Early Chicago economists saw private monopoly as a lesser evil than public regulation

Evidence

Friedman stated, “Walter Eucken, a noted German liberal, observing public monopoly in German railroads, found the results so distasteful that he concluded public regulation would be a lesser evil. Having learned from both, I reluctantly conclude that, if tolerable, private monopoly may be the least of the evils” (p. 28). — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1186

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with the later Chicago School’s robust anti-monopoly stance; a useful pivot point for the intellectual shift within the network. — connects to: Early Chicago economists favored regulated capitalism out of skepticism, not market faith. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 108; Early neoliberals treated public regulation as a greater threat than private monopoly — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 744; Ordoliberals and Chicagoans irreconcilably diverged on economic power and monopoly — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1154 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not #qualifies (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 375