The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making of the Neoliberal Thought Collective, With a New Preface

by Philip Mirowski (Editor), Dieter Plehwe (Editor)

Overview

Although modern neoliberalism was born at the “Colloque Walter Lippmann” in 1938, it only came into its own with the founding of the Mont Pèlerin Society, a partisan “thought collective,” in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1947. Its original membership was made up of transnational economists and intellectuals, including Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Karl Popper, Michael Polanyi, and Luigi Einaudi. From this small beginning, their ideas spread throughout the world, fostering, among other things, the political platforms of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the Washington Consensus.

The Road from Mont Pèlerin presents the key debates and conflicts that occurred among neoliberal scholars and their political and corporate allies regarding trade unions, development economics, antitrust policies, and the influence of philanthropy. The book captures the depth and complexity of the neoliberal “thought collective” while examining the numerous ways that neoliberal discourse has come to shape the global economy.

“The Road from Mont Pèlerin is indispensable for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of neoliberalism, whether as an end in itself or as a means for constructing alternative, non-neoliberal futures.”
—Daniel Kinderman, Critical Policy Studies

“If you work on post-war history of economics, there is almost no reason not to read this book.”
—Ross B. Emmett, Journal of the History of Economic Thought

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674495135
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	11/16/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	493
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Philip Mirowski is Carl Koch Professor of Economics and the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame.

Dieter Plehwe is a Senior Fellow at the Social Science Research Centre Berlin.

Table of Contents

Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Introduction Part One: Origins of National Traditions Chapter 1. French Neoliberalism and Its Divisions: From the Colloque Walter Lippmann to the Fifth Republic The Legacy of the 1930s Neoliberalism and the Dynamic of the Cold War Two Opposing Neoliberalisms Notes Introduction “Classical” Liberalism Liberal Economics in Interwar Britain Planning the War Economy Postwar Liberalism as Neoliberalism Notes Chapter 3. Neoliberalism in Germany: Revisiting the Ordoliberal Foundations of the Social Market Economy Some Peculiarities of Ordoliberalism (in Comparative Perspective) The Historical Origins of Ordoliberalism: The Great Depression The Nazi Era: Working on the Theoretical Foundations of Ordoliberalism Ordoliberalism and Nazism The Early Triumph of Neoliberalism: Ordoliberalism in the Era of West German Reconstruction The Social Market Economy as the Launch Vehicle of Ordoliberal Concepts Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4. The Rise of the Chicago School of Economics and the Birth of Neoliberalism American Road Repairs: Hayek and Simons Mont Pèlerin, Chicago, and the Postwar Construction of Neoliberalism Road Kill in Chicago Friedman Hits the Road Notes References Part Two: Arguing Out Strategies on Targeted Topics Chapter 5. The Neoliberals Confront the Trade Unions The Sanguine Neoliberal Attitude toward Unions The Neoliberal Big Chill Reprise Notes References Introduction Chicago and the Ordoliberals Set Out in Sweet Harmony Haunted by Classical Liberalism: The Early Years of the FMS The Birth of Neoliberalism: Monopoly Is Not the Great Enemy of Democracy Pro-Trust Antitrust: The Antitrust Project Conclusion Notes References Neoliberalism and Development (Economics) Reconsidered When and How Did Development Arrive on the Neoliberal Agenda? The Cold War and the Invention of Underdevelopment Conclusion: 1950s Pluralism in Development Theory Notes References Chapter 8. Business Conservatives and the Mont Pèlerin Society Seeking a Bible of Free Enterprise Finding the Prophet Building the Church: The First American Meeting Notes Part Three: Mobilization for Action Introduction Setting the Stage Radical Market Reform under Military Rule Continuity of the Neoliberal Project after the Transition to Democracy Conclusion: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Notes References Chapter 10. Taking Aim at the New International Economic Order Revolution from Within? The New International Economic Order at the UN Dissent on Development: Haberler, Brunner, Bauer, and Lal on Trade and Aid The UNCTC and the Battle for a Code of Conduct The Heritage Foundation’s United Nations Assessment Project Notes References Chapter 11. How Neoliberalism Makes Its World: The Urban Property Rights Project in Peru Notes References Postface: Defining Neoliberalism Wayward Wikipedia Mont Pèlerin as Criterion A Neoliberal Primer Freedom and the Double Truth of Neoliberalism Notes References List of Contributors Index

Editorial Reviews

The Road from Mont Pèlerin uncovers and lays bare the origins of one of the most important political phenomena of our time—the development of the neoliberal discourse coalition that has come to shape the modern political economy.

Frank Fischer

This excellent book contributes significantly to our understanding of the origins of neoliberalism and its transformation into political discourse and policy.

Steven Lukes

A fascinating and important book, one that speaks in radical, perceptive, and provocative ways to contemporary debates around neoliberalism.

Jamie Peck

The volume’s contributors make heavy use of original archival materials and make good on the editors’ promise to expose the complexity, nuance and plurality of neoliberal thought—a belief system that has constructed and re-constructed itself and the world… The Road from Mont Pèlerin is indispensable for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of neoliberalism, whether as an end in itself or as a means for constructing alternative, non-neoliberal futures.

Critical Policy Studies - Daniel Kinderman

The Road from Mont Pèlerin reminds us that social movements succeed by drawing in many others who undertake the work that actually drives the movement forward. The book is full of stories of those individuals and related organizations that formed strategies, carried out the logistics and legwork, and brought legislators and others into contact with [Mont Pèlerin Society] ideas. In other words, if you work on post-war history of economics, there is almost no reason not to read this book.

Journal of the History of Economic Thought - Ross B. Emmett

The volume’s contributors make heavy use of original archival materials and make good on the editors’ promise to expose the complexity, nuance and plurality of neoliberal thought—a belief system that has constructed and re-constructed itself and the world… The Road from Mont Pèlerin is indispensable for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of neoliberalism, whether as an end in itself or as a means for constructing alternative, non-neoliberal futures.
-- Daniel Kinderman Critical Policy Studies

The Road from Mont Pèlerin reminds us that social movements succeed by drawing in many others who undertake the work that actually drives the movement forward. The book is full of stories of those individuals and related organizations that formed strategies, carried out the logistics and legwork, and brought legislators and others into contact with [Mont Pèlerin Society] ideas. In other words, if you work on post-war history of economics, there is almost no reason not to read this book.
-- Ross B. Emmett Journal of the History of Economic Thought

The Road from Mont Pèlerin uncovers and lays bare the origins of one of the most important political phenomena of our time—the development of the neoliberal discourse coalition that has come to shape the modern political economy.
-- Frank Fischer, Rutgers University

This excellent book contributes significantly to our understanding of the origins of neoliberalism and its transformation into political discourse and policy.
-- Steven Lukes, New York University

A fascinating and important book, one that speaks in radical, perceptive, and provocative ways to contemporary debates around neoliberalism.
-- Jamie Peck, University of British Columbia

From the Publisher