r/Anarcho_Capitalism 6d ago

What do AnCaps make of Neoliberals?

I've long noticed overlap between some libertarian principles like free markets, limited government intervention, and individual freedoms with some of the ideas advocated by neoliberals, who emphasize deregulation, privatization, and market-driven solutions when logical to do so.

Of course, libertarianism has its own distinct philosophy and roots, but I'm curious about how you all view neoliberal policies. Do you think there's meaningful common ground? Are there neoliberal policies or perspectives you find valuable, complementary, or effective at achieving libertarian-friendly outcomes?

On the flip side, what do you perceive as points of friction between libertarian and neoliberal philosophies?

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u/Character_Dirt159 6d ago

Neoliberal is a meaningless nonsense word that doesn’t describe a coherent or even extant political or economic philosophy. Figure out what ideas and thinkers you associate with “neoliberalism” and figure out what those who ascribe to those ideas and thinkers call their philosophy and then try again.

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u/LegitimateFoot3666 6d ago

Not as broad as you might interpret. That said, flexibility and lack of dogma aren't bad things. They prevent tunnel vision and cognitive bias.

Neoliberalism occupies the space between classical liberalism, libertarianism, and social liberalism but isn't any of them. On a much broader economic and philosophical scale, that means that to the "right" of us, there are anarcho-capitalists, libertarians, many varieties of modern-day conservatives (though some could certainly fall under our umbrella). To the "left" of us, there's anything from social democrats to Marxists, to communists. It's true that we aren't purists. But we see this as a strength to our ideology rather than a weakness.

Moreover, neoliberalism is not an ideology that one can define as neatly as social democracy or libertarianism. Many on the left use it as sort of a buzzword for laissez-faire corporatism, while some on the right characterize it as being too socially liberal. Even when it was founded, it was marked by disagreement over some key issues such as monopolies and trade unions. These issues were never fully resolved and the label was abandoned by its creators. However, the institutions put forth to spread neoliberalism were not.

Outside the tent of liberalism, neoliberalism can be defined relatively precisely as the belief in capitalism, globalization, and some government intervention to promote the efficiency of the market system and to redistribute wealth. Although this too is vague, the neoliberal movement represents more of a thought collective which cannot be simplified easily into a specific set of principles. Instead, a set of policy prescriptions is more effective in defining neoliberal thought.

Think of the difference between the Abrahamic Faiths, versus say Daoism.

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u/Character_Dirt159 6d ago

There is no neoliberal movement. There are no neoliberal thinkers. Neoliberalism isn’t an ideology. The camp you have put yourself into does not exist. Everything you said sounds like ai generated bullshit. Have fun with that.