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Fiendish Thingy

(24,144 posts)
6. Neoliberalism is often misunderstood to simply be a criticism of certain liberals
Fri Jul 25, 2025, 12:16 PM
Jul 2025

It’s a buzzword thrown around as an inaccurate epithet, which confuses people when it is used accurately as a descriptor of economic policy.

Neoliberalism is an economic ideology, defined elsewhere in this thread, embraced by both Democrats and Republicans, most notably Reagan and Bill Clinton, and rejected by others, most notably Joe Biden and Trump (from opposite ends of the spectrum - Biden preferred Keynesian New Deal style economics, Trump is a protectionist).

Neoconservativism, on the other hand, is primarily focused on foreign relations, although it also proposes that The People should not make decisions about governance and laws, only a select group of elites should have that power (see: fascism). Neocons basically believe America has the biggest d*ck and can do whatever the fuck it wants, wherever it wants, militarily, economically, etc.

Your question is a timely one, because those who support Neoliberal (trickle down) economic policies have created a new Trojan Horse called “The Abundance Agenda”, that claims that, in order for government to effectively serve the people, “excessive” regulations and red tape must be eliminated.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Except when one opens the trap door to this Trojan Horse, they discover all sorts of drooling corporate lobbyists ready to eviscerate laws on environmental impact studies, labor laws, building codes, FDA regulations, etc. all in the name of “serving the people”, but in reality designed to maximize profits at the expense of safety and fairness.

The Abundance folks use terms like “YIMBY” (Yes In My Back Yard) to describe their “movement” as promoting progress and “getting shit done”, as opposed to those nasty radical left liberals who want to use government regulations to slow everything down and block progress (while ensuring clean air and water, safe workplaces, civil rights, etc.)

Thanks for your great question!

More info here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism

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