¶ … Neoliberal Social Theory
Neoliberalist Theory has been known and defined as a philosophy or thinking that promotes the continuous production and distribution of goods and services, and is adapted after the concept of Neoclassical economy that the economist Adam Smith had introduced in his book, "The Wealth of Nations." Through Adam Smith's famous economic and philosophical treatise, the idea that market economies can function and regulate itself without government intervention came into being. This is precisely one of the most important characteristics of neoliberalism: the market economy produces and distributes goods and services at an optimum and efficient rate without any intervention from the government.
Neoliberalist theory is characterized by a number of important aspects, which are the following: it promotes "a stable currency, free market capitalism, and free trade" (Wikipedia 2002). Further, neoliberalism advocates not only for deregulation, self-regulation, and free trade, but also to privatization of business enterprise (both private and public) as well as the development of globalization in the nation's economy. Free trade, privatization, and globalization all contribute to economic growth, making neoliberalism an ideal framework not only to developed and wealthy nations, but most especially to developing countries. More importantly, neoliberalism encourages the occurrence of change in the way of "changing perceptions of public and community good to individualism and individual responsibility" (Shah 2001). This is perhaps the essential change that occurs in neoliberalism, aside from the economic growth of market economies. Although neoliberalism is deemed a good concept to implement when it is applied in the economic schema of a nation, but neoliberalism also poses several problems that can result to society, since it changes the society from being a collectivist culture to an individualist one. Although individualism is a good quality in a culture, there are certain cases wherein individualism can be harmful, especially in economic and business competition, which neoliberalism harbors.
The shift from collectivist to individualist culture of the society is just one of the many criticisms that neoliberalism creates in the society. Two famous critiques of the neoliberalist theory are...
This means that under neoliberalism, the rich become richer, and the poor become poorer. Because capitalism is encouraged in neoliberalism through free trade and establishment of various quasi-markets and businesses, there is a possibility that Karl Marx's theory that stratification between the poor and rich class will happen, thus, oppression will become present in the society. This is actually true; when you take into account the comparison between developed vs. underdeveloped and developing countries. Since developed countries have a greater advantage over developing countries regarding economic success and prosperity, the developing nations will then become dependent on the rich nations for funding and help in establishing their economy into a neoliberalist kind. Another example concerns the implementation of free trade between developed and developing countries. It was said that developed nations are "protectionists," wherein developed nations "want the developing countries to completely remove barriers to free trade which would cause an imbalance in favor of the industrialized countries" (Shah 2001). Aside from inequality in free trade agreements between nations, the establishment of 'open societies' for all nations will also result to a scenario similar to the free trade case. If small nations will allow the big nations to enter their economic market, there is a possibility that the bigger nations will aim to dominate the smaller nation's economy, which is again an unfair outcome, since it defeats the purpose of making the nation grow economically. Instead, neoliberalism in this scenario is projected as an 'unhealthy' practice of competition between two open societies.
Inequality in economic growth and allocation of goods and services does not only happen internationally, that is, between rich and poor nations, but also domestically, wherein people within the society vie for the biggest percentage of the economic market of the nation. Again, stratification between…
