The term neoliberalism is often criticized because it is used in various ways and understood differently by different people. It’s a slippery concept, but one could also say that about liberalism or democracy or conservatism. Each of these words is tricky and takes on different shapes in different times and places, and that’s true of neoliberalism as well. The same can be said for emotionally charged words like “fascism,” although I do suggest in the book that it’s time to bring that word out of the closet. In any case, even if it’s true that we often use terms like neoliberalism to express our frustration with aspects of late-stage capitalism or the state of the world, it’s more than just a pejorative.

My goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the various meanings of neoliberalism, especially considering its significant influence on how we think about the world, democracy, and our relationships.

At its core, it’s a philosophy of governance. The originators, like Friedrich Hayek, were concerned about the role of law and the state in ensuring economic freedom, competition, and exchange in a free market.

It’s interesting that, for the neoliberal architects, neoliberalism was not an economic theory. Hayek, for instance, argued that the economy — or the market — is inherently unknowable and that attempting to control it is futile. His focus wasn’t on understanding the market but on saving free-market liberalism from its own failures, specifically the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.

Hayek also wanted to defend classical liberalism against the rise of Keynesianism or social democracy, which he thought were simply a pit stop en route to tyranny. He concluded that only though economic freedom in a free market could we defend ourselves from tyranny, but that required that the state play a role in protecting private property and setting the conditions necessary for the market to do its magic. The market had to somehow be protected from popular pressures, particularly the pursuit of social justice or economic nationalism.

However, neoliberalism isn’t just a philosophy of government; it’s also a political project where powerful interests hijacked the philosophy to consolidate their power. And it is a suite of policies through which government serves these interests, and a cultural project designed to reshape common sense. This involved redefining the role of government, integrating market principles into all aspects of society, legitimizing inequality, and promoting economic freedom as the highest value and the foundation of all freedoms.

So neoliberalism is a view of the world that puts private over public, commerce over the common good, and individual choice over collective action. This has meant governments of Right and Left which delivered tax cuts, privatization, deregulation, free trade, and monetary policy that puts low inflation over all other objectives, including full employment.

From Jacobin