Neoliberalism

French neoliberalism (1938 - years 1960)

The current néo-liberal had in France a very short life of the Colloque Walter Lippmann of 1938 at the end of the Sixties. Its creation is due to a will to react to the domination of the ideas planners and interventionists of the end of the year thirty and to show that the best manner to face the problems of the hour lay in a rebuilt liberalism. In addition, as show it the list of the participants in the conferences and the debates, of the international concerns and a will to face totalitarianisms were also crucial factors which pushed with the dialogs of the rather different currents.

Neoliberalism and the Conference Walter Lippmann

Will meet with the conference Lippmann of the French liberals, influential members of the Austrian school Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig Von Mises, men of what will be the ordo German liberalism after war: Wilhelm Röpke, Alexander Rüstow, (Walter Eucken the large theorist of this movement had not received the authorization to leave Germany); participants various other countries.

Neoliberalism or liberalism, which name to choose?

In fact, the question of the name change recovers the answer to a question: is the decline of liberalism due only to external circumstances or it is related to nonan adaptation of standard liberalism 19th century with the reality of the world after-first-war? For Mises, it is clearly due only to facts external with the liberal doctrines that it is not necessary to touch. For the ordo-liberals and the majority of the French economists present on the contrary it is necessary to re-examine part of the liberal doctrines.

Authors of the French neoliberalism

François Bilger account among the principal authors: Jacques Rueff, Maurice Went, Louis Baudin and Daniel Villey. In margin of this current, in an author as Jacques Cros liberalism must incorporate the contribution of the theory keynésienne. François Bilger does not count it among the néo-liberals and itself does not seem to be asserted some.

The debate on the reforms of structures during Resistance

For Kuisel, There was a debate during the Résistance between the minority planners of the Socialist party (André Philip, Georges Boris, Jules Moch, Pierre Mendès France) and the néo-liberals (Etienne Hirsch, Rene Courtin, Maxime Blocq-Mascart and Rene Pleven). The first wanted to introduce socialist structures and were wary of the United States and Great Britain. The seconds heard that the market and private initiative remain in the middle of the economy and, on the international plan were in favor of an euro-Atlantic friendship. However in the post-war period, in the realization of the reforms for Kuisel it is not this debate which was central but rather the influence of the Communist party and of the Général De Gaulle.

French Neoliberalism and German ordoliberalism

In a communication with a conference held in 2000 whose acts were published in 2003, François Bilger established very interesting comparative between French neoliberalism and German ordolileralism by pointing the convergence points and of divergence. Certain points of divergence seem still likely to give an account of the differences in approach between the two countries.

Convergences

They believe in the freedom of the production and the exchange, in the free competition, with the free operation of the mechanism of the prices and with monetary stability.

They think that liberalism leave-to make is likely to lead to its own destruction. The introduction of an effective and stable market economy thus requires a very precise legislation of the property, contracts, bankruptcy, patents, competition, monetary emission and credit, tax system, work, social solidarity as well as a careful definition of the methods of economic and social intervention of the State compatible with the good performance of the system.

Divergences

Divergence at the theoretical level

"Since the 19th century, the French economic scene was characterized primarily by an abstract and deductive approach starting from mathematical models of economic reality fondamentale". Illustrated this approach Arsène Dupuit, Augustin Cournot, Leon Walras, Clément Colson. Among the néolibéraux ones, Jacques Rueff and Maurice Allais continued " this tradition of development of a social physical "
German on the contrary adopted an inductive and concrete step historical realities and tendencies in the tradition of Wilhelm Roscher, Bruno Hildebrand, of Karl Knies of Gustav von Schmoller or max Weber. For Bilger, these authors mark Walter Eucken which " had as an ambition synthetically to exceed the famous quarrel of the methods between the German historists and the theorists allemands."

Philosophical and ethical options different

In France at Louis Baudin and Daniel Villey, the accent was put on the indivisibility of freedom, mistrust with regard to the encroachments of the State on individual freedom and the sovereignty of the individuals
For ordolibéraux the concepts of order and social harmony competed with the idea of individual freedom. " With Kant, they preach freedom in the respect of the moral law, in other words only freedom to make well and not freedom absolue" .

