The Basics: It is an economics term, not a political one. You cannot tell if someone is a neoliberal by whether they listen to Thom Hartmann or not. In other words, it is not referring to a liberal person politically.
So, really, what is neoliberalism? What is this thing that has taken over our normally happy, Game of Thrones Oreo eating lives?
The liberal part of neoliberal refers to someone who wants the economy run on personal freedom. Ostensibly, the economy would not be run by organizations but by individuals. In addition, they want laissez-faire** economic policies and a free market. Generally, this would be a person that would describe themselves as a libertarian.
A libertarian believes in a hands-off approach to the economy. In their world, the people will have freedom and the market will take care of itself. A neoliberal has all the bad of the libertarian along with more bad. Neoliberals will bail out companies that bring about a recession (remember 2008), do not flinch at the thought of doing the revolving door dance with government and endorse fiscal austerity (think of Greece). Free trade, deregulation, privatization and choosing winners or losers in the economy are all their bag, baby.
It is a libertarian with complexity and guile.
A libertarian world would look something like this:
Libertarian: You won’t pay taxes and you’ll have more money.
Citizen: Okay, but can I leave my driveway to go to work now?
Libertarian: Sure, you can, just hand over the $23.61 toll to use the private road I built. Isn’t life without taxes great!
A neoliberal world looks like our world, like this:
Neoliberal: Your real wages* have been frozen for 40 years and worker productivity has never been higher. We’re not gonna give you universal healthcare or repair the infrastructure and we’re not sorry for that little 2008 problem that we caused….kaaayyyy?
Citizen: Yeah, what’s with you guys, you suck, and weren’t you discredited way back before the internet or FDR or running water?
Neoliberal: Hey, did ya know everything can be solved by being an entrepreneur? If you got an Uber job in this fabulous gig economy then you could start making money on your own time, when ever you want. You would be your own boss.
Translation of the neoliberal speak: Low wages, long hours, no healthcare and more taxes to pay as an independent contractor.
Why You Should Care: You should care because you have been massively productive, not gotten a share of what you have produced for a very long time and, adding insult to injury, you’ve lied to about what is really going on. Example (yes, I love examples): The financial sector got bailed our with bags and bags of your money and you got kicked to the corner.
*Real Wages –These are wages adjusted for inflation
** Laissez-Faire —This refers to an economic system that allows everyone to do as they please. Transactions between individuals free from any kind of intervention like regulations. If you didn’t like those fruit pies I sold you yesterday (only 10% sawdust and 1% listeria) then your only recourse is not buy them again (if you recover).