[shiado]

I have only ever seen the neoliberal label used as an insult against the Democratic party for their lack of real progressive policies and for basically being the pawns of big banks and global elites.

Perhaps self-identification is the next logical step for Democrats? Instead of rigging the primary against a likable progressive candidate like Bernie and causing internal backlash and resentment, maybe they can get Democrat voters to support and embrace a named neoliberal doctrine. Maybe they too can get people to passionately vote against their own self-interests just like the Republican voting base.

[dragonwriter]

> I have only ever seen the neoliberal label used as an insult against the Democratic party for their lack of real progressive policies and for basically being the pawns of big banks and global elites.

Probably because you are too young to remember the “neoliberal consensus” before the hard-right turn of the Republican Party; it wasn't universally an insult then (though it was from the progressive left), and it was specifically bipartisan.

But, sure, now in the US it mostly refers to the center-right faction of the Democratic Party.

[gt_]

“Neoliberalism” is not a partisan term. I guess that is the most common context lately, but many contemporary republicans fit this description and the more nuanced ones.

Decoding neoliberalism in the wild often requires a cultural critique because of the complacency associated. A politician might wager cultural symbolism to corral voters but have an entirely neoliberal agenda. Republicans have actually been keen on this longer than democrats but democrats have a higher ceiling because they are unbeholden to the limits of performing symbols of commitment to tradition now that their voter base thinks of itself as “progressive” which is an advertising notion, not an actual value. So neoliberalism values “progressivism” on the surface and self-interests below the surface.

Donald Trump is very much a neoliberal in the classic republican sense, but he realized the needle oF decadence has shifted away from tradition toward hedonism. Most of the tea party movement was led by neoliberals, too.

Contemporary libertarianism is literally hardcore neoliberalism, whereby the surface-level “progressivism” is peeled back, revealing ultimate individualism.

When we understand neoliberalism, we come to understand Trump and Clinton are mere equals on this spectrum.