Geneva School neoliberals co-opted human rights language to defend market freedoms

Evidence

The leading thinkers of the Geneva School ­after the assault on the WTO took neither the Pinochet option nor the recourse to a “liberal dictator” in their theorizing. Rather, they turned to the language of Pinochet’s most effective opponents: that of ­human rights. The response of Geneva School neoliberals was one of co-­optation and redefinition. With echoes of Philip Cortney’s postwar calls for the ­human right of capital flight, they doubled down on the very language of ­human rights scorned by Hayek to buttress their proj­ect. — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 906

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the reader’s existing knowledge of how rights frameworks get repurposed politically, and to the postwar ICC-vs-UN rights debate traced earlier in this very book. — connects to: Neoliberals weaponized human rights language to protect private property and market order — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 76; Neoliberals deployed human rights language to justify property rights and dismantling welfare — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 7; Neoliberals actively shaped the postwar human rights discourse that later legitimized markets — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 40 (+8 more)
• DEFINE: Illuminates the ‘Geneva School’ strategy of ideological reframing rather than coercion or dictatorship.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberals weaponized human rights language to protect private property and market order #corroborates (0.95) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 76
• Neoliberals redeployed human rights to protect investors and property #corroborates (0.94) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 428
• Neoliberals deployed human rights language to justify property rights and dismantling welfare #corroborates (0.93) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 7
• Neoliberals framed human rights as a tool to enforce global standards protecting private capital #corroborates (0.92)
• Neoliberal human rights primarily preserve the market order rather than protect individuals #corroborates (0.90) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 45
• Neoliberals actively shaped the postwar human rights discourse that later legitimized markets #expands (0.85) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 40
• Neoliberal human rights discourse entailed a duty to spread capitalism globally #expands (0.82) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 283
• Human-rights rhetoric functions as core neoconservative propaganda, not liberal exclusivity #qualifies (0.75)