Neoliberals restrict freedom to negative freedom to shield market epistemology from scrutiny

Evidence

Whatever else it betokens in the neoliberal pantheon, it is axiomatic that freedom can only be “negative” for neoliberals (in the sense of Isaiah Berlin), for one very important reason. Freedom cannot be extended from the use of knowledge in society to the use of knowledge about society, because self-examination concerning why one passively accepts local and incomplete knowledge leads to contemplation of how market signals create some forms of knowledge and squelch others. Meditation upon our limitations leads to inquiry into how markets work, and metareflection on our place in larger orders, something that neoliberals warn is beyond our ken. Knowledge then assumes global institutional dimensions, and this undermines the key doctrine of the market as transcendental superior information processor. Conveniently, “freedom” does not extend to principled rejection of the neoliberal insurgency. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 169

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reading purpose of tracing the neoliberal ‘thought collective’ — this is Mirowski explaining the internal epistemic logic that lets the movement survive critique. — connects to: Anti-rationalist epistemology links respect for tradition with market advocacy — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 284; Leading neoliberals defended restricting political freedom to preserve economic freedom — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 500; Neoliberalism defines interest so as to render false consciousness unintelligible — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 1869 (+19 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: A dense, paradigm-shifting point: the negative-freedom doctrine is not just ideology but a defensive epistemic move that preemptively invalidates meta-knowledge about markets.

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal freedom is recoded as negative liberty to protect market supremacy #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2130
• Neoliberal freedom is confined to market-compatible choices within a predetermined margin #corroborates (0.80)
• Neoliberals conditioned self-government on accepting market discipline #corroborates (0.80) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 297
• Market ideology functions to repress freedom rather than secure it #complicates (0.75) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 600
• Neoliberalism makes the market, not experts, the arbiter of truth #corroborates (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 927
• Neoliberal freedom culminates in radical solipsism that denies the economy’s existence #expands (0.70) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 431