Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism. / Olsen, Niklas.

In: The Tocqueville Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2020, p. 43–64.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Olsen, N 2020, 'Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism', The Tocqueville Review, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 43–64. https://doi.org/10.3138/ttr.41.2.43

APA

Olsen, N. (2020). Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism. The Tocqueville Review, 41(2), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.3138/ttr.41.2.43

Vancouver

Olsen N. Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism. The Tocqueville Review. 2020;41(2):43–64. https://doi.org/10.3138/ttr.41.2.43

Author

Olsen, Niklas. / Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism. In: The Tocqueville Review. 2020 ; Vol. 41, No. 2. pp. 43–64.

Bibtex

@article{1bf436a39ed64eb1b5f735074c2d725a,
title = "Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism",
abstract = "This article re-examines the relation between neoliberalism and democracy by illustrating that, from its inception, neoliberal ideology was characterized by an attempt to contest notions of representative democracy by arguing that the market is more democratic than the polity can ever be. This attempt, so I argue, was closely linked to the invention of a specific figure—the sovereign consumer—carried out by the somewhat overlooked Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises in the 1920s as part of an attempt to delegitimize socialism and re-invent liberalism as a positive program. Portraying Mises as the very inventor of this paradigm, I show that his idea of the sovereign consumer hinged on the idea of democracy as a method of choosing and sought to re-invent the market as the democratic forum par excellence. I also stress that Mises{\textquoteright}s neoliberal paradigm entailed a skepticism towards representative democracy and a willingness to limit and curtail its processes and institutions through state force.",
author = "Niklas Olsen",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.3138/ttr.41.2.43",
language = "English",
volume = "41",
pages = "43–64",
journal = "The Tocqueville Review",
issn = "0730-479X",
publisher = "University of Toronto Press * Journals Division",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ludwig von Mises, the Idea of Consumer Democracy and the Invention of Neoliberalism

AU - Olsen, Niklas

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - This article re-examines the relation between neoliberalism and democracy by illustrating that, from its inception, neoliberal ideology was characterized by an attempt to contest notions of representative democracy by arguing that the market is more democratic than the polity can ever be. This attempt, so I argue, was closely linked to the invention of a specific figure—the sovereign consumer—carried out by the somewhat overlooked Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises in the 1920s as part of an attempt to delegitimize socialism and re-invent liberalism as a positive program. Portraying Mises as the very inventor of this paradigm, I show that his idea of the sovereign consumer hinged on the idea of democracy as a method of choosing and sought to re-invent the market as the democratic forum par excellence. I also stress that Mises’s neoliberal paradigm entailed a skepticism towards representative democracy and a willingness to limit and curtail its processes and institutions through state force.

AB - This article re-examines the relation between neoliberalism and democracy by illustrating that, from its inception, neoliberal ideology was characterized by an attempt to contest notions of representative democracy by arguing that the market is more democratic than the polity can ever be. This attempt, so I argue, was closely linked to the invention of a specific figure—the sovereign consumer—carried out by the somewhat overlooked Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises in the 1920s as part of an attempt to delegitimize socialism and re-invent liberalism as a positive program. Portraying Mises as the very inventor of this paradigm, I show that his idea of the sovereign consumer hinged on the idea of democracy as a method of choosing and sought to re-invent the market as the democratic forum par excellence. I also stress that Mises’s neoliberal paradigm entailed a skepticism towards representative democracy and a willingness to limit and curtail its processes and institutions through state force.

U2 - 10.3138/ttr.41.2.43

DO - 10.3138/ttr.41.2.43

M3 - Journal article

VL - 41

SP - 43

EP - 64

JO - The Tocqueville Review

JF - The Tocqueville Review

SN - 0730-479X

IS - 2

ER -

ID: 253413410