Neoliberal intellectuals formed a thought collective as a unit

Evidence

Some warn against our use of Ludwig Fleck’s and Karl Mannheim’s notion of a thought collective to deal with neoliberals as a unit, although this was mostly a device to circumvent the widespread tendency to lose sight of the wood for the trees. Although we do not usually gravitate to the center, we consider it truly important to walk the fine line between exceedingly diffuse and monolithic, oversimplified identities of neoliberalism. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 10

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces Fleck’s and Mannheim’s ‘thought collective’ concept as applied to the Mont Pèlerin network.
• SHARE: A pointed methodological defense for anyone working on intellectual networks or the neoliberal historiography.
• XREF: connects to: Conservative ideas formed through cross-national networks and institutional contexts, not isolated biography. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 27; Global structures enabled ideological community for marginalized intellectual movements — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 147; Neoliberalism’s founders believed ideological change demanded deliberate collective organization — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 218 (+23 more)

Broader Connections

• Networked mutual influence, not heroic individuals, explains neoliberal thought formation #corroborates (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 13
• Neoliberalism rose to hegemony through transnational networks of scholars and allies #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 81