Neoliberalism operates through a double truth doctrine separating masses from elites.

Evidence

But no matter, since the absolute validity of that knowledge is not the true motive or objective of the exercise, but rather subordination of the overall process to corporate strategic imperatives that provides the real justification of the format, as well as its economic foundation. It adds up to a “double truth” doctrine: one truth for the masses/participants and another for those at the top. Something like the double truth doctrine also holds for neoliberal theories of democracy, as we shall shortly discover. It also holds for the notion of a “constructivist” approach to social reality. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2106

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the ‘double truth’ doctrine as a key analytical concept for the rest of the book.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how exactly does this double-truth pattern repeat in the later chapters on democracy and constructivism?
• XREF: connects to: Neoliberalism wants a doubled world insulated from redistributive demands. — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 70; The neoliberal thought collective may deliberately split its doctrine into exoteric and esoteric versions — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 188; Neoliberalism sustains itself through double-truth pretenses of spontaneous revolt masking top-down organization — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 210 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism rests on a double truth separating elite doctrine from mass propaganda #corroborates (0.95) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2146
• Neoliberals deliberately combined elite scholarship with populist simplification #expands (0.88) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 87
• Neoliberalism holds together several unresolved internal contradictions by asserting both sides at once #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2142
• Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices #corroborates (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 81
• Neoliberal doctrine pairs contradictory claims about markets guaranteeing democracy and freedom #corroborates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 189
• Double morality reflects the bourgeois-citoyen split, not legitimate public-private separation #exemplifies (0.75) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 797