Three invariants define the social market economy’s pragmatic core.

Evidence

Against this political economy background, we can now understand why it is so very hard to grasp the fundamental economic core of economic policy in the social market economy, though a few constants arguably determine Müller-Armack’s evolutionary approach. Starbatty denotes three indispensable invariants: (1) preserving the market economy as a dynamic order; (2) preserving the social balance which maintains the suppression of conflicts; and (3) securing stability and economic growth through competition and financial policies (Starbatty 1982). These imperatives, in a way, characterize a neoliberal program, which is determined by a defensive and pragmatic character and by an extremely high political sensitivity toward uneasy societal circumstances. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 556

Categorization

• DEFINE: Enumerates the three distinguishing invariants of Müller-Armack’s approach versus ordoliberalism.
• XREF: connects to: The social market economy label legitimized market reforms politically — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 550; The social market economy was designed to pacify class conflict adaptively. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 555