Early neoliberalism allowed state intervention alongside price mechanisms, even tariffs
Evidence
More important and influential intellectually and politically was Rueff. A renowned expert on monetary issues, he was the mastermind behind the change from the old to the new franc in 1960. He hammered home the key message of early neoliberalism throughout—that the price mechanism needs to be in place as the decisive element indicative of a liberal society, yet that this price mechanism may well live in peaceful coexistence with certain forms of state intervention (of a liberal kind) and even tariffs. In addition, he was also immensely active as a policymaker and within international organizations. And of course, he was well known as Charles de Gaulle’s economic advisor and as an ardent advocate of the gold standard. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 389
Categorization
- XREF: flagged by the selector, no supporting note recorded — connects to: America in 1930 blended interventionist regulation with pro-market liberalism; Early free-market economists legitimized some government intervention; later ones did not — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 375; Neoliberalism reversed the state’s protective role toward shielding markets — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 745 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Early neoliberals rejected laissez-faire and wanted strong state action
#corroborates(0.90) - Neoliberalism differs from laissez-faire liberalism by using state intervention to create competition
#corroborates(0.85) - Neoliberalism reversed the state’s protective role toward shielding markets
#qualifies(0.82) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 745 - State interventionism itself was deployed to rescue and deepen the neoliberal model
#corroborates(0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1605