Though literatures that I consulted with didn't trace the exact date that neo-liberalism came to the scene, most pinpoint that "liberalism" is the precursor of the political and economic ideology of neo-liberaism. The essence came to view when seventeenth century England started to forge religious tolerance for protestant dissenters, as noted by Perry Marvin in a work titled Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society.
According to Marvin, liberalism demands set of principles to be fulfilled which are, among others, rule o f law, democratic governance, and state power ought to be exercised with caution and within constitutional limits.
...