When looking at Neo-liberalism, one must understand that it is a political theory that has become predominant only through out the last thirty years or so. Although the term its self is not used often, one can clearly see the effects of Neo-liberalism in a country like the U.S for example. Neoliberalism can be perceived as an updated version of economic liberalism where it is believed that the success and organization of the economy should be at the hands of individuals and not by collective institutions or organizations like the government. Although not the case with "Neo "-liberalism, liberalism has been known to allude to religious, economic or even political ideologies. In the U.S. political liberalism has been a strategy to prevent social conflict. It is presented to poor and working people as progressive compared to conservative or Rightwing. Economic liberalism on the other hand differs. Politicians, who claim to dislike liberals in terms of the political type, do not have any problems with economic liberalism, as well as neoliberalism. The notion suggests the same definition: that Neoliberalism is in fact the rebirth of liberalism in a different fashion only focusing on things from a narrow economic perspective. This definition suggests that liberalism, as a political ideology, has been absent from political discussions and policy-making for a period of time, only to emerge in more recent times in a reincarnated form. .
Upon studying the history of Liberalism, one can see that it has been subjected to a process of initial growth, intermediary decline, and finally a recent transformation. The term "Neo" means we are talking about a new kind of liberalism. A Scottish economist by the name of Adam Smith released a book called "The Wealth of Nations ". In this book he criticized the idea of government intervention and regulation in economic matters and called for the elimination of such a system.
