1960s conservative economists cultivated an aura of impartial oracular authority.

Evidence

One could argue that German-­speaking economists profited from a similar aura of “oracular infallibility” at this critical moment in the 1960s when an ambitious application of worldwide Keynesianism encountered a conservative anti-­Keynesian backlash. One of Röpke’s correspondents from Venezuela, who studied with Haberler at Harvard and ­later worked with the EEC, called Röpke a “prophet.” One newspaper described him as “one of the high priests of ­free enterprise” and another compared him to “a skilled medical authority.” The “wise men” who advised international financial institutions and ­later helped direct programs of structural adjustment enjoyed a similar status, achieving a kind of superhuman detachment in their expertise. In 1960, the West German, American, and British central bankers sent to India by the World Bank to provide advice on its Five-­Year Plan ­were referred to as the “three wise men.” The West German Council of Economic Experts (Sachverständigenrat) created in 1963, was known commonly as the Five Wise Men (Fünf Weisen). — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 539

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the ‘wise men’ epithet and the Five Wise Men (Fünf Weisen) as a recurring professional label for economic experts.
• XREF: connects to: Neoclassical economists deliberately framed economics as an exact science to gain authority. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 209; Orthodox economics triumphed through prestige, austerity, and service to authority — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 485; Public legitimacy of economics rests on its predictive and prescriptive authority — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 679

Broader Connections

• Neoclassical economists deliberately framed economics as an exact science to gain authority. #corroborates (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 209
• Orthodox economics triumphed through prestige, austerity, and service to authority #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 485
• Public legitimacy of economics rests on its predictive and prescriptive authority #expands (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 679