What does Neo mean in neoliberalism, neo-marxism, etc

The Politics of Neos: Contemporary and Classical

Neo refers to new. Other connotations include revival, modification and recent. It originates from the Greek word “Neos” meaning new. ‘Neo’ as a prefix has garnered significance in recent decades, mostly in academic studies and political analyses. Words like ‘neoliberalism’, ‘Neo-Marxism’, ‘Neo-Darwinism’ and ‘Neo-Malthusian’ have been extensively used to refer to developing political ideas, periods, economic status of a nation and so on. Hence, it is important to delve deep into terminologies and coinages,  through this article.

Darwinism vs Neo-Darwinism

Colonialism vs Neo-Colonialism

Malthusian vs Neo-Malthusian

Marxism vs Neo-Marxism

While the modified and new theories almost always seem to retain the essence of the classical ones (like Malthusianism and Neo-Malthusianism), there is a tendency to divert from the original theories (Neoliberalism and Liberalism). Hence, these have been and in future, will be subjected to a range of debates and discussions.

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