The Legal Pedagogy of Neoliberalism: The Rise (and Resilience) of a Post-democratic Constitutional Culture

This chapter examines the impact of Chile’s 1980 Constitution on the formation of a post-democratic legal culture, emphasizing the transformative role of the concept of “economic public order” (EPO). Although not explicitly mentioned in the text of the Constitution, EPO emerged as a powerful formula of constitutional interpretation aimed at safeguarding free markets from democratic politics and demands of redistributive justice. Envisioned as a counter-revolutionary strategy to dismantle Allende’s socialist legality and developmental policies, EPO became a cornerstone of both the ascendance and resilience of Chilean neoliberal legality. Rodrigo Cordero and Ricardo Valenzuela examine how this concept has been naturalized within legal culture as a normative framework of interpretation of economic matters, perpetuated through formalist pedagogy at law schools, interpretative practices in the courts, and legal doctrine aligned with economic power and business elites. Using a socio-historical perspective, the investigation highlights the role of law textbooks in shaping constitutional imaginaries and practices that legitimize the foundations of neoliberal constitutionalism. In doing so, the chapter sheds light on the complex interplay between legal culture and the resilience of neoliberalism as a socio-political project.