Neoliberal doctrine pairs contradictory claims about markets guaranteeing democracy and freedom

Evidence

I don’t think it has gone unnoticed that the NTC embodies a budget of paradoxes, to put it politely. It starts with the strange behavior we already encountered: the neoliberals had begun acknowledging in the 1930s–’50s that they were in pursuit of something “neo,” only to subsequently deny all divergence from an ancient time-honored “liberalism,” against all evidence to the contrary. Subsequently, the continuity story became the exoteric stance, whereas the “neo” remained an esoteric appreciation. But then the dichotomy expands into all manner of seemingly incompatible positions. As Will Davies has put it: market competition should stand as a guarantor of democracy, but not vice versa; unimpeded economic activity would guarantee political freedom, but not vice versa. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 189

Categorization

• DEFINE: Concretizes the esoteric/exoteric split through the asymmetric market-democracy claims.
• XREF: connects to: Neoliberals disagree sharply among themselves about what a market is — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 151; Neoliberalism holds together several unresolved internal contradictions by asserting both sides at once — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2142; Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 81 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism holds together several unresolved internal contradictions by asserting both sides at once #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2142
• Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices #expands (0.82) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 81
• Neoliberal deregulation erodes democracy as politics abdicates to market pressure #exemplifies (0.80) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 81