Social conservatism was foundational, not peripheral, to the neoliberal project.

Evidence

But neoliberalism, as scholars like Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plewhe remind us, is not simply a North American phenomenon. Rather, it was a transnational movement from the beginning. Social conservatism was not an external supplement to the development of neoliberalism. Conservative moralism, including an explicit defence of religion and family values, was foundational to the neoliberal attempt to reinvent the liberal project beyond laissez-faire. — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 170

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s work on the ethics of markets and to the Gracchus/insights on how moral discourse underwrites economic policy. — connects to: Ordoliberalism’s political project depended on sustaining a socially conservative middle class — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 514
• DEFINE: Clarifies that ‘neoliberalism’ as a category includes rather than excludes moral conservatism, challenging common Euro-American framings.

Broader Connections

• Ordoliberalism’s political project depended on sustaining a socially conservative middle class #corroborates (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 514