Early Chicago economists favored regulated capitalism out of skepticism, not market faith.

Evidence

Such responses provide a reminder that the stridency of the later Chicago School was a product of change rather than constancy. Although the early Chicago economists viewed themselves as defenders of capitalism in a social environment that had rapidly turned hostile, they were convinced that it was a system that required moderation, regulation, and restraint. They were drawn to it more by skepticism of the available alternatives than by any confi dence in the desirability of the market ideal. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 108

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader narrative of the Mont Pèlerin Society’s founding and the strategic softening of laissez-faire advocacy; early Chicago’s moderated pro-market stance contrasts with later MPS-era dogmatism. — connects to: Early Chicago economist Simons backed progressive taxes and corporate breakup — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 106; Early Chicago economists saw private monopoly as a lesser evil than public regulation — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1186; Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 375 (+5 more)
• SEED: Angle: ‘It was never a monolith’ — how the retrospective coherence of the Chicago School obscures a contested, internally divided intellectual history; useful for a piece on how schools of thought retroactively invent their own origin stories.

Broader Connections

• Early Chicago economists saw private monopoly as a lesser evil than public regulation #corroborates (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1186
• Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not #qualifies (0.85) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 375
• Chicago neoliberals reversed course to treat monopoly as benign and rarely present #contradicts (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1120