✅¿Qué es el LIBERALISMO y el NEOLIBERALISMO? El liberalismo y neoliberalismo explicados en 9 minutos

In today's video, we're going to talk about

one of the ideologies that has generated the most

discussion in recent years and

is very present, especially when

talking about economics. Therefore, in

today's video, we're going to see what

classical liberalism is, what

neoliberalism is, their histories, and everything you need to

know to speak

knowledgeably about this ideology. To

begin talking about the history of

liberalism, we have to go back to the

17th century. At that time, many

European kingdoms were ruled by

absolute monarchs who concentrated

all power in their person, including the

government of the state, the judicial power, the

military, and everything else you can imagine—

logically, they were absolute monarchs for a reason.

The fact is that in these

absolutist monarchies, everything was very authoritarian, and on

top of that, the church had barbaric power.

However, in the 10th and especially

the 17th centuries, a series of

scientific and technological advances began to

change everything. Suddenly, being a nobleman no longer

guaranteed you would be one of the

most powerful and influential people in the kingdom.

Now, being a merchant and having businesses

could be much more lucrative. This is

how a A new social class emerged: the

bourgeoisie, who were increasingly prosperous

and better educated. So, the

bourgeoisie began to question

things: Why does the king have to

concentrate all the power? Why do I have to

pay him tributes and taxes?

Why isn't there freedom in every

sense? One of the first to ask

these questions was John Locke,

considered one of the fathers of

liberalism. Locke promoted

revolutionary ideas for his time, such as the

notion that the government should serve the

people and protect their natural rights,

like life, liberty, and property.

Another thinker who also strongly disliked

absolutism was Adam

Smith. In

1776, he published *The Wealth of Nations*, the work

that laid the foundations of

modern economics. In it, Adam Smith proposed the

idea that economics could be analyzed

separately from other aspects

of society, such as religion or

ethics.

Smith explained how specialization and

the division of labor in production

can lead to a significant increase

in efficiency and productivity. But

beyond that, Adam Smith spoke of a

concept that would change the world.

We always talk about the invisible hand

that moves the market. The invisible hand

is an idea that suggests that in a

free market, people

constantly seek their

own benefit, and this leads to an

efficient allocation of resources and the production

of goods and services that society

needs. In short, the law of supply and

demand is what regulates the market

most efficiently. That's why Adam

Smith was against the accumulation

of precious metals and policies

that sought a favorable trade balance

through tariffs and

trade restrictions. Instead,

Adam Smith advocated for free trade and

argued that the true wealth of

a nation lay in its

productive capacity and the well-being of its

population. However, although Smith is

known for his defense of the free

market, he also recognized the

importance of government in certain

areas such as national defense,

justice, public education, and the

construction of basic infrastructure.

Well, thanks to the printing press, the

ideas of Adam Smith and John Locke,

among others, reached many parts of the

world, especially North America

and Europe. The first place where

these ideas triumphed was in

the 13 British colonies located in

what is now In the United States, the

bourgeoisie, formed by the colonists, grew

tired of paying taxes to London without

receiving anything in return. Therefore, with the cry

of "No tax action without

representation," they began a war that

culminated in the independence of the

United States. And some of you might ask, "

Why are you telling me stories from the

17th century?" Well, you'll soon see that it all makes

sense. The United States wasn't the

only place where

liberalism triumphed. Something similar happened in

France, where the bourgeoisie, supported by

the common people, rose up against the

absolute monarchy of Louis XV, who was

beheaded during the

French Revolution. And that's how, little by little,

classical liberalism spread throughout

Europe in the heat of the

Industrial Revolution. However, as the

bourgeoisie began to accumulate wealth and

power by setting up factories and industries

during the Industrial Revolution, their

interests began to diverge from

those of the rest of the people. So much so

that the bourgeoisie began to ally themselves with

the old aristocracy or even

adopt some of their attitudes and

behaviors, and that's why the

working class... It began to organize and

socialist ideas were born, but today we won't

talk about that; let's continue with liberalism.

