Adam Smith and ordoliberalism: on the political form of market liberty

doi:10.1017/S0260210512000198

Paper

Adam Smith and ordoliberalism: on the political form of market liberty

Published Jul 12, 2012 · W. Bonefeld

Review of International Studies

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59

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2

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Abstract

Abstract In the context of the contemporary crisis of neoliberal political economy, the politics of austerity has reasserted the liberal utility of the state as the political authority of market freedom. This article argues that economy has no independent existence, and that instead, economy is a political practice. It examines the political economy of Adam Smith and the German ordoliberal tradition to decipher the character of the political in political economy and its transformation from Smith's liberal theory into neoliberal theology. Ordoliberalism emerged in the late 1920s at a time of a manifest crisis of political economy, and its argument was fundamental for the development of the neoliberal conception that free economy is matter of strong state authority. The conclusion argues with Marx that the state is the concentrated force of free economy.

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Key takeawayThe state is the concentrated force of free economy, as argued by Marx and Adam Smith, and is crucial for the development of neoliberal political economy.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Adam Smith and ordoliberalism: on the political form of market liberty

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References

Citations

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