ABSTRACT
Liberalism, an influential philosophy of economic growth based on the precepts of competitive markets and free international trade, has guided the character of the international economic order since modern states began to mature. Equity has become a portmanteau term covering several things, all of which, as different groups argue with varying degrees of intensity, the international economic system should provide. The basic principles of the Liberal International Economic Order are under attack by virtue of the spread of protectionism and the growing influence of the doctrines of neomercantilism. The main tenet of liberal economics regarding international trade is that the less governments intervene to obstruct the flow of trade, the better. During the 1970s, a clamor arose within the international community regarding distributive justice. Because the International Monetary Fund has so frequently become involved in countries at crucial moments in their histories, it has attracted considerable attention and criticism.
