This is one of those concepts that mean different things to different people, except for one unifying theme: it is about the place of the capitalist system in democratic societies; that is, how should capitalism relate to the State (to the extent that the State, through democratic processes, exists to protect the interests of the masses—at least in theory—“government of the people, by the people, for the people”). Champions of neoliberalism believe that the best arrangement for all concerned in a society is that the relationship of the state to capitalism should be similar to that of relations between humans during a pandemic; one involving masking and social distancing. In other words, capitalism should be given completely free reign with no interference from the state of any kind. Meaning all policy barriers (in terms of allocation/movement of capital, goods, services, labor, etc. within and between countries) should be swept aside if they interfere in any way with unlimited wealth accumulation by the capitalist class—including those that protect society as a whole. It is only under such circumstances, they argue, that all in society will benefit because what is good for the capitalist class is good for all in society. Proponents of neoliberalism, who by definition are conservatives, ignore three fundamental facts about the capitalist system: one, is the inherence of class contradiction in any capitalist system given that the objective interests of the masses (“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”) are not the same as that of the capitalist class (accumulation of wealth for its own sake by any means necessary); two, is the inherence of negative externalities in most economic activities (e.g. air and water pollution); and three, is the often contradictory interests of big business (corporations) as individual units of enterprise and those of the capitalist system as a whole. Neoliberal capitalism is, to put it differently, a practical version of unbridled capitalism where there is almost no regard for the welfare of the masses: ranging from unemployment to unsustainable exploitation of natural resources; from environmental pollution to wage exploitation; and so on. Opponents of neoliberal capitalism on the other hand champion socially responsible capitalism; that is capitalism that works for everyone, for the masses as well as for the capitalist class—which therefore requires regulating business where necessary (e.g. rules for the minimum livable wage; rules for workplace safety and the length of the work day/work week; rules against sexual harassment and gender/racial discrimination in the workplace; appropriate taxation to fund a robust social safety net; regulations against fraudulent business practices; rules for consumer protection; regulations to guarantee clean air and clean water, sustainable harvest of natural resources, mitigation of climate change, etc.; and so on).