The Mont Pèlerin Society’s growth threatened its philosophical unity

Evidence

At the conclusion of the 1962 meeting, an article in National Review mulled over the dangers faced by the society as it added new members to its rolls. “The intimate atmosphere of a select group of intellectual peers, good friends and philosophic companions may give way to the businesslike atmosphere of a professional convention,” it observed. “Although the Society represents a rather broad spectrum of opinion within the libertarian fold, the present philosophic unity of the group could be affected and its intellectual strength watered down. These are the risks inherent in expansion, yet the world is moving on and this seems to be the course the Society will take.” — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 325

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to the classic Olson-style dilemma of member organizations and the sociology of intellectual movements, e.g., how influential small circles dilute as they scale. — connects to: By 1972 the Mont Pèlerin Society had hardened into technical economics and pure libertarianism — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 528; Founding Mont Pèlerin members became alienated by the society’s later trajectory — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 562; The Mont Pèlerin Society’s founding statement was deliberately vague to hold divergent members together. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 267 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Mont Pèlerin Society’s first decade failed to reconcile its competing scientific and ideological visions #expands (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 91
• Mont Pèlerin’s success in spreading market ideas fatally undermined its own moderated vision #expands (0.75) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 468
• Organizational power struggles shaped which factions of the Mont Pèlerin network rose #expands (0.75) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 335
• The Mont Pèlerin Society contained rival, incompatible conceptions of the market #qualifies (0.72) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2126
• Mont Pèlerin Society members disagreed sharply over development policy in the 1950s #exemplifies (0.72) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1261