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Walter Eucken's role in the early history of the Mont Pèlerin Society

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  • Kolev, Stefan
  • Goldschmidt, Nils
  • Hesse, Jan-Otmar

Abstract

In the history of economic thought Walter Eucken is mostly known for his impact in establishing the Social Market Economy in post-war Germany. Even though there is a growing interest in his ideas especially from an Austrian and a Constitutional Economics perspective, his influence on the discussions within neoliberalism and, more specifically, his impact in the course of the foundation of the Mont Pèlerin Society (MPS) are not yet widely considered. In this paper we attempt to show that Eucken was very influential in the formation of the MPS and that German ordoliberalism had a significant imprint on the early history of the society. It is primarily Eucken's correspondence with F. A. Hayek and Wilhelm Röpke in this context which we present and analyze, complementing it with some hypotheses about early influences between Eucken and Hayek in terms of methodology and epistemology. Subsequently we show, by regarding the first MPS meetings between 1947 and 1949 (general and organizational), that there was - even at this early stage in the development of the MPS - a widening gap between a Continental European and an Anglo-Saxon understanding of neoliberalism, despite the personal friendships and high collegial respect especially between Eucken, Hayek and Röpke; Ludwig von Mises playing a special role in this setting. We illustrate this development also by discussing personal memories of Leonhard Miksch, a student of Eucken and a participant of the MPS meeting in 1949, recorded in his so far unpublished diary.

Suggested Citation

  • Kolev, Stefan & Goldschmidt, Nils & Hesse, Jan-Otmar, 2014. "Walter Eucken's role in the early history of the Mont Pèlerin Society," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 14/02, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:aluord:1402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ötsch, Walter & Pühringer, Stephan, 2019. "The anti-democratic logic of right-wing populism and neoliberal market-fundamentalism," Working Paper Serie des Instituts für Ökonomie Ök-48, Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung (HfGG), Institut für Ökonomie.
    2. Kolev, Stefan, 2019. "Antipathy for Heidelberg, sympathy for Freiburg? Vincent Ostrom on Max Weber, Walter Eucken, and the compound history of order," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 19/6, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    3. Ötsch, Walter Otto, 2015. "Die Politische Ökonomie "des" Marktes: Eine Zusammenfassung zur Wirkungsgeschichte von Friedrich A. Hayek," Working Paper Serie des Instituts für Ökonomie Ök-10, Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung (HfGG), Institut für Ökonomie.
    4. Hien, Josef, 2019. "The Religious Foundations of the European Crisis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 185-204.
    5. Stephan Puehringer, 2016. "Think Tank networks of German neoliberalism. Power structures in economics and economic policies in post-war Germany," ICAE Working Papers 53, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    6. Frédéric Marty, 2014. "Towards an Economics of Convention-based Approach of the European Competition Policy," GREDEG Working Papers 2014-06, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    7. Kolev Stefan, 2015. "Two interactive masterminds: Hayek′s fluctuating fascination for John Stuart Mill′s system of thought," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 66(1), pages 387-396, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Neoliberalism; Mont Pèlerin Society; Ordoliberalism; History of Economic Thought; Political and Economic Order; Role of Economists;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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