Ordoliberalism departed from classical liberalism by grounding markets in a constitutional framework

Evidence

Ordoliberalism, like classical liberalism, maintained that a free enterprise system was necessary for a free, prosperous, and equitable society. Unlike classical liberals, ordoliberals advocated that a competitive economic system should be grounded in a specific “constitutional” framework; this, according to Gerber (1998), was the signature contribution of ordoliberalism and its significant departure from classical liberalism. For ordoliberalism’s vision of society to become a reality, society needed both a political constitution and an “economic constitution.” The political and legal decisions that would give rise to society’s economic system would determine the nature of its economic constitution. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1087

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the core ordoliberal innovation: the ‘economic constitution’ as distinct from classical liberalism’s laissez-faire.
• XREF: Connects to broader neoliberal historiography where the Freiburg ordoliberals are contrasted with Chicago-school and Austrian strands. — connects to: Ordoliberalism inverted classical liberalism by making economic effectiveness depend on political and legal systems — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 362; Ordoliberalism modernized liberalism while keeping its economics classical and supply-side. — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 373; The EU’s constitutional design embodies German ordoliberal principles — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 374 (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism pivoted from the economy to the framework encasing it #corroborates (0.85) — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 88
• Ordoliberalism’s Ordnungstheorie anticipated modern neo-institutionalist economics #corroborates (0.80) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 559