A very unique and potent--more likely to become the dominant system of governance globally than other forms of fundamentalisms--kind of fundamentalism that writers like Hamid Mohsin (The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and Hari Kunzru alert our attention to.
[Market fundamentalism] is related to the glorification of wealth in the past two decades, to the celebration of opulence, and to the emergence of a new (global) aristocracy. Market fundamentalists assume a measure of social Darwinism and accept that Laissez-faire is always optimal.
But, as Kristof writes, market fundamentalism is also helixed together with the other kind of fundamentalism and together the two produce a particular kind of dystopic landscape, best represented by Waziristan:
And anyone who honestly believes that low taxes and unfettered free markets are always best should consider moving to Pakistan’s tribal areas. They are a triumph of limited government, negligible taxes, no “burdensome regulation” and free markets for everything from drugs to AK-47s.
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