By Yian Sena Jacob
definition:
A political approach that favors free-market, capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending, but a strong political government to maintain such policies
Neoliberalism is a political and economic philosophy, much more successful in political power rather than economic
Time it was used:
Used by prominent politicians in the 80s-90s (Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Deng Xiaoping maybe)
Used after the failures of Keynesian economics, which focused on using government spending and monetary policy to stabilize the economy by stimulating demand during periods of recession, but was criticized for leading to inflation and creating economic distortions.
Oil crisis (Saudi arabian embargo on Israeli allies, price of oil had risen nearly 300%, caused crisis)
Neoliberals argued that market forces, if left to operate freely, would lead to greater efficiency and productivity, ultimately benefiting society as a whole.
policies pursued :
The policies of neoliberalism include deregulation, free trade, privatization, and a reduction in government spending. These all reduce the government’s interference.
Supposedly, this would boost the economy based on market forces
theory:
Laissez-faire (literal meaning is hands off) economy, low or minimal government and operating almost entirely on market forces
Neo-liberalism seeks to combine Laissez-faire economics while maintaining a strong government to safeguard the system
Has both liberal and conservative parts
pros and cons of neoliberalism:
pros:
Increased competition (leading to technological advancements, wider variety of products, technological advancements)
Free markets (leading to more economic growth, technological advancements, and diverse consumer choices)
Free trade/globalization (leading to increased access to markets and reducing costs of production)
cons:
Monopolies (Less government intervention means more corporation profit)
Increased financial instability
Less funding on public services (less investment in housing, healthcare, education, and other essential services)
Labor market deregulation (poor labor do not get better wages/working conditions, weakened labor unions)
Overreliance on GDP (unsustainable growth)
core assumptions of neoliberalism:
-market forces are incorruptible and most efficient
-economic progress is the way to achieve human progress
-government intervention scales back on market freedoms
success?
Varied success/failures
Failure in Thatcherism, high inflation and not increasing real gdp by a large amount
Mixed in Reaganomics, ending stagflation and growing gdp while also reducing economic mobility, massive increase in national debt, widening income gap, more capitalist greed, etc.
China had neoliberal attributes in their 特色社会主义 but didn't heavily rely on market liberalism, still retaining governmental control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DrK8g29Gsc
Funny link
citations:
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
https://helpfulprofessor.com/neoliberalism-examples/
https://www.google.co.kr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwis4_j4taCCAxWzbvUHHfthAXIQFnoECCEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tni.org%2Fen%2Farticle%2Fa-short-history-of-neoliberalism&usg=AOvVaw2P26NSPz_mJ2yEK5H78JOP&opi=89978449