This work examines the role of trade agreements and the Carter administration in promoting neoliberal policy in the United States. Policy-planning groups, with extensive connections to the U.S. government and transnational corporations, such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, played crucial roles in pushing neoliberal policies at the government level. The development of unrestricted trade and the open flow of financial capital across borders have allowed transnational corporations to divorce themselves from the social contract, enabling them to disinvest in public life and to push for further disinvestment on the part of the larger society. Results show that both Democratic and Republican parties have been servants to the neoliberal corporate agenda for decades. The implication of this finding is that challenging neoliberalism means challenging the whole of U.S. government leadership, rather than, as many have argued, merely taking on the Right of American politics.
","abstract_html":"<p>This work examines the role of trade agreements and the Carter administration in promoting neoliberal policy in the United States. Policy-planning groups, with extensive connections to the U.S. government and transnational corporations, such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, played crucial roles in pushing neoliberal policies at the government level. The development of unrestricted trade and the open flow of financial capital across borders have allowed transnational corporations to divorce themselves from the social contract, enabling them to disinvest in public life and to push for further disinvestment on the part of the larger society. Results show that both Democratic and Republican parties have been servants to the neoliberal corporate agenda for decades. The implication of this finding is that challenging neoliberalism means challenging the whole of U.S. government leadership, rather than, as many have argued, merely taking on the Right of American politics.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mason, Lance"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Teacher Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joe Bishop, PhD, Chair","Rebecca Martusewicz, EdD","Christopher Robbins, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z","subjects":["Neoliberalism United States","Free enterprise Social aspects","United States Politics and government 20th century","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/229","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joe Bishop, PhD, Chair","Rebecca Martusewicz, EdD","Christopher Robbins, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mason, Lance"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Teacher Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Neoliberalism United States","Free enterprise Social aspects","United States Politics and government 20th century","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/229"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This work examines the role of trade agreements and the Carter administration in promoting neoliberal policy in the United States. Policy-planning groups, with extensive connections to the U.S. government and transnational corporations, such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, played crucial roles in pushing neoliberal policies at the government level. The development of unrestricted trade and the open flow of financial capital across borders have allowed transnational corporations to divorce themselves from the social contract, enabling them to disinvest in public life and to push for further disinvestment on the part of the larger society. Results show that both Democratic and Republican parties have been servants to the neoliberal corporate agenda for decades. The implication of this finding is that challenging neoliberalism means challenging the whole of U.S. government leadership, rather than, as many have argued, merely taking on the Right of American politics.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Neoliberal social policy in the United States before Reagan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joe Bishop, PhD, Chair","Rebecca Martusewicz, EdD","Christopher Robbins, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Mason, Lance"],"dc:description.abstract":["This work examines the role of trade agreements and the Carter administration in promoting neoliberal policy in the United States. Policy-planning groups, with extensive connections to the U.S. government and transnational corporations, such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, played crucial roles in pushing neoliberal policies at the government level. The development of unrestricted trade and the open flow of financial capital across borders have allowed transnational corporations to divorce themselves from the social contract, enabling them to disinvest in public life and to push for further disinvestment on the part of the larger society. Results show that both Democratic and Republican parties have been servants to the neoliberal corporate agenda for decades. The implication of this finding is that challenging neoliberalism means challenging the whole of U.S. government leadership, rather than, as many have argued, merely taking on the Right of American politics.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/229"],"dc:subject":["Neoliberalism United States","Free enterprise Social aspects","United States Politics and government 20th century","Education"],"dc:title":["Neoliberal social policy in the United States before Reagan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Teacher Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:36Z"}