Thread by @Noahpinion

Today's @bopinion post is about neoliberalism.

Specifically, the left-neoliberalism embraced by presidents Clinton and Obama.

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

2/"Neoliberalism" has turned into a bit of a joke-word on social media.

Speaking of which, you can vote for me in the "neoliberal shill" poll here!

https://twitter.com/ne0liberal/status/1103690613634027520

3/But in 1999, Brad @delong wrote a left-neoliberal manifesto that I find very reasonable and appealing (for its time):

bradford-delong.com/2018/12/delong…

4/Indeed, neoliberalism seems to deserve some - though not all - of the credit for the rapid economic growth we've seen in the developing world over the last 25 years.

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

5/Unfortunately, neoliberalism in the developed world led to some big problems. 👇👇👇

6/Some European countries did a good job of cushioning the impacts of globalization and technology with robust social safety nets.

But due to Republican party intransigence (and, frankly, racism), America did not follow suit.

7/Realizing that the safety net will always be sabotaged by the Republicans, @delong and many other left-neoliberals are ready to throw in the towel and let social democrats - or even socialists - take the reins.

vox.com/policy-and-pol…

8/Meanwhile, a bunch of top economists like @rodrikdani, @snaidunl, and @gabriel_zucman are thinking of ways to move the social safety net beyond left-neoliberalism:

bostonreview.net/forum/suresh-n…

9/Many of these ideas are good. For example, I like the emphasis on more worker bargaining power.

I should note that I've written about these myself:
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

10/BUT, does that mean left-neoliberalism should sit down and shut up?

That it should quietly vanish into the night?

I say no. For three reasons.

First, the task of helping poor countries develop via trade and investment is not complete!!

11/Second, regulating emerging technologies too tightly could slow down productivity growth, which would be bad for Americans of all income levels.

12/And finally, there is a good chance that at some point after it wins power, the American left - like almost all political movements will overreach.

At that point, left-neoliberals will be needed to rein things in.

13/DeLong is right - the insanity of the Republican party has made sensible compromise on economic issues impossible.

And the social-democratic economists are right that neoliberalism isn't sufficient to make a good society.

But neoliberalism still has a role to play.

14/The pendulum swung too far toward deregulation and laissez-faire. Now it must swing back, and it is swinging back.

But the pendulum will not stop swinging.

(end)

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…