Neoliberals once named themselves openly and then abandoned the label

Evidence

We elect to start with the manifest phenomenon that most people whom outsiders would identify as neoliberals would reject the label outright, and indeed, deny the position exists as a coherent doctrine. For them, it is just another swearword bandied about by their opponents, rather like “fascism” or “equality.” … The nominalist position can be rapidly dispensed with. As my collaborators and I have insisted elsewhere, the people associated with the doctrine did call themselves “neo-liberals” for a brief period lasting from the 1930s to the early 1950s, but then they abruptly stopped the practice. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 103

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on the neoliberal ‘thought collective’ in Mirowski and Plehwe’s edited volumes tracing the Mont Pelerin network. — connects to: Neoliberalism was initially a self-declared identity, not an external label — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 364; Neoliberals coined the term themselves but abandoned it to claim continuity with classical liberalism. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 2110; Friedman abandoned the label neoliberal by the late 1950s — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 443 (+3 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 103

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism was initially a self-declared identity, not an external label #corroborates (0.90) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 364
• Neoliberals coined the term themselves but abandoned it to claim continuity with classical liberalism. #expands (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2110
• Friedman abandoned the label neoliberal by the late 1950s #exemplifies (0.90) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 443
• Early neoliberals split over whether freedom served dignity or stood alone #qualifies (0.70) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 354