Classical liberals applied liberalism not only

to the economy but to

all spheres of life. Let's review

its three basic principles. The core

of liberalism is the belief that

each person should have the freedom to

think, speak, and act as they wish, as long as they do

not harm

others. Liberals also

firmly believe in a system where power

is in the hands of the people and where there are

clear laws that everyone, including

rulers, must follow. Last but

not least is the

market economy. Here, liberalism advocates for

free markets with minimal

government intervention. But

liberalism did not remain static; it

adapted and responded to

social and economic changes throughout

the 19th and 20th centuries, setting the

stage for what would later be

known as neoliberalism. Although

neoliberalism is a child of liberalism,

it did not develop until after

World War II, a time when

the nations of Western Europe

were looking for ways to rebuild

their war-torn economies.

In this context, some economists and

thinkers of the The Austrian school, with economists like

Friedrich Hayek, and the Chicago school, with economists

like Milton Friedman,

began to advocate for a return to

certain liberal principles.

They believed that economies were

overly planned by the state, with too

many public enterprises and too many

tariffs. The principles

of neoliberalism can be summarized in

one phrase: the less

government intervention in the economy, the better. This

means fewer regulations, fewer

barriers to trade, and fewer

restrictions on businesses. The

philosophy behind this is that

free markets are the most efficient

at distributing resources and fostering

innovation. If you recall, this is

similar to what Adam Smith said. The

main difference between neoliberalism

and liberalism is that

neoliberalism directly attacks the

power of the state through the

privatization of public enterprises. In other words,

neoliberalism advocates for

transferring functions that were traditionally the responsibility

of the state to private hands.

Examples of this include

telecommunications, energy, and even

some parts of healthcare and

education. The idea is that

private companies, driven by the desire to make

money, will be more efficient and offer

better services. We were saying that

neoliberalism adapted to the new

times in which the economy was no longer

so local but global. Therefore,

neoliberalism embraced

globalization as one of its cornerstones,

advocating open borders for

trade, international investment, and

the free flow of capital.

Neoliberalism reached its peak following the

oil crisis of the 1970s, when the

world was experiencing all kinds of

economic problems, with high inflation,

low economic growth, and a major

energy crisis. Many governments

began to implement these new

policies to reverse the poor performance of

their economies. Ronald Reagan in the

United States and Margaret Toucher in the United Kingdom

are some of its leading proponents.

So far, we have only seen the opinions

of neoliberalism's defenders.

But what about those who criticize it? In

this case, the problems with

neoliberalism lie in the fact that, although it has

brought economic growth, this growth has not

always been distributed

equitably. In many

cases, the most liberal societies give

rise to societies that

are economically more unequal, since the state does not

fulfill its role of redistributing income

or providing as many public services.

Another problem is its weakness in the face of...

Black swans, let me explain. When the

state is weaker and the economy is doing well, there aren't

major problems.

However, when evil strikes and there's a

military conflict, or as happened with

COVID, a pandemic, a weak state has

fewer tools to deal with the

situation. Another argument from

neoliberalism's detractors is that the

market can self-regulate with less

state intervention, but the

time it takes to do so can

be long enough to

create very precarious social situations.

And finally, we have the fact that

the impact a poorly

regulated economy can have on the

environment or public health can be

disastrous. To finish the video, which might

not have been entirely clear, let's

look at the main differences between

liberalism and neoliberalism. The

main difference between liberalism and

neoliberalism is that one is centered on

the 17th and 19th centuries, and the other is

adapted to the 20th and 20th centuries. On the

other hand, both emphasize

economic freedom and the free market

with minimal state intervention, but

neoliberalism also incorporates

privatizations and globalization.

Furthermore, neoliberalism focuses

primarily on the economy, while

classical liberalism... It goes further,

covering a whole host of topics that

transformed society in every

way. So, now that you know all

this, what do you think of liberalism and

neoliberalism? See you in the

comments! And if you liked the video, you

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And now I'll say goodbye.

A hug and until

next time!