Participation in the Mont Pèlerin Society shifted Friedman’s views on monopoly within four years

Evidence

In 1947, in keeping with classical liberalism, Friedman had expressed concern about problems with monopoly. He had also expressed concerns about the corporate form that stemmed from the divergence of corporate ownership and control. However, after the lapse of four years, Friedman revealed his newfound neoliberal bent toward monopoly in an article published in France. One aim of his 1951 article was to describe the American free enterprise system to his European audience, who, he felt, mistrusted and misconstrued the American free enterprise system. In the course of doing so, Friedman departed from the classical liberal doctrine in several ways. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1115

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader FMS historiography — the network’s role in reshaping members’ intellectual positions. — connects to: Mont Pèlerin Society economists drove academic changes, contrary to conventional wisdom. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2170; Free-market institutions converted technical economist Friedman into a political intellectual — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 417
• QUESTION: What precisely in the FMS experience changed Friedman’s mind? The text asserts the causal link but doesn’t unpack the mechanism.

Broader Connections

• Free-market institutions converted technical economist Friedman into a political intellectual #exemplifies (0.78) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 417