German crisis policies are linked to an alleged return of ordoliberalism, though contested.

Evidence

Some scholars have focused on the (new) hegemonic position of Germany as the central actor in European economic crisis policies—with, e.g., the Fiscal Compact, the eurozone crisis or the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)—due to its economic power and its status as principal creditor. Others have suggested that the European post-crisis economic policies reflect a “return of ordoliberalism” or even an “ordoliberal transformation” or “ordoliberalization of Europe.” Some observers have detected the “long shadow of ordoliberalism” in German economic policies, claiming that especially in the field of macroeconomic policy ordoliberalism can be perceived as the “basis of German economic thinking.” Such claims have been contested by different scholars (Wigger, etc.), inter alia pointing to the limits of an exclusive focus on the Freiburg School of ordoliberals in German neoliberalism. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 610

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the key debate over the ‘return of ordoliberalism’ thesis and the Freiburg School, central to mapping internal varieties of European neoliberalism for this reading.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what are the actual limits of Freiburg School focus that Wigger and others identify in German neoliberalism?