Neoliberalism emerged from practical business advocacy, not abstract theory

Evidence

Beginning the story of neoliberalism with the Stubenring in the 1920s rather than with Mont Pèlerin in 1947 deflates the self-­heroizing narrative of lonely embattled intellectuals and reveals the world in which ­future neoliberals formed their princi­ples. It also shows how their writing began with straightforward policy prob­lems rather than abstract contemplation. … Though Mises claimed that “no other calling was more desirable to me as that of a university professor,” in many ways the Chamber of Commerce remained his most characteristic milieu, and his policy suggestions remained remarkably consistent. He began his ­career in Austria in the last years of the Habsburg Empire, advocating strenuously for lower corporate taxes on industry, and ended it in the last years of the First Austrian Republic, arguing for the same. … Even if he is remembered for his work on social philosophy and theories of money and credit, Mises earned his livelihood for much of his adult life as a forthright advocate for the needs of business, including with the Chamber of Commerce in the 1920s and 1930s, and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and Foundation for Economic Education ­after his emigration to the United States. — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 119

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader historiography of neoliberalism’s origins — contrasts with the heroic Mont Pèlerin origin story common in popular accounts like Naomi Klein’s. — connects to: Neoliberalism’s doctrine was shaped from its start by business patrons — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 87; Neoliberalism is activist constructivism, not laissez-faire passivity. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2125; The Colloque first defined neoliberalism as framework-building rather than laissez-faire — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 281 (+8 more)
• SEED: Could angle an essay on how policy doctrines that seem ideological were actually forged in mundane institutional settings like chambers of commerce.

Broader Connections

• The Colloque first defined neoliberalism as framework-building rather than laissez-faire #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 281
• Neoliberalism is activist constructivism, not laissez-faire passivity. #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2125
• Neoliberalism advanced a political, not merely economic, case for the competitive market #corroborates (0.80) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 34
• Neoliberals pursued an engineered order rather than expecting free markets to emerge naturally #corroborates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1907
• Neoliberalism is activated from below by social actors, not merely imposed from above #expands (0.75) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 530