Instead of describing the "inevitable effects of neoliberalism" that exist in Purvis' mind, I will first try and define Neoliberalism. Many might disagree or think that the axioms below apply more to Libertarianism, laissez-fare or some other term. Most people disagree over the meaning of Neoliberalism anyway, so I will try and present the general philosophy, and the way most neoliberals think of their ideology.
-Neoliberalism is the belief that every individual has an inalienable right to life, freedom and property of the things it has rightfully acquired. Those rights determine each person's private space. They do not include any positive obligation, which means that the right to life means that "you are not allowed to murder someone" but not that "you are obliged to find something for him to eat".
-Furthermore, these rights are neither collective nor cumulative, and therefore entities like nation, the people, class have no more rights beyond those held by each individual they enclose.
-Aggresive violence is condemned, while defensive force is accepted in order to defend the individual's rights.
-For neo-liberals, no interference in an adult's private space is allowed, even if this interference is supposedly for his own "good".
-The only economical system that protects the above rights and at the same time maximizes human progress is the free market economy.
-All forms of central planning are rejected because it means that a uniform set of goals is imposed on the society.
-The state has two purposes:
-
Individuals are
equal with respect to laws, and no
discrimination because of race, sex, income, religion or any other distinctiveness is allowed.
-The very basic premise of a neo-liberal is that of self-existence: the
individual is the goal and not the means to pursue other goals.
-Decisions by the majority do not necessarily create right. Constitutions have to be established so that they restrict the power of the majority and protect human rights.
Historically, neoliberalism has been used to describe the economical policies by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 80's. A number of think-tanks like The Cato Institute are considered neo-liberal. Neoliberalism is often related to globalization because it extends the freedom of people to trade across national borders, and because it is the favorite target of many activists and intellectuals who accuse capitalism and globalisation for everything evil in this world.