In April 1947, a group of right-leaning intellectuals met in the Swiss Alps for a ten-day conference with the aim of establishing a permanent organization. Named “an army of fighters for freedom” by Friedrich Hayek, they would at times use “neoliberalism” as a description of the philosophy they were developing. Later, many of them would opt for "classical liberalism” or other monikers. Was their liberalism classical or was it new? All new creeds build on previous ones, but the intellectuals in question were involved in an explicit attempt to change liberalism and move beyond both past laissez-faire ideals and the social liberalism popular at the time. This book provides a contextual, historical understanding of the development of neoliberal ideas, by studying its evolution from the first socialist calculation debates in Red Vienna to the founding meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947. The author examines key neoliberal conceptions of totalitarianism, market mechanisms and states, and presents a detailed study of the discussions during the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society. Offering a new perspective on the ideas that have influenced economics and politics since the 1970s, this study appeals to scholars interested in modern and political history, political theory and the history of economic thought.
Author(s): Ola Innset
Series: Springer Studies In The History Of Economic Thought
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 201
Tags: History Of Economic Thought/Methodology
Preface......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
List of Figures......Page 11
1 Introduction......Page 12
Neoliberalism......Page 13
Methodology......Page 15
The Mont Pelerin Society......Page 17
Reinventing Liberalism......Page 19
Social Liberalism Versus Laissez-Faire......Page 21
The Dual Argument......Page 22
Secondary Litterature......Page 24
I The Dual Argument (1920–1947)......Page 27
2 The Socialist Calculation Debates......Page 28
Red Vienna......Page 31
Mises’ Argument......Page 33
The Emergence of Hayek......Page 35
From Socialism to Business Cycles......Page 36
Collectivist Economic Planning......Page 37
The Challenge of Market Socialism......Page 38
The Knowledge Argument......Page 40
Differing Accounts......Page 41
A New Vision of Markets......Page 43
Secondary Literature......Page 45
3 The Lippmann Colloquium......Page 48
The Rise of Fascism......Page 49
The Popularity of Economic Planning......Page 50
The Totalitarian Enemy......Page 51
The Good Society......Page 53
The Importance of Hayek......Page 54
The Colloquium......Page 56
The Price Mechanism......Page 58
Ordoliberalism......Page 61
The Myth of Laissez-Faire......Page 63
Primary Sources......Page 64
Secondary Literature......Page 65
4 The Economic Consequences of the War......Page 68
Hayek in the Blitz......Page 70
The Road to Serfdom......Page 71
The Contested Definition of Economic Planning......Page 73
Other Versions of the Dual Argument......Page 75
Against “Scientism”......Page 76
War and Planning......Page 79
Neoliberals in Wartime......Page 81
Individualism True and False......Page 83
The Acton-Tocqueville Army......Page 85
Primary Sources......Page 94
Secondary Literature......Page 95
II The First Meeting (1947)......Page 97
5 An Army of Fighters for Freedom......Page 98
Previous Scholarship......Page 101
Introducing Neoliberalism......Page 103
The Attendees......Page 104
List of Attendees......Page 105
Demographics......Page 110
Liberalism, Economics and Science......Page 113
Secondary Literature......Page 117
6 Using the State......Page 120
Hayek’s Welcome......Page 121
“Free” Enterprise or Competitive Order......Page 125
Support from Freiburg and Chicago......Page 130
Secondary Literature......Page 135
7 A New Europe......Page 137
Post-war......Page 139
The Beginning of the Cold War......Page 140
The Post-war Right......Page 142
The Future of Germany......Page 145
Discussion......Page 147
The Problems and Chances of European Federation......Page 150
Discussion......Page 151
Exploring Roots......Page 152
Secondary Literature......Page 155
8 The Second Week......Page 158
Economic Policy......Page 159
Agricultural Policy......Page 164
Statement of Aims......Page 167
Summary......Page 173
Speaking Time......Page 176
A Neoliberal Cadre......Page 177
Primary Sources......Page 184
Secondary Literature......Page 185
9 Conclusions: What Is Neoliberalism?......Page 186
The Importance of Context......Page 189
Think Tanks......Page 192
Conclusion......Page 194
Primary Sources......Page 195
Secondary Literature......Page 196
Index......Page 198
