Hayek saw American egalitarian democracy as more hostile to elites than capitalism

Evidence

The project was to produce a functional hierarchical elite of regimented political intellectuals; as Hayek wrote to Bertrand de Jouvenel, “I sometimes wonder whether it is not more than capitalism this strong egalitarian strain (they call it democracy) in America which is so inimical to the growth of a cultural elite.” Neoliberals found that Mont Pèlerin was an effective instrument to reconstruct their hierarchy, untethered to local circumstances. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 122

Categorization

• SEED: A quotable revelation — the figurehead of free-market thought explicitly preferring capitalism to democracy — that could anchor a piece on the anti-democratic core of the thought collective.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 122
• XREF: connects to: Hayek preferred a liberal dictator over a democracy that impinges on markets — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 363; Hayek publicly defended self-limiting dictatorships as possibly more liberal than unrestrained democracy — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2151; Hayek argued democracy and liberalism can diverge, with democracy potentially turning anti-liberal — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2144 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Hayek preferred a liberal dictator over a democracy that impinges on markets #expands (0.85) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 363
• Hayek publicly defended self-limiting dictatorships as possibly more liberal than unrestrained democracy #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2151
• Hayek argued democracy and liberalism can diverge, with democracy potentially turning anti-liberal #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2144
• Hayek claimed a self-limiting dictatorship can out-liberalize an unbounded democracy #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1638
• Postwar American business elites feared liberalism more than Soviet communism #corroborates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1446