One of the problems with the left’s principled foreign policy positions is that they resemble something the left has spent a lifetime rallying against: neoliberalism. For the left, the term “neoliberalism” has often had a pejorative association with capitalist empire; a ruling class controlling the global means of production while the rest of us take out loans for our avocado toast. Yet neoliberal foreign policy—especially as understood in the field of international relations—reflects a commitment to democracy promotion, human rights, economic interdependence, multilateralism over unilateralism, the primacy of upholding international commitments and the legitimacy of international institutions like the United Nations. In other words, a neoliberal foreign policy looks strikingly similar to what the left repeatedly advocates. It should thus be unsurprising that some neoliberals are of the political left.

There is one major difference: neoliberals and the left have usually parted ways when it comes to prioritizing what I would characterize as process versus outcomes in foreign policy. Neoliberalism’s logic is one of process in the sense that certain types of conduct abroad over time produce a certain type of world. The earliest conviction of neoliberalism was the necessity of ensuring the free flow of commodities and capital across borders. That first principle eventually necessitated both the acknowledgement of some degree of protections for individual rights (ironically, human beings are capital too) and the legitimacy of international law—specifically the need to respect and enforce international contracts. Credible contracting, in turn, has meant sustaining the principle of international commitments. Some contracts, such as treaties promising to protect select U.S. allies, require the possibility of using force abroad in the name of enforcing American promises. The belief is that such commitments, when credible, actually prevent the aggression that might force the United States to make good on them. Thus, the sales pitch for neoliberal foreign policy is that its mutually reinforcing package of ideas—free markets, interdependence, democracy, human rights and institutions—encourages international cooperation, discourages conflict and promotes a shared sense of justice among nations, especially in the form of a rising economic tide that lifts all boats (global aggregate economic development). This was the logic behind postwar institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and, eventually, the World Trade Organization.