The American Roots of Neoliberalism

by Daniel Stedman Jones

Portrait of Milton Friedman. Credit: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.The word “neoliberalism” -- the ideology of free markets, deregulation and limited government -- is easily lost in translation from the European to the American context. In part this is a reflection of the different meanings of liberalism in Europe and the United States. But it also highlights a gap in historical understanding, which is only just beginning to be filled.