The belief that
markets and minimally regulated
business provide human society with what it needs and don't have a tendency in the extreme to compromise quality of life. This belief characterizes adherents of
neo-liberal economic theory, and is analogous to the more familiar form of
fascism,
totalitarianist
nationalism, in that its adherents are
authoritarians putting all their faith in and extolling the virtues of the dominant power structure of the day.
Extreme unregulation and public accommodation of business leads to the aggregation of power in corporate structures which are unresponsive to, and often antithetical to, the needs and wants of actual human society. Market fascists believe that the process of competition makes these institutions responsive to human needs and wants, but this requires a view of human needs and wants as limited to the consumption of goods and services, ignoring for example the human needs and wants for autonomy, social safety, meaningful connected work, universal justice, and a pristine environment - just as nationalist fascism requires a similarly limited view of human needs and wants.
I must take exception with some arguments of
ryano's below
First of all, market absolutists DO maintain, at least outwardly when they are forced to adopt the facade of caring about humanity's well being, that their order is a simple solution to complex problems. "Just let the market work its magic" is a typical phrase I've heard. "A rising tide lifts all boats." Secondly, like the adherents of 'market absolutism,' nationalist fascists DO indeed present their particular order as the natural order of things. Certain races and classes were born to rule through inherent superiority, they posit, and this hierarchy should be allowed to express itself and should not be questioned. Just think of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the cinematic expression of these people.
The more you look, the more these two strains of fascism look alike. Indeed, during the 30s, Nazi sympathy and market absolutism went hand in hand almost to a man among the elites of America. Even the aesthetic sense of both market absolutism and totalitarian nationalism are remarkably similar. The cover artwork of your typical Ayn Rand book could be interchangeable with any Nazi or even Soviet propaganda poster. The reason is simple, these two impulses come from the same place in the human psyche. Hence, market absolutism is properly seen as a form of fascism.