(Note: I do not entirely endorse the perspectives given in this documentary. I only uploaded it because it serves as a good starting point for a discussion on neoliberalism. While it is true that neoliberal reforms have had negative side effects, a desire for a return of manufacturing jobs, economic protectionism and a belief in Keynesian macroeconomic stabilization policies as a sustainable and lasting alternative is even more foolhardy and indicative of a reactionary mindset seeking to "turn back the clock of history".)
What is Neoliberalism? Broadly speaking, neoliberalism is today's pervading socio-economic ideology that stresses the expansion of commercial activity into public and non-commercial aspects of society. Neoliberalism refers to a range of economic policies that stresses the free flow of goods, services and capital across national borders; deregulation and liberalization of the economy; privatization of industry; financialization by increasing the role of domestic and foreign private investment; and corporatization of the public sector (re-organizing the state sector to resemble a corporate governance structure). The theory of neoliberalism is grounded in the classical liberal belief that free markets are naturally in equilibrium, that the expansion of free trade and the facilitation of capital accumulation leads to pareto efficient outcomes (maximizes the common good of all parties involved) and argues that unregulated private business is the most efficient form of economic enterprise. This mindset views national borders and states with suspicion, perceiving them to be "interventions" that distort the international market by inhibiting or limiting the free flow of capital, labor, goods and services in the international market, thereby leading to inefficient outcomes.
Neoliberalism is contrasted with earlier forms of capitalism, such as "embedded" liberalism, state-interventionism and the European social market models that mixed moderate levels of state-directed investment and government regulation with free-markets in the economy. The free-trade and export-led growth models of development championed by neoliberals are in inconsistent with the development strategies used by many developed countries and the East Asian tiger economies, which relied more heavily on import-substitution by developing competitive advantages before opening to foreign competition.
The practical results of neoliberal policy have led to increasing inequality, disproportionate power to transnational corporations, whose interests dominate government and international organizations such as the WTO. Neoliberal policies are imposed upon developing states as prerequisites for development loans and aid, the result of which privatizes their natural resources, reduces government spending on social services and forces developing countries to adhere to the demands of foreign corporations. Foreign ownership of national resources and industries has been likened to a new form of economic imperialism / neo-colonialism as a result - a means for multinational corporations to plunder the resources of developing countries.
Critics argue that neoliberal policies are an attempt to create new opportunities for capital accumulation to strengthen the interests of capital relative to labor, pointing out that despite increased freedom of capital flows, there is no free flow of labor across borders granting capital asymmetric bargaining power over labor and governments. In the developed world, government expenditure has not decreased as a whole - it has merely shifted from social spending to corporate subsidies. Other critics contend that neoliberalism does not represent genuine "free-trade" because it is managed by and designed to benefit large corporate interests. The contradiction between the idealistic notion of genuine free markets and free trade and the interests and power of capital (capitalism) is demonstrated by the practical implementation of neo-liberal policies.
