The Society diagnosed the era’s crisis as moral-relativist history plus weakened belief in markets

Evidence

The central values of civilization are in danger… . The group holds that these developments have been fostered by the growth of a view of history which denies all absolute moral standards and by the growth of theories which question the desirability of the rule of law. It holds further that they have been fostered by a decline of belief in private property and the competitive market; for without the diffused power and initiative associated with these institutions it is difficult to imagine a society in which freedom may be effectively preserved. Believing that what is essentially an ideological movement must be met by intellectual argument and the reassertion of valid ideas, the group, having made a preliminary exploration of the ground, is of the opinion that further study is desirable inter alia in regard to the following matters: 1. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 142

Categorization

• DEFINE: This passage captures the MPS’s founding self-conception as an ideological movement fought with ideas, not just economics.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 142
• XREF: connects to: Neoliberal intellectuals framed the wartime era as a moral and spiritual crisis requiring diagnosis — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 204