Neoliberalism describes an economic philosophy that privileges the unfettered functioning of the free market. Neoliberal policies advocate corporate deregulation, privatization, competition, entrepreneurialism, and open markets to achieve both financial success and individual self-actualization. According to neoliberal ideologies, the logic of the market can be used both to understand human behavior and to regulate it. Stemming from the economic philosophies of Chicago school economists like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, neoliberal economics came to prominence in the 1980s under politicians like Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and later, Bill Clinton, all of whom advocated globalization and minimal government regulation.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 32