Neoliberalism is the rebirth of 19th century classical liberalism. Here we
are talking about economic liberalism that is a hallmark of both liberal
and conservative politics in the United States and should not be confused
with the political liberalism of US democrats. Liberalism is free market
capitalism characterized by competition, privatization, deregulation and
the freedom of capital to move across national borders that results in many
social ills including a deterioration of workers' rights, cutbacks in
social expenditures, and a rapid destruction of the environment. Liberalism
became famous due to Adam Smith and his book "The Wealth of Nations."
Liberalism was one of the basic drives for colonialism by Western
imperialist powers. Economic liberalism eventually gave way to Keynesian
economics that supported government intervention in the economy. Liberalism
began to re-surface about twenty-five years ago, hence the name
"neoliberalism," and is now the dominant economic model. Neoliberalism
began in Chile after the CIA-supported coup and economic restructuring of
1973. Other examples of neoliberalism are the IMF, World Bank,
Inter-American Development Bank and NAFTA. The FTAA is an extension of
NAFTA and therefore another neoliberal agenda. An interesting point is that
the original liberalism was linked with colonialism. Neoliberalism is also
linked with neocolonialism.
FROM
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=226429&group=webcast
