Exiled antifascist economists lent legitimacy to ordoliberals who stayed in Germany

Evidence

After distancing themselves to certain degrees from the ruling strata in the late Nazi regime, ordoliberals endeavored to cooperate with Western Allies at an early stage—before the end of the war (mainly through international contacts in Switzerland). The ordoliberal circle could also take advantage of the clean reputations of Röpke and Rüstow, both of whom had gained international respect as antifascist scientists. Capitalizing on Röpke as one of Erhard’s and Adenauer’s most influential advisers, but also on Rüstow, who as chairman of the Aktionsgemeinschaft Soziale Marktwirtschaft represented German neoliberalism in public, the Freiburg school benefited from earlier connections. Legitimacy provided by the exiled economists for this line of thought extended to the scholars who had stayed behind in Germany. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 547

Categorization

• XREF: Broadens the network-historiography thread: intellectual movements succeed partly through reputational ‘clean hands’ of their émigré members — parallels how other postwar knowledge networks launder tainted wartime associations. — connects to: The Geneva IUHEI sheltered exiled liberal economists fleeing interwar fascism — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 104; Ordoliberals advised the Nazi regime while also networking postwar plans — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 623

Broader Connections

• Ordoliberals advised the Nazi regime while also networking postwar plans #complicates (0.75) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 623