The Strong State and the Free Economy

German ordoliberalism originated at the end of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) in a context of hyper-inflation, depression, mass unemployment and social unrest. For ordoliberalism, a free economy is premised on a sound political, legal, social and moral framework to secure its cohesion. The role of the state is to ensure a liberal economic order.

Ordoliberalism is a contested account of post-neoliberal political economy: some argue that it offers a more restrained and socially just market o...