Neoliberals deliberately bypassed universities in favor of a closed, hand-picked elite society.

Evidence

Fisher did the same for most think tanks created before his death. Building on his experience, he had a clear framework in mind. First, a think tank should stay out of politics and focus instead on building influence. Hence, key targets were the media and policy influencers even more than policy-makers. Second, think tanks should stay away from governmental or political financing. Hence foundation and private funding were privileged. Third, think tanks should work like businesses. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 576 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Many of the components of the full-spectrum response can only be imposed in those special moments of “emergency” by a strong state, when all standard rule-governed activity is suspended. The neoliberals may preach the rule of law, and sneer in public about the ineptitude of government, but they win by taking advantage of “the exception” to introduce components of their program unencumbered by judicial or democratic accountability. We observe this happened during the global economic crisis, and fully expect to see it again upon onset of further climate catastrophe. It is here that it is most obvious that they take their Schmittian heritage to heart. They know what it means to never let a serious crisis go to waste. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 980 (#complicates, via linked claim)

The perception of a need to maintain a radical stance with regard to fundamental change in the long term, rather than opportunistically subscribing to feasible change in the short term, led neoliberals to combine elite scholarship with popular writing and intermittent sophistication with populist simplification. … Upon closer inspection, one can easily detect the neoliberal technologies for the creation of international reputation, including academic honors provided by neoliberal universities such as Marroquin University in Guatemala (Ayau 1990), the Milton Friedman Prize of the Cato Institute, or the Antony Fisher Prize for think tanks. The international reputation of leading members of the neoliberal thought collective has worked wonders in local fund-raising efforts to establish or expand think tanks and other organizations (Goodman and Marotz-Baden 1990; Frost 2002). — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 87 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neoliberals deliberately combined elite scholarship with populist simplification — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 87; Neoliberals exploit emergency exceptions to bypass democratic accountability. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 980; Neoliberal think tanks were designed to influence elites rather than politicians — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 576

Related

• Neoliberal think tanks were designed to influence elites rather than politicians (similarity 0.87)
• Neoliberals deliberately combined elite scholarship with populist simplification (similarity 0.86)
• Neoliberalism targets elite opinion through knowledge redefinition, not direct corporate service. (similarity 0.83)
• Neoliberals exploit emergency exceptions to bypass democratic accountability. (similarity 0.80)
• Partisan think tanks converted neoliberal philosophy into practical political tools. (similarity 0.79)
• Neoliberalism pairs a scientific self-image with elite-directed ideological strategy, not democratic science (similarity 0.79)
• Neoliberal think tanks deliberately concealed their political aims from the public in the 1950s. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal think tanks were designed to influence elites rather than politicians #corroborates (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 576
• Neoliberals deliberately combined elite scholarship with populist simplification #corroborates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 87
• Neoliberals exploit emergency exceptions to bypass democratic accountability. #complicates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 980