The Formation of German Neoliberalism: Semantic Efforts in Support of the (Imperfect) Market

The chapter will analyse the public debates during the conferences of the Aktionsgemeinschaft Soziale Marktwirtschaft (ASM) with regard to the presented conceptual strategies. While continuously emphasizing the difference of neoliberalism to former approaches of laisser-faire, German proponents struggled to present a coherent scheme in response to the negative consequences of the market order. It was broadly acknowledged that the efficiency of the market economy came at a price: dependency on the world economy, constant economic growth to safeguard social peace and the individual’s ceaseless striving for more (boundless consumerism). Accordingly, German neoliberals presented a multitude of conceptual strategies in defence of the market order. Their rhetoric was flexible enough to tackle topical problems and align current political demands with a neoliberal order (e.g. tying flexibility to security in order to justify worker mobility). Moreover, the leading German protagonists Alexander Rüstow and Wilhelm Röpke introduced new concepts (Staatsbürger, Zielgemeinschaft) to implement a moral-ethical superstructure to complement the market order. By tracing conceptual transfers towards politics, the chapter shows that the ASM did indeed live up to its aspired role as a guiding intellectual force and visionary think-tank.