Is there a difference between a neoconservative and a neoliberal?

[Higgins]

Kinda confused on both these labels - exactly what they mean in terms of policy - and also if they differ from each other at all. I know a neocon foreign policy is essentially "exporting Democracy" but what is a neocon domestic policy? Same questions with neoliberals?

[Crumpets]

Very much so, although one can be both (see George Bush). Neoliberalism is an extension of Classical Liberalism, emphasizing low taxes, deregulation, and free trade. Neoconservatism, unlike neoliberalism, is much less of a one-size-fits-all policy, and was essentially developed for a late Cold War and post-Cold War America as a way for us to expand our influence abroad. This included targeting authoritarian regimes, even those whose effects don't go beyond their own borders, preemptive war, and regime change, almost always directed at "destabilizing" states - states which are at risk of becoming failed states and bringing the whole region to war.

You can talk about neoliberalism's foreign policy, although only really in the context of economics. A neoliberal would support the TPP, support giving China MFN status, support the strength and expansion of pan-national economic and political groups like the EU, and generally be more likely to ignore things like poor labor laws and bad working conditions as a reason not to do business with a country. Furthermore, and unlike neoconservatism, the democratic standing of a country has little impact on how the US treats that country on the global stage, at least in an economic sense for a neoliberal.

However, it doesn't really make sense to talk about a domestic neo-con policy, since neoconservatism was specifically crafted as a foreign policy, specifically for the United States. Obviously the kind of person who would embrace neoconservatism is likely to embrace a certain slate of domestic policy goals (see the Bush administration), but there is really no logical extension of neo-conservatism to a domestic agenda.

[Gone to Carolina]

Well some of the earliest neoconservatives were actually former communists / those associated with the 'Anti-Stalin' Left, particularly Trotskyism. Who came to favor a more hardline foreign policy to combat the Soviet Union. Neocons don't really have a coherent domestic policy, as a fair amount of important figures, like Scoop Jackson, were domestically progressive. However, a fair amount of neocons were right-wing economically, especially after the movement expanded beyond the initial discontent among hawkish democrats in the 1970s that brought it into existence.

Neoliberalism on the other hand was a reaction to the progressive / social democratic reforms in the Western World, seeking to institute austerity measures, by cutting social programs and privatizing national services.

In short neoliberalism is economically based whilst neoconservatism is generally focused on foreign policy. Though there seems to be significant overlap with neoliberals generally favoring a more 'active' foreign policy, to put it kindly.

[Mr. Morden]

Both terms have been used inconsistently and for describing wildly different things at different points in time over the last few decades.  E.g., in the 80s and 90s, in the American political context, “neoliberal” described something different from the sense in which it’s being used today.  It was meant to describe a strand of politics within the Democratic Party that was trying to take something of a "fresh approach" to New Deal liberalism, that shaved off some of the rough edges and made it less beholden to identity politics interest groups within the party.  Within the context of the intramural fights within the Dem. Party in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, "neoliberalism" under this definition came to describe the "wine track" candidates like Gary Hart and Paul Tsongas, in contrast to the "beer track" candidates, who would appeal more to blue collar workers.  It also described the views of many of the writers at The New Republic and The Washington Monthly, and there was a famous Charles Peters essay in The Washington Monthly titled "A Neoliberal's Manifesto":

http://coreyrobin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Charles-Peters-Neoliberalism.pdf

But now it’s mostly used as an epithet with a different meaning, and the definition seems to have become muddled:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/how-neoliberalism-became-the-lefts-favorite-insult.html

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[Famous Mortimer]

Kinda confused on both these labels - exactly what they mean in terms of policy - and also if they differ from each other at all. I know a neocon foreign policy is essentially "exporting Democracy" but what is a neocon domestic policy? Same questions with neoliberals?

American neo-conservatism is not defined by domestic policy.

[darklordoftech]

Neoliberalism is an economic policy while neoconservatism is a foreign policy.