The ordos invented the economic constitution to secure market liberalism politically

Evidence

The idea of an “economic constitution” is the unique ordoliberal contribution to the neoliberal theory of the state-economy relation. As we will see, this is not a literal document, but a way of orienting the state to support the framework, essential elements, and dynamics of markets, especially competition and the price mechanism. The aim of the economic constitution is to commit the state to economic liberalism; the confession it makes is that this commitment is neither natural nor guaranteed, but must be secured politically—capitalism, the ordos understood, has no single form. Thus, the state bound by an economic constitution securing economic liberalism is the opposite of what the ordos term the “economic state” (and what we call the “social state”), which they regard as having the double vice of being a weak state and weakening capitalism. — Wendy Brown, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism, 127

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘economic constitution’ — the ordos’ distinctive device binding the state to competitive markets precisely because capitalism’s form is not naturally guaranteed.
• XREF: connects to: Ordoliberalism departed from classical liberalism by grounding markets in a constitutional framework — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1087; Ordoliberals saw the economic constitution as imposed by deliberate political will from above — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 697; Ordoliberalism inverted classical liberalism by making economic effectiveness depend on political and legal systems — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 362 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Ordoliberalism departed from classical liberalism by grounding markets in a constitutional framework #expands (0.90) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1087
• Ordoliberals saw the economic constitution as imposed by deliberate political will from above #expands (0.85) — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 697
• Ordoliberalism reframes the state as rule setter, not demand manager #expands (0.85) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 355
• Ordoliberalism inverted classical liberalism by making economic effectiveness depend on political and legal systems #expands (0.82) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 362
• Early neoliberalism subordinated economic machinery to a prior moral authority and rule of law #corroborates (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 363
• Ordoliberalism entailed an authoritarian skepticism toward democracy #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 557