Hayek deliberately included ideologically-neutral members to widen coalition appeal

Evidence

Luhnow probably objected to what he considered lackluster libertarian enthusiasm in Schultz. Nevertheless, Hayek insisted that Schultz not be excluded: “If I am not mistaken somebody, contrary to Mr. Miller’s view, had rather singled out Professor Schultz as the only reliable person of my group and I had then explained that he in fact was the one among them who I knew least, but that he was indispensable as head of the department of economics in Chicago… . But my impression is that he will be entirely neutral, although he may occasionally plead for compromises which I trust the other members of the committee will reject.” Luhnow later capitulated, and Schultz remained on the Executive Committee. Hayek, who clearly had felt that Friedman did not have a sufficiently influential connection with the Economics Department, insisted on including Schultz as an essential component of the committee. From 1946 onward, Hayek would often exert a commensurate strategic moderating influence wherever coalitions were being recruited to the neoliberal agenda, as in the Mont Pèlerin Society. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 757

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the wider historiography of how the Mont Pèlerin Society and postwar right built big-tent coalitions. — connects to: Hayek’s dual identity let him bridge factions until conflicts made him partisan. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 342; Hayek’s distinctive skill was coalition-building sensitivity rather than Mill-style openness — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 853; Hayek reconciled intellectual credibility with donor accommodation in founding MPS — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 260 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Hayek rejected ideological purity tests among the Society’s members #expands (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1451
• Hayek’s distinctive skill was coalition-building sensitivity rather than Mill-style openness #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 853
• Hayek reconciled intellectual credibility with donor accommodation in founding MPS #expands (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 260