Viner opposed laissez-faire and distrusted corporate power despite a conservative reputation

Evidence

At times Viner was represented in the pop u lar press as a hardline conservative economist. One newspaper columnist in 1936 wrote that he was “so far over to the Right in his views, in one sense, that he is as lonesome as Ibsen’s master builder. He is of the letnaturetakeitscourse school, against artifi cial price stimulants or controls.” Viner himself acknowledged in an interview later in his life that he might have been regarded by some within the Roo se velt government as an internal “sabotager.” When he directly addressed matters of public policy, however, he strongly emphasized his departures from anything resembling laissezfaire. His rhetoric was particularly strident in regard to limitations on the powers amassed by large corporations. “Nothing in the history of American business,” he reminded his audience in a 1931 speech, “justifi es undue confi dence on the part of the American public that it can trust big business to take care of the community without supervision, regulation or eternal vigilance.” — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 99

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the broader historiographical theme that early market advocates were not the doctrinaire libertarians later associated with the turn. — connects to: Viner opposed laissez-faire and demanded corporate regulation before the New Deal — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 99

Broader Connections

• Viner opposed laissez-faire and demanded corporate regulation before the New Deal #corroborates (1.00) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 99