could compromise a not inconsiderable income. The schizophrenia occurs at the moment when that great mass, which gives him that social valuation, sees in his desire to change his residence a betrayal of national values.. These values, for the most part, remain chained to the reality of the nation-state. nation-state (both sentimentally and tributarily). The nation, as we have been saying, is a concept in which the question of identity prevails over the question of social class, allowing a sort of solidarity or pact between classes. When this cultural paradigm is threatened, all the popularity gained by an excellent job in the world of motorcycling and its wide media repercussion can be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Márquez has understood many things in a short time (or should have). His national responsibility to his countrymen could be one of these things. That money does not give everything, could be the second. The third, and more complex: that the national ideology is incompatible with the interests of the great fortunes, who are freed from this reality, in addition to a neoliberal system that allows them, exclusively to them, a greater mobilization; some tricked rules. To be legitimized in the eyes of public opinion, Marquez must understand that he must play the fiscal game with the same rules as them. In the days to come, we will see which representation will prevail in the head of the "crack" motorcyclist:national solidarity o the freedom of capital of modern capitalism. I have no doubt...