General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsShould progressives use the word neoliberal to describe other Democrats?
Jonathan Chait at facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JonathanChaitPublic/posts/1256997364327888
"SNIP.............
I wrote a tweet a few days ago complaining about the use of neoliberal as a term of abuse on the left against liberals. What if every use of neoliberal was replaced with, simply, liberal? Would any non-propagandistic meaning be lost?, I wrote. My meaning is that no current group of people defines itself as neoliberal. The term is simply used by leftists, usually of the Marxist and/or socialist variety, to denigrate liberals.
Corey Robin has fired back in two posts. None of them, however, answer my question. The first post focuses on a small sect on intellectuals called neoliberals, a term that was invented by Washington Monthly editor Charles Peters in the early 1980s. Neoliberalism was not really an ideology (though Peters sort-of tried to flesh it out into it) but a collection of Peters hobbyhorses that mostly revolved around streamlining the functioning of the federal government. Some writers tried to take other aspects of moderate liberalism and call it neoliberalism. But the main point is that the label died years ago, and nobody uses it any more as a form of self-identification. Importantly, even though elements of its ideas made their way into the Democratic Party, the label also never attracted any real following in the Democratic mainstream. Bill Clinton, probably the closest thing to an ally neoliberals would have found, called himself a New Democrat.
....................
Of course, it is convenient for Robin to lump the center-left, with figures like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in with the far right. This was all Robins ideological foes, those who stand for somewhat higher taxes and more generous social spending and decarbonization and regulation of finance can be lumped together with the conservatives who wish to roll all those things back.
So obviously Robin and many of his allies will continue to use the term neoliberal to describe liberals, because it serves an important propagandistic function for them. But it will continue to be used only by those people to describe current politics, and by nobody else, because it is not a neutral term or a fair-minded attempt to describe the world.
..............SNIP"
Gman
(24,780 posts)Or mother's basement behind their laptop screen and pontificate about who is worthy and who is not.
They are incredibly annoying.
Hekate
(91,055 posts)Just mho
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Clinton embraces neo-liberal economics and neo-conservative foreign policy. These are positions typically held in the past by Republicans, but it's an indication of how far right the Third Way is dragging the Democratic Party.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,041 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)http://www.jstor.org/stable/27715397?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
http://www.davidjhess.org/neoliberalism.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-consequences-of-globalization-and-neoliberal-policies-what-are-the-alternatives/7973
http://folk.uio.no/daget/What%20is%20Neo-Liberalism%20FINAL.pdf
Do you want some links in Spanish? This is a hard core field of study in history, political science, philosophy and economics.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)That most be Brock messaging
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)Propaganda messaging.
And it went well, got actual pushback
snot
(10,549 posts)The Clintons are the embodiment neoliberalism; and back before its chickens came home to roost, they seemed happy to be seen that way!
Now all of a sudden we're "bad" for continuing to apply the term appropriately.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)X_Digger
(18,585 posts)Of course not.