Ideas, not vested interests, ultimately shape political possibility.

Evidence

Public opinion on these matters is the work of men like ourselves … who have created the political climate in which the politicians of our time must move … I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 136

Categorization

• APHORISMS: A rare articulation of the intellectual’s vocation: influence politics by shaping the climate of opinion, because that outlasts and outweighs material interests.
• XREF: This is the core Hayekian/Keynesian creed about the power of ideas; connects to the ‘thought collective’ premise of Mirowski’s whole book and to Gramsci’s cultural hegemony. — connects to: Hayek held that ideas, not vested interests, ultimately shape political possibility — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2116; Political theories are forms determined by social content, not freely chosen options. — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 580; Might manufactures the terms of political possibility rather than merely being right — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 573 (+10 more)
• SEED: A possible essay angle: how the ‘power of ideas over interests’ claim functions as both a sincere belief and a professional legitimization strategy for the intellectual class itself.

Broader Connections

• Hayek held that ideas, not vested interests, ultimately shape political possibility #corroborates (0.98) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2116
• Political theories are forms determined by social content, not freely chosen options. #contradicts (0.95) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 580
• Might determines the terms of political and historical possibility, not just outcomes #contradicts (0.92)
• Might manufactures the terms of political possibility rather than merely being right #contradicts (0.90) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 573
• Ideologies are not what is shaped at power’s base #contradicts (0.85)
• Ideology theory claims that non-ideas determine the content of ideas. #contradicts (0.85) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 324
• Ideological choices are decided beforehand by power blocs, not by individuals. #qualifies (0.75) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 163