Neoliberal continuity survived via pragmatic adjustment, not doctrinal purity

Evidence

Whereas from a purely Chilean point of view, the modification of the internal power structure and the abandonment of some orthodox elements of the neoliberal program in the course of the 1982–1983 crisis might be interpreted as ending a “radical neoliberalism” and opening up a “pragmatic phase” (Silva 1991, 2001), from a global standpoint it was exactly the fine-tuned adjustment to external and internal requirements that ensured the continuity of the neoliberal project. … Under Büchi’s aegis, a new regime of state-led export-oriented industrialization was set in motion, without altering the social relations around the development strategy (the seven modernizations) that had been previously implemented. … The state provided the old and new incentives in order to achieve competitiveness in the new nontraditional export sectors and to increase internal savings and investment. Simultaneously, it created favorable conditions on a macroeconomic level through devaluation, temporary tariff protection, regulation of the financial system, and a strict policy of wage controls. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1615

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes the ‘radical phase’ from the ‘pragmatic phase’ of Chilean neoliberalism — a key periodization in the historiography.
• XREF: Parallels the broader argument that neoliberalism’s flexibility, not rigidity, explains its persistence — resonant with Mirowski’s and Peck’s work. — connects to: Neoliberals actively engineered their post-crisis survival rather than winning by default — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 23; Neoliberalism has a coherent crisis logic despite lacking fixed doctrine — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 146; Neoliberalism has a constant end but flexible, adaptive means. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 22 (+14 more)
• SEED: An essay angle: ‘the pragmatist turn as survival strategy’ — how ideological movements preserve themselves by abandoning orthodoxy at the margins.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism is a self-consciously evolving thought collective, not a fixed catechism #corroborates (0.82) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 141
• Neoliberalism is internally plural yet not formless #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 10
• Neoliberalism is a novel doctrine in flux, not a return to laissez-faire #corroborates (0.72) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 439