Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a term for different social and economic ideas. There is no agreed definition. Originally the term was used by a group of liberals who helped shape social market economy in the mid 20th century. Classic liberalism is characterized by free market trade, deregulation of financial markets, mercantilism and the shift away from state welfare provision.

Alexander Rustow was the first economist to develop this concept, looking after a Social Democracy system rather than a Laissez Faire Capitalist Society.

Characteristics of Neoliberalism

In the application of neoliberal ideals, the state might also intervene and regulate, for example, to prevent exploitation, or to ensure social fairness and equality.

Neoliberalism is against the protection of group - rather than individual - interests, for example, that might be achieved through lobbying of groups, or state interventions that protect national interests via tariffs or subsidies.

Neoliberalism has moved away from a centrally governed economy.

Contemporary use

Since the 1990s the term has been consistently used in academia to imply the move from welfare state to laissez faire economic management, particularly associated with the promotion of free market ideals in the late 1980s by Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US.

Examples of neoliberal regimes of Government

• Chile under Augusto Pinochet
• Argentina under Mauricio Macri
• Great Britain under Margaret Thatcher
• New Zealand under David Lange
• The United States of America under Ronald Reagan attempted to establish this but never did.
• Australia under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating
• Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro
• Japan under Shinzō Abe

Neoliberalism Media

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  Per capita income during the Great Depression

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  Picture of F.A. Hayek to replace fair use images that are used in some articles. Released by the Mises Institute.

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  • For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme.
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  Builders in West Berlin, 1952

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  Chilean (orange) and average Latin American (blue) rates of growth of GDP (1971–2007)

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  Pamphlet calling for a protest of economic policy in 1983 following the economic crisis

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  Unemployment in Chile and South America (1980–1990)

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  GDP per capita in Chile and Latin America 1950–2010 (time under Pinochet highlighted)

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  U.S. President Bush, Canadian PM Mulroney, and Mexican President Salinas participate in the ceremonies to sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

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  Noam Chomsky's 1999 book Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order is an open critique of neoliberalism and the American economic structure.