Neoliberalism’s scientific program collapsed under its own ideological contradictions

Evidence

Since its inception, neoliberalism has hinged on two forces tugging in opposite directions: a scientific program based on a strict respect for the scientific method, and strategic appeals to morals and values when results did not point to an agreeable consensus. As a consequence, the neoliberal attempt to recode liberalism left an ambiguous legacy. On the one hand, the neoliberal discourse of the superiority of the market, the rule of law, and the rejection of economic intervention became firmly anchored in a coherent research program. On the other hand, the project to redefine liberalism along the lines of a liberal science collapsed because of its contradictions with the ideological goal of controlling the production and diffusion of theoretical knowledge. Accordingly, the neoliberal ideological project superseded the scientific intuitions advanced by its early promoters. From a critical program designed to contest the opportunity of economic intervention, it had progressed through an epistemological recoding of liberalism. Following the success of The Road to Serfdom, Hayek further elaborated an ideological strategy in which a closed circle of intellectual producers feed their ideas to the public through strategically placed intermediaries. As well as their democratic aspirations, the cognitive capacity of the masses was deemed trivial compared with the intellectual influence of the elites, which neoliberals began to purposefully target. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 92

Categorization

• XREF: Reflects the book’s core argument about internal tensions — an intellectual history of MPS. Fits alongside earlier chapters tracing Hayek’s Road to Serfdom strategy and the PR-vs-science divide in the movement. — connects to: Neoliberalism’s opponents, not its own theory, collapsed after the crisis — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 25; Neoclassical agent theory collapsed when selves became infinitely plastic. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 327; Declarations that neoliberalism is dead have recurred for decades (+8 more)
• CANDY: The idea that neoliberalism’s actual scientific pretensions collapsed — and that elites deemed the cognitive capacity of the masses trivial — is a crisp, tweetable reversal of the stereotype.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices #corroborates (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 81
• Neoliberalism’s deliberate epistemic inconsistencies enabled its long-term success #qualifies (0.80)
• Neoliberalism holds together several unresolved internal contradictions by asserting both sides at once #complicates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2142
• Neoliberal theories succeed as policy rhetoric despite having scant evidence #complicates (0.75) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 425