Early neoliberalism distinguished itself from laissez-faire by championing competition.

Evidence

In order to realize the agenda of liberalism, early neoliberalism rejected the notion of laissez-faire as the preferred means to serve the human individual. Rather, the competitive order, a man-made moral and legal framework within which markets would be as free as possible, was identified as the new means to the end. In addition, early neoliberalism was conscious of social concerns and tasked the state with social responsibilities as well as the protection of the free market order. As the WLC participants argued in a discussion following the agreement on the five essential points of the agenda of liberalism, “maximum utility is a social good, but is not necessarily the only one that must be sought.” Admitting that the economy was shaped to build a society of a certain kind, early neoliberals were engaged in the conscious construction of a state to safeguard the so-called competitive order in both its internal setup and its relations to other states. This competitive order could well be run according to certain social goals and based on certain social convictions, but the operationalization needed to be carried out according to a liberal script. Any state agency had to be based on liberal interventionism, avoiding arbitrary political decisions and case-by-case action. The call was for principled legal and market-conforming intervention that would not endanger the price mechanism. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 365 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Another difference, underscored by Foucault, is that in neoliberal reason, competition replaces exchange as the market’s root principle and basic good. (As we will see in Chapter 2, Foucault also argues that neoliberal reason formulates competition as normative, rather than natural, and thus requires facilitation and legal support.) This subtle shift from exchange to competition as the essence of the market means that all market actors are rendered as little capitals (rather than as owners, workers, and consumers) competing with, rather than exchanging with each other. Human capital’s constant and ubiquitous aim, whether studying, interning, working, planning retirement, or reinventing itself in a new life, is to entrepreneurialize its endeavors, appreciate its value, and increase its rating or ranking. — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 59 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neoliberalism differs from laissez-faire liberalism by using state intervention to create competition; Early neoliberalism rejected laissez-faire in favor of a state-built competitive order. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 365; Early neoliberalism emerged partly from a critique of laissez-faire and naturalist philosophies of history — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 379 (+6 more)

Related

• Neoliberalism differs from laissez-faire liberalism by using state intervention to create competition (similarity 0.90)
• Early neoliberalism rejected laissez-faire in favor of a state-built competitive order. (similarity 0.90)
• Neoliberalism requires active state intervention to build competitive order, unlike laissez-faire. (similarity 0.90)
• Neoliberalism differs from laissez-faire by making competition its core principle (similarity 0.89)
• Early neoliberals explicitly distanced themselves from classical laissez-faire doctrine (similarity 0.88)
• Neoliberalism defined itself as a middle path between laissez-faire and planning (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberalism makes competition rather than exchange the essence of the market (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberalism is an interventionist flexible policy approach, not a laissez-faire orthodoxy (similarity 0.85)
• Neoliberalism rejects laissez-faire in favor of perpetual constructionist state intervention (similarity 0.85)
• Neoliberalism rejected laissez-faire’s faith that free trade naturally spread peace and harmony (similarity 0.85)
• Milton Friedman’s 1951 manifesto defined neoliberalism as a competitive order requiring an active state. (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberals do not practice the laissez-faire they preach to the public. (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberal competition is a constructed formal game, not a natural state. (similarity 0.84)
• The Colloque first defined neoliberalism as framework-building rather than laissez-faire (similarity 0.84)
• Early neoliberalism emerged partly from a critique of laissez-faire and naturalist philosophies of history (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism differs from laissez-faire liberalism by using state intervention to create competition #corroborates (0.95)
• Early neoliberalism rejected laissez-faire in favor of a state-built competitive order. #corroborates (0.93) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 365
• Neoliberalism makes competition rather than exchange the essence of the market #expands (0.90) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 59
• Early neoliberals explicitly distanced themselves from classical laissez-faire doctrine #corroborates (0.90) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 117
• Early neoliberals rejected laissez-faire and wanted strong state action #corroborates (0.88)
• The Colloque first defined neoliberalism as framework-building rather than laissez-faire #corroborates (0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 281
• Early neoliberalism emerged partly from a critique of laissez-faire and naturalist philosophies of history #corroborates (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 379