The Road from Mont Pelerin: Origins and Evolution of Neoliberalism

Although the history of neoliberalism has to be traced back to the Colloque Walter Lippmann in Paris in 1938, the talk will focus on the key actors and constituencies of the Mont P?lerin Society founded by Hayek, R?pke, Mises and others in 1947 in Switzerland. The overview covers the key characteristics of the 1000 plus members of the comprehensive neoliberal discourse community, and directs attention to the proliferation of think tanks founded or directed by neoliberal intellectuals. The history can be roughly divided in three parts: a defensive early phase followed by a neoliberal movement phase leading to the present neoliberal consolidation. The global financial crisis arguably generated the greatest challenge to neoliberal hegemonic constellations so far, but the work of neoliberal intellectuals and think tanks directed to defend the status quo ante crisis can easily be underestimated.