Neoliberalism served interests, never grounded in economic theory

Evidence

As noted earlier, as president of the Mont Pèlerin Society, Schmölders suggested the “entrepreneur in modern economy and society” as the theme for the conference he organized in Munich in 1970. Vigorously raising financial support from German companies for the ambitious conference program, Schmölders saw the meeting of the “neoliberal thought collective” as an opportunity to present his research agenda in empirical socioeconomics to an international audience. It was not sufficient to analyze the real function of the entrepreneur within the economy, Schmölders explained in his opening address, but also public opinion, which influenced economic decision-making processes and economic policy. Starting with the findings of Schmölders’s institute, presenters on the first day thus reported on the “image of the entrepreneur” in Germany, the United States, France, Great Britain, Japan, India, South Africa and in “Underdeveloped (Poor) Countries,” before others concentrated particularly on the entrepreneur’s image among certain groups. Schmölders’s success in convincing his fellow neoliberals to follow his research agenda, however, was rather limited. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 338 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Neither new nor liberal, neoliberalism was an uninteresting hodgepodge of older political philosophies. As a piece of theory, it had as much to do with really-existing capitalism as Marxism had to do with really-existing communism: nothing! Nevertheless, neoliberalism delivered the necessary ideological veneer to legitimise the assault on organised labour and to promote the so-called ‘deregulation’ that let Wall Street rip. Along with it came the revival of economic theories that humanity had, rightly, ditched during the Great Depression – theories artfully assuming that which they claimed to explain, such as the grand lie that deregulated financial markets know best. — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 220 (#expands, via linked claim)

Furthermore, neoclassical policy was entirely focused on avoiding one problem, inflation, and providing one outcome, stable prices. It seemed to have very little to say about a world in which deflation was now the worry, and price stabilization meant raising, not lowering, inflation expectations. — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 158 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Empirical socio-economic research never gained a foothold in the neoliberal thought collective. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 338; Neoliberalism was an ideological veneer only loosely resembling actual capitalism — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 220; Neoliberalism is a caricature of liberalism reduced to a theory of economic organization — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2121 (+4 more)

Related

• Empirical socio-economic research never gained a foothold in the neoliberal thought collective. (similarity 0.87)
• Neoliberalism was an ideological veneer only loosely resembling actual capitalism (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberalism was always a political doctrine ungrounded in economic theory. (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberalism pivoted from the economy to the framework encasing it (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberalism is fundamentally an epistemological project, not merely a political or economic one (similarity 0.84)
• Neoliberalism defined itself in opposition to the constructed object of the economy (similarity 0.82)
• A German economist proposed grounding economics in empirical behavioral sciences rather than abstractions (similarity 0.82)
• Neoliberalism defined itself as a middle path between laissez-faire and planning (similarity 0.82)
• Neoliberalism is a caricature of liberalism reduced to a theory of economic organization (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism emerged from the Great Depression, not from Viennese interwar thought alone (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism began as a loosely defined matrix of convictions rather than a fixed doctrine (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism was both a class-power project and a coherent ideology. (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism was a pluralist movement opposing three rival liberal traditions, not a corporate tool (similarity 0.81)
• Neoliberalism emerged from practical business advocacy, not abstract theory (similarity 0.80)
• Neoliberalism is best understood as open questions with a constant goal (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Empirical socio-economic research never gained a foothold in the neoliberal thought collective. #corroborates (0.85) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 338
• Neoliberalism was an ideological veneer only loosely resembling actual capitalism #expands (0.80) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 220
• Neoliberalism is a caricature of liberalism reduced to a theory of economic organization #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2121
• Neoclassical economics had no framework for deflationary crises #exemplifies (0.75) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 158