Neoliberalism

Explanation

Neoliberalism emerged as the dominant economic policy framework in the 1980s under Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in the U.S. It advocates reducing state intervention in the economy, cutting public spending, deregulating industries, privatizing state enterprises, and opening markets to global trade and capital flows. Neoliberal policies were promoted internationally through the IMF and World Bank as conditions for loans. Critics associate neoliberalism with rising inequality, erosion of public services, and financial instability (the 2008 crisis). Supporters credit it with sustained economic growth and poverty reduction through global integration. The term is rarely used approvingly by those it describes — it is primarily a critical label.