Neoliberalism is a free-market economic philosophy that favors the deregulation of markets and industries, the reduction of taxes and tariffs, and the privatization of government functions. While its principles originated in classic liberal economic theory, neoliberalism as a political project began as rightwing backlash against WWII-era economic reforms that invested public resources into welfare, education, and healthcare (which excluded people of color until the passage of civil rights reforms). Reagan-Era neoliberalism instead demanded tax cuts, corporation and finance deregulations, free trade, a powerful private sector, attacks on labor unions, and military force. Neoliberal leaders such as Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama championed similar economic policies, under the guise of liberal inclusion, multicultural diversity, and social tolerance, papering over policies that continued to vastly redistribute wealth to the richest 1 percent.
Social justice struggles during this period focused on restoring workers’ rights and consumer protections, fighting free trade agreements, resisting police violence and the national security state, preventing the rollback of welfare and civil rights programs, protecting the environment against resource extraction, and securing the rights of immigrants and refugees. Also during this period, the political right wing exploited white anxiety over demographic change and general downward mobility, fomenting a new racist and xenophobic rightwing insurgency.
By the turn of the 21st century, rightwing nationalism began to reshape nations and global regions through a backlash against neoliberalism’s economic, political, and cultural dominance.
Learn more about resistance in this time period.