NEOliberalism: Reclaim … or Reject?

The Guardian once called neoliberalism “the ideology at the root of all our problems.” New York Magazine called neoliberalism “the left’s favorite insult of liberals.” 

But does anyone really know what the word means — or know anything about its origins?

For this video, Learn Liberty reached out to Neo from The Matrix. He politely declined to comment. But we did get ahold of Colin Mortimer, Director of the Center for New Liberalism and a proud, self-proclaimed neoliberal, as well as Dr. Phil Magness, Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and ardently NOT a neoliberal.

They laid a foundation for understanding the term and roughly agreed on its origins. And, broadly speaking, they agreed that it only became an insult around the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were in power

However, they differed sharply on how liberty-minded folks should approach the term in modern times. They also disagreed on ideas like carbon taxes and Universal Basic Income. 

The sparks fly in “NEOliberalism: Reclaim … or Reject?” So, watch it and decide who makes a stronger argument, then comment below with your thoughts. And if you’d be interested in watching a live debate between Clin and Dr. Magness, LIKE this video.