There is another bit of history that possibly informs the change. ~Up until Reagan, US needed to present an alternative to communist and socialist systems. Post

There is another bit of history that possibly informs the change. ~Up until Reagan, US needed to present an alternative to communist and socialist systems. Post USSR collapse, 'history ended', and that's when the neo-liberal genie was let out of the bottle. This is a somewhat cynical view, but imo not an unreasonable speculation.