This might be a thought dump.
Neoliberalism made a lot of sense in the 80s and 90s. Liberalism had spawned some crappy outcomes, such as huge welfare rolls. There was also a huge increase in crime, though it wasn't clear that liberalism caused it. Liberalism might have been abetting it.
Liberalism was anti-war, and also anti-military, sometimes to the point of advocating that the US get rid of nuclear weapons and greatly reduce the military. Liberalism was pro-union, and some of the unions were driving uncompetitive pay and benefits. Some liberalism bordered on communism, with the profits being vilified.
So it made sense to have a different flavor of liberalism where a strong military helped the US and the rest of world. Where unions shouldn't go crazy. Where free trade was better than protectionist tariffs. Where profits were good as long as workers shared in the benefits. Where welfare should be reformed and work emphasized. Where crime was an individual choice and was damaging to society and therefore should be prevented and punished. In many ways, neoliberalism was a better fit for the US, which is a fairly conservative country. I'm not sure why the US is such a conservative country, but it has been that way for quite a long time, maybe throughout our history.
Yes, neoliberalism made sense. I was very much a neoliberal. But it failed to address some huge issues, though, to be fair, no other political ideology handled the issues either. The big issue was the hollowing out of American manufacturing. This affected jobs everywhere, but most strongly in the cities, where urban populations were left without decent sources of income.
Maybe even more so, no one has found an answer to the worsening income inequality, which makes all sorts of economic situations worse. The opportunities to work hard and better oneself are diminished for all but the most entrepreneurial and risk-hardy. Job security becomes less and less, and that also means that people don't have security in their health insurance and healthcare. The middle class has been getting more and more insecure. The lower class have always been insecure, with even less chance for improvement.
So on fundamental issue of economic well-being, neoliberals have failed the US, as has everyone.
If I'm right and the fundamental issue is economic well-being, what should the policy plans be? That's the topic of a different post.
Extras. I found a relevant article after I wrote this. It's more historical than mine. It also fails to have an alternative.
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