What does "Neoliberal" mean?

"Neoliberal" is a very confusing term. It suggests a historical continuity with the term "liberal." But we have lots of liberals right now, so they aren't just historical curiosities. And it's a good thing to be unless you're a Repugnican, in which case you really don't get a say in what's good or bad until you suck it up and do your job by dealing with Tantrum Donny and getting him the fuck out of the Oval Office. Mostly liberals are different than people called neoliberals, which most everybody considers a bad thing to be, though for very different reasons. So, what's up? This is very broad brush, but here goes:

"Neoliberal" does not equal "Liberal" as we now use the term. Back in the days before capitalism (18th and 19th centuries) some proto-capitalists thought it would be a good idea to grab all the means of production for themselves, turn all the peasants who had been producing stuff on their land (or land they had rights to) into landless workers for their factories so they could make a bunch of stuff to sell and not have to share so much of the profit. In order to do this they had to deal with the monarchy, which controlled everything and generated income by levying taxes the proto-capitalists didn't want to pay (sound familiar?). So, these early capitalists were the oppositional bad boys, the rebels who were fighting for progress against entrenched conservatives in order to liberate society/themselves from the oppressive control of the monarchy. From a certain owning class male perspective it kinda made sense. They were called Liberals, as opposed to the conservatives who supported the monarchy and the way it had always been done.

So, fast forward to the 20th and 21st centuries, now the capitalists have become the conservatives and capitalism has become the way it's "always" been done. But they’ve still got these pesky governments who want them to contribute and these workers who want some degree of control over their productive work lives. So, like the guy who keeps getting into relationships with women who are his nagging mother, the former bad boy capitalist liberal fancies himself, in sustained paroxysms of narcissistic nostalgia, the once and future bad boy capitalist neoliberal still battling the forces of oppression (mommy, monarchy, democracy). This new bad boy capitalist rebel is the neoliberal. [Gender note: The original liberals were all guys (as far as I know) - today’s neoliberal are only predominantly male. Just so you know I know.]

Meanwhile, those of us who want something else besides unbridled laissez faire capitalism (wherever we are on the spectrum from reform to revolution) get called liberals, cuz we’re also fighting against the forces of oppressive conservatism. Only we think those forces are made up of entrenched capitalists and the conservative values that keep them in power. Everybody wants to be a rebel.

Personally, I hate being called a liberal for the historical reasons noted above. I used to fancy myself a radical, but now I mostly prefer "progressive," even though it has its own problems. I would like a term that says: Advocate for economic, political, and cultural social justice. I would like a label that says: Yes, economic health in balance with environmental and human health. I would like a label that says I simultaneously value evidence-based decision making, human caring and compassion, and the realm of the spirit. And this term should unequivocally denote full celebration of human difference and a just and equitable place at the table for everyone.