Hayek extended Christian conscience freedom into economic freedom of individual judgment

Evidence

For the neoliberals, the Christian emphasis on freedom of conscience provided a foundation for the freedom of individual choice that a market order required. They nonetheless gave their own twist to this freedom. In 1945, Hayek wrote: … To the accepted Christian tradition that man must be free to follow his conscience in moral matters if his actions are to be of any merit, the economists added the further argument that he should be free to make full use of his knowledge and skill, that he must be allowed to be guided by his concern for the particular things of which he knows and for which he cares, if he is to make as great a contribution to the common purposes of society as he is capable of making. — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 140

Categorization

• XREF: Hayek’s genealogical move from conscience to market freedom parallels the reader’s existing material on how moral concepts (immodesty, sacrifice, moral formalism) get repurposed across domains. — connects to: Hayek grounded freedom in the inevitability of ignorance — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 221; Hayek courted Christians as necessary allies for liberalism — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 354; Hayek and fellow Mont Pèlerin founders viewed Christianity as indispensable to liberal revival — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 122

Broader Connections

• Hayek grounded freedom in the inevitability of ignorance #qualifies (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 221
• Hayek and fellow Mont Pèlerin founders viewed Christianity as indispensable to liberal revival #corroborates (0.80) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 122
• Hayek courted Christians as necessary allies for liberalism #qualifies (0.75) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 354