ABSTRACT
Before defining neoliberalism, it is important to note that the term “liberalism” is a political doctrine, and neoliberalism is an economic doctrine. Further, these very different concepts are often blurred because they both have the word “liberal” within them. Another point of conceptual fuzziness here is that when liberalism is applied to the field of economics, it refers to policies meant to encourage entrepreneurship by removing government controls and interference, which positions the term as more of a right-wing conservative notion than its truer liberal left-of-center political meaning. This concept of liberalism clearly embodies a political philosophy favoring individual freedom and liberty, equality, and capitalism (Hartz, 1955 as cited in Nilep, 2012), which has a long history and deep effect in America.
