Neoliberal thinkers explicitly prioritized fighting inflation over reducing social friction.

Evidence

It was essential that policy makers not cave to popu­lar demands. A case in point was the demand for stabilization of commodity prices in the wake of the stock market crash. In 1931 Haberler wrote against the idea of stabilizing the price level for certain commodities. He acknowledged that ­under a scheme of stabilized prices “social friction is less, since the worker can then be offered rising wages and a larger share—at the expense of rentiers—in the social product,” but the outcome would be inflation. He said that he would personally rather risk the “increase of social friction” than risk inflation. ­Here he followed his mentor Mises, who complained that governments had been captive to “public opinion, which looks for salvation in low rates of interest and rising prices.” ­Because the business world desired cheap credit, governments encouraged banks to print money, but short-­term profits “in the long run must inevitably create a situation of crisis and depression.” Public pressure must be resisted by the banks, schooled by economists on the consequences of their actions. Only then could international trade based on a reliable currency standard be preserved. — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 187

Categorization

• XREF: Directly anticipates the post-1970s inflation-first monetary policy (Volcker shock) and the insulation of central banks from democratic pressure that Slobodian’s broader thesis tracks. — connects to: Inflation triggers both social unrest and questioning of capitalist legitimacy; Neoliberals wanted an international order forcing anti-inflationary policy onto states — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 425; Liberals framed inflation as a greater threat to liberty than Marxism — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 338 (+4 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The candid admission that economists would ‘rather risk the increase of social friction than risk inflation’ is a stark distillation of the priority ordering that defines neoliberalism as a political project.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberals opposed welfare for inflation fear, not moral reasons #corroborates (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 228
• Inflation triggers both social unrest and questioning of capitalist legitimacy #corroborates (0.80)
• Austerity economists read inflation as a threat to capitalist subordination #corroborates (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 784
• Neoliberals wanted an international order forcing anti-inflationary policy onto states #expands (0.75) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 425
• Liberals framed inflation as a greater threat to liberty than Marxism #corroborates (0.75) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 338
• Inflation is a social power contest over bargaining power, not a purely monetary event #complicates (0.75) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 526
• Anti-inflation policies sparing workers require challenging capitalism’s foundations #expands (0.72) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 278