Ordoliberalism’s Christian moral turn was a response to its leaders’ Nazi entanglement

Evidence

As early as 1932, in his book Entwicklungsgesetze des Kapitalismus, Müller-Armack had contrasted capitalism with Marxist developmental theory, presenting capitalism as a process open to influence by “action” (Tat) and “will” (Wille). Decisive voluntarism could and would suffice to overcome the mounting crisis of capitalism. … His Das Jahrhundert ohne Gott (Century without god) eventually appeared in 1948, and his Diagnose unserer Gegenwart (Diagnosis of the present time) was published in 1949. The two books marked the timely completion of his transition from a fervent supporter of Italian fascism and Nazi Party membership in Germany during the 1930s to a proselytizer of (Protestant) Christianity as a key source for the postwar value orientation. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 537

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the wider historiography of post-1945 German intellectuals rebranding themselves after Nazism (similar to Heidegger’s silence and other denazification-era reorientations). — connects to: Ordoliberalism captured the postwar CDU because its communitarian rhetoric matched Catholic voters — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 369; Röpke’s Nazi persecution drove him toward an international liberal alliance — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 165; Ordoliberals advised the Nazi regime while also networking postwar plans — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 623 (+4 more)
• SEED: Angle for an essay: how intellectual movements re-found themselves morally after complicity — the ordoliberal Christian turn as a case of repackaged legitimacy.

Broader Connections

• Cold War anti-communism whitewashed ordoliberals’ Nazi-era roles #corroborates (0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 544
• Ordoliberal constitution of the economy was a compromise accommodating Nazi political supremacy #complicates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 585
• Non-emigrant ordoliberals designed their economic concepts for implementation under Nazi government #qualifies (0.78) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 539
• Nazi economic policy vacillation made ordoliberals hope their competition model would gain favor #responds-to (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 539