Neoliberal think-tank networks manufactured an international bestseller phenomenon

Evidence

The neoliberal movement transformed the book and de Soto into an international phenomenon. In 1989 the book was published in English in the United States, with its marketing ambitions reflected in a new subtitle: “The Invisible Revolution in the Third World.” Ghersi and Ghibellini’s names were removed from the title page, leaving de Soto as the only named author. The Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, an ex-leftist converted to neoliberalism by de Soto, it is said, and about to become the U.S.-backed candidate in the 1990 Peruvian presidential election (Rothbard 1995, 323–33), contributed a preface. The book carried endorsements from President George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and several others. The Atlas Foundation selected the book for its first Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Award, a prize named after de Soto’s recently deceased patron. Promoted with prizes, reviews, and endorsements from the network of European and American neoliberal think tanks and foundations, it became a worldwide bestseller. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1952

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘self-inflating celebrity’ mechanism and to think-tank prize/endorsement networks — echoes the earlier chapters on foundation patronage. — connects to: Mont Pelerin Society networks seeded think tanks across Latin America — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 561; Networked mutual influence, not heroic individuals, explains neoliberal thought formation — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 13; Neoliberal ‘spontaneous order’ rhetoric masked deliberately orchestrated institutional networks — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2114 (+11 more)
• ADDENDUM: Directly relevant to the grafting-style theme of how networks elevate individual figures; also parallels the sacrifice book’s note on how patrons memorialize through named prizes.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how the co-authors’ erasure from the title page was justified — a concrete case of intellectual credit being redistributed through network power.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal ‘spontaneous order’ rhetoric masked deliberately orchestrated institutional networks #expands (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2114
• Neoliberalism rose to hegemony through transnational networks of scholars and allies #corroborates (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 81
• Neoliberalism’s spread depended on transnational discourse networks rather than national institutions alone #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2118
• Neoliberal intellectuals formed a thought collective as a unit #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 10
• Neoliberalism sustains itself through double-truth pretenses of spontaneous revolt masking top-down organization #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 210
• Neoliberal networks organized their intellectual labor as military-style artillery divisions #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 87
• Neoliberal thought control is organized as nested institutions #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 124
• Neoliberal think tanks were standardized through explicit managerial blueprinting #expands (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 580
• Neoliberalism’s deliberate epistemic inconsistencies enabled its long-term success #expands (0.80)
• Neoliberalism operates from a unified playbook despite surface variation #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 917
• Neoliberal think tanks were designed to influence elites rather than politicians #expands (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 576
• Nobel economics prizes to neoliberals resulted from contingency plus deliberate agenda #exemplifies (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 499