Neoliberals themselves deny their doctrine ever existed while others prematurely proclaimed its death

Evidence

The theoretical entity “neoliberalism” has suffered this straddle over the unfolding of the current crisis. A chorus of think tanks trumpeted its negligibility, while a smaller choir chanted its dirge. All manner of commentators, including, significantly, no small number of neoliberals, have insisted that the theory behind the label never really existed; if they happen to be preternaturally pugnacious, they tend to dismiss it as a swearword emitted by addled denizens of the left. The confusion was then confounded by an outbreak of premature rumors of the Demise of Neoliberalism, when people were suggesting that the economic crisis had finally sealed its fate. The impression back then was so vivid for some that they could practically hear the worms feasting on the carcass of the still-warm ideology. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 75

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the contested ontology of ‘neoliberalism’ as a usable concept going into this chapter.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 75
• XREF: connects to: Social disciplines alone deny contested concepts existed even while declaring them dead — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 74; Declarations that neoliberalism is dead have recurred for decades; Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 81 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Declarations that neoliberalism is dead have recurred for decades #corroborates (0.95)
• Neoliberal intellectuals deliberately blurred distinctions between their doctrine and classical liberalism #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 110
• Neoliberalism operates through systematic contradiction and disavowal of its own practices #expands (0.75) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 81
• Post-crisis commentary failures stem from refusing to admit the ideology itself failed #qualifies (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 35