Hayek founded MPS to build a worldview insulated from immediate policy pressures
Evidence
If the market economy was to be preserved, it would need to be presented as part of a potentially compelling worldview. Hayek established the Mont Pèlerin Society because he believed that this act of ideology formation could occur only over time, among groups of sympathetic intellectuals who shared a po liti cal goal but were shielded from the rhetorical pressures of contemporary policy debates. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 307
Categorization
- ADDENDUM: Supports the ‘Grafting & Growth’ argument that long-horizon institution-building beats immediate rhetorical wins — Hayek designed MPS as a root-grafted cadre.
- XREF: connects to: Hayek and Friedman shared faith that ideas could transform political practice — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 560; Hayek and Röpke proposed rival institutional blueprints that combined into the MPS format. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 170; Hayek accepted that funders would shape the institution. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 253 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Hayek founded the Mont Pèlerin Society believing ideas, not interests, drive change
#corroborates(0.95) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 546 - Hayek’s academy aimed to build shared belief rather than only disseminate finished scholarship
#expands(0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 85 - Hayek believed durable intellectual movements require cross-disciplinary transnational support networks
#expands(0.75) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 238 - Hayek’s distinctive skill was coalition-building sensitivity rather than Mill-style openness
#expands(0.72) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 853 - Hayek saw journalists and teachers as idea dealers who shape public opinion
#complicates(0.70) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1908