Early free-market economists deliberately adopted progressive-sounding positions to shield their deeper agenda

Evidence

In pursuing his po liti cal goals, Simons strategically framed the presen ta tion of his ideas in order to maximize their rhetorical effect. By proposing a graduated income tax, for instance, Simons believed that he gained reformist credibility without needing to sacrifi ce matters of foundational principle. “We old fashioned liberals have, at best, a hard time avoiding pop u lar classifi cation as reactionaries,” he wrote to Frank Knox at the Chicago Daily News in 1939. “Taxation, notably as to exempt securities and capital gains, is one of the few areas where we can talk in what is recognized to be ‘progressive’ language— without compromising at all on our freemarket position.” He demonstrated a similar degree of tactical selfconsciousness in his discussions of corporate power. “The present size of our great corporations, what ever the real economic effects, does place the economist liberal at an awful disadvantage in any discussion or debate,” he wrote to Trygve Hoff in 1939.199 In attacking the size of modern corporations, Simons hoped to undermine a persuasive component of progressive economic critiques. Further, he was willing to think of himself as part of a selfconscious co ali tion that shared certain defi ned po liti cal goals. “We liberals must stick together,” he wrote in one letter, “and not dissipate our small infl uence by arguing too vigorously the partic u lar points on which we may disagree.” — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 137

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to readings on how Mont Pèlerin Society members framed rhetoric tactically; this is an early example of market-advocacy framing strategy. — connects to: Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 375; Free market advocates originally endorsed attacking income inequality at its source — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 422; Hayek deliberately copied Fabian gradualism to advance free-market ideas — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 261 (+4 more)
• SEED: Angle: the tactical adoption of ‘progressive language’ by architects of austerity — how rhetorical cover works before power is won.
• DEEPTHINKING: Simons articulates a complete rhetorical strategy: market advocates can gain credibility by adopting progressive-sounding positions (graduated tax, anti-corporate rhetoric) while surrendering nothing substantive — a template for later welfare-state-era market advocacy.

Broader Connections

• Hayek deliberately copied Fabian gradualism to advance free-market ideas #exemplifies (0.82) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 261
• Free market advocates originally endorsed attacking income inequality at its source #corroborates (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 422
• The early FMS deliberately targeted monopoly because of the left’s influence #exemplifies (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1099
• Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not #expands (0.78) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 375
• The previous generation of conservative economists accepted broad government intervention #expands (0.72) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 466