A design different from the public action

néolibéraux French was very sensitive to the disturbances related to inopportune interventions of the public authorities in the monetary and tax field. On the other hand, he were not opposed to the maintenance of an important public sector if he respected a management at the marginal cost. They were not either systematically opposed to the formation of trusts and oligopolies.
the ordolibéraux ones were more strict on the need for complying with the rules of a fair competition based on the prohibition of the trusts. They also considered that it was appropriate " to supplement the introduction of this competing economy by implementing a very active industrial relations policy and even sociétale, not only to correct its possibly unfavourable human consequences, but also to create social conditions favorable to its good performance and the development of an free society and juste"

Reasons of the stop of the French neoliberalism at the end of the Sixties

Several reasons explain the disappearance of the French neoliberalism at the end of the Sixties concomittant with the decline of the Ordolibéralisme:

evolution of the facts and the situations whereas the generation disappears from the founders

a will of the French liberals to break with néolibéraux French of the 20th century and to rebuild a French liberalism on Austrian and American bases like on French authors of the 19th century like Bastiat

a strong separation between Universities and Université S. the neoliberalism in France rested at the same time on men resulting from Polytechnique, (Ernest Mercier, Louis Marlio and Auguste Detoeuf for the first generation, Jacques Rueff and Maurice Allais for the second) and on academics Louis Baudin, Rene Courtin, Daniel Villey in particular.

One could add that in a certain way the neoliberalism had reached the essence of these objectives. In addition one can wonder whether the French authors had a real feeling of membership of an economic school.

New use of the term

Sometimes qualified economic schools " néo-libérales"

Nowadays the term “ néolibéral ” is sometimes employed to qualify liberal economic schools very dissimilar, such as the Austrian school and the school of Chicago like some their leaders such as Milton Friedman or Friedrich Hayek, two men who never asserted this term.

In the United States the Keynésianisme, however in major opposition with the Monétarisme and the traditional Liberalism, can receive the name of néoliberal since John Maynard Keynes asserted “ new liberal ” to support its doctrines interventionist. The Anglo-Saxon thinkers however distinguish this “new liberalism” from the “neoliberalism”, the use of the second term being refused with Keynes, its thought either is indeed regarded as a second reading of liberalism or like falling under the social democrat movement .

The major divergence on the significances of “liberal” between the continent of Europe and On the other side of the Atlantic finds its explanation in the semantic evolution of the “liberal” term in the United States: it was gradually employed during first half of the 20th century by many Socialists and American social-democrats, in order to gum any reference to European socialism. From this difference in perception of the liberal term that rises from the néolibéral term.

Neoliberalism like neo-classic liberalism

Neoliberalism, modern version of the Capitalism?

Modern capitalism tends to rest on a greater freedom of trade per negotiation within great international institutions like the World Trade organization allowing an opening of the worldwide markets widened, which is not limited any more to the Marchandise S, but extends to other fields. The Deregulation, preached by these organizations, consists of the removal of national lawful barriers. The service S, with the development of the agreements AGCS, but also the opening to the competition of markets, like the Health and the education and the social services, formerly reserved for the States, are concerned. Thus, the Capitalisme extends to new fields from the human life. Some use the expression “Marchandisation of the world” to mark their hostility with this development of capitalism.

The capital is centered less than before on the detention of company of a given country. The modern version, which would be an effect of the " néolibéralisme" is the capacity to be exchanged and make circulate capital dematerialized (actions) on a worldwide market: these exchanges of capital do not imply any physical displacement, and are a simple electronic writing in the computers of the banks of the world. The Marché of the quick assets took a place in new fields, such as for example water, electricity, etc It tends to cover some more and more, such as for example the extension of the transactions to the right to pollute, like the Bourse of carbon.

A denounced concept

Many personalities are denounced like " néolibérales" without these people asserting themselves of this current. The antilibéraux denounce alternatively liberalism and the neoliberalism, doctrines which would contradict the gasoline of the true liberalism.

Thus the French journalist Jean-François Kahn insists on the fact that a way of thinking more recent than liberalism, than it calls neoliberalism constitutes in fact a disguised demonstration of the antiliberalism: liberalism supposes according to him a superstructure able to make respect the free competition against the conglomerates (anti-monopoly acts, strong state to make them respect), whereas this new mobility would dispute both, in the long term condemning liberalism to the profit of the reign of some oligopolies imposing, by tacit agreement, of the tariffs whose request would not decide.

Quotations

“the adversaries of liberalism - those which so heavily and tragically were mistaken during decades - could hide their errors only as a practitioner the escape ahead: instead of celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall like the symbol of one return to individual freedom, they proclaimed the victory of the democracy (i.e. of a mode of organization of the political company) and they left in war against the fictions which are ultra-liberalism and the neoliberalism, two built concepts of all parts by the collectivists and in whom the liberals do not recognize themselves”. Saline Pascal

“More the néolibéraux big bosses increase their incomes, more they consider excessive the cost of labor ”. Jean-François Kahn, incorrect Dictionary , 2005.

“is to respect the principle of competition that the néolibéraux ones want to reduce the public sector. For them competition by the market is supposed - by principle - to solve the supposed problems of effectiveness of the public monopolies, to support the fall of the prices and the innovation. However, almost all the public services constitute what the economists call of the natural monopolies ”. Jacques Nikonoff, November 11th, 2004.

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