NEOLIBERALISM
Source: Dictionary of the Social Sciences. Craig Calhoun, ed. Oxford University Press 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. CDL UC San Diego. 11 January 2004 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t104.e1156>
Three versions of social and economic neoliberalism can be distinguished. One is associated with reformist members of center-left parties in advanced industrial nations. Stressing continuity with traditional left-wing party concerns, such as social justice, toleration, and multiculturalism, these neoliberals nonetheless favor reducing the role of the state in areas of fiscal policy and welfare, and generally seek solutions for social problems in the engine of economic growth. In many countries, the electoral success of such agendas has effectively challenged the connection between left-leaning parties and long-standing constituencies such as labor unions.
A second version of neoliberalism evinces less concern with social justice and more emphatically embraces the goal of minimal government—at least in regard to the twentieth-century expansion of the regulatory and welfare state. Strongly associated with the Reagan and Thatcher years in the United States and Great Britain, this form of neoliberalism stresses the primacy of free-market principles—especially the belief that capital and labor should be allowed to move freely within a self-regulating market. It relies on a social philosophy of individual responsibility and, correspondingly, de-emphasizes the significance of structural social effects, such as those related to class or poverty. Neoliberalism in this sense has been translated into a range of policy initiatives or—in some cases—retreats from existing government responsibilities. It has broadly challenged the role of organized labor, pursued free trade and policies to enhance capital mobility, sought the deregulation of industry and markets, privatized institutions that provide public goods (e.g., electricity, water), cut funding for social services (while shifting responsibility from the community to individuals and voluntary associations), and sought reduction in taxes. As intellectual cousins, both versions of neoliberalism have succeeded in shifting political discourse and debate to the right in Western countries and have in some degree stigmatized the traditional social democratic welfare state. They have also significantly weakened the position of labor, both domestically and internationally (see welfare economics).
A third, related version of neoliberalism is associated with measures to promote economic globalization and has been pursued by such multilateral institutions as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization during the 1980s and 1990s. By setting the conditions by which developing nations can pay their debts, the international lending community has forcefully advocated a diminished role for the state and established a framework for the effective functioning of the global market. Bearing a close resemblance to the Reagan/Thatcher agenda, these “structural adjustment” programs have sought to limit developing states to ensuring that (a) individual rights and the rule of law are upheld and protected; (b) principles of fair competition are observed; (c) public goods necessary for facilitating economic transactions are available (i.e., infrastructure like roads and water provision); and (d) the appropriate conditions for trade are established by sound fiscal and monetary policy (e.g., balanced budgets, monetary stabilization). In practical terms, this has meant the retrenchment of the state in most developing countries through privatization, tax cuts, the scaling back or elimination of social programs, and a loosening of regulations on industry and commerce. Responsibility for collective goods such as health, nutrition, education, housing, and occupational training have in many cases been transferred from the state to the market or to an international, nongovernmental charity sector. Many of these efforts have resulted in unprecedented levels of aggregate growth, as well as unprecedented levels of inequality and poverty. Recognizing that the benefits of these transformations have been mostly restricted to a narrow elite, some proponents of international neoliberalism have began to advocate a more moderate position that allows for a greater role for the state as an investor in human capital and as a force for mitigating the effects of economic dislocations.
IIn international relations, neoliberalism signifies the idea that states can and often do cooperate despite belonging to an essentially anarchic, self-help oriented international community. Neoliberals claim that the security concerns of states can be addressed through the institutionalization of mutually beneficial arrangements, such as treaties, conventions, and other forms of international agreement. Neoliberalism also holds that increasing levels of transnationalism and interdependence require a shift away from state centric approaches in international relations toward mixed actor models capable of recognizing and understanding the roles played by multinational corporations (MNCs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other nonstate actors.
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"neoliberalism" Dictionary of the Social Sciences. Craig Calhoun, ed. Oxford University Press 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. CDL UC San Diego. 11 January 2004
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