LIPPMANN, WALTER LCCN2016862741 (cropped)

The Colloque Walter Lippmann (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

: Walter Lippmann Colloquium), was a conference of intellectuals organized in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in August 1938 by French philosopher

Louis Rougier Louis Auguste Paul Rougier (; 10 April 1889 – 14 October 1982) was a French philosopher. Rougier made many important contributions to epistemology, philosophy of science, political philosophy and the history of Christianity. Early life Rougie ...

. After interest in

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, e ...

had declined in the 1920s and 1930s, the aim was to construct a new

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for ...

as a rejection of collectivism,

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and ''

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

'' liberalism. At the meeting, the term

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent ...

was coined by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

sociologist and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

Alexander Rüstow Alexander Rüstow (8 April 1885 – 30 June 1963) was a German sociologist and economist. In 1938 he originated the term neoliberalism at the Colloque Walter Lippmann. He was one of the fathers of the "Social Market Economy" that shaped the eco ...

, referring to the rejection of the old ''laissez-faire'' liberalism.

Namesake

The colloquium was named after American journalist

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the t ...

. Lippman's 1937 book ''An Enquiry into the Principles of the Good Society'' had been translated into French as ''La Cité libre'' () and was studied in detail at the meeting.

Importance

Twenty-six intellectuals, including some of the most prominent liberal thinkers, took part. The participants chose to set up an organization to promote liberalism which was called the ''Comité international d'étude pour le renouveau du libéralisme'' (CIERL). Though CIERL had few consequences because of the war, it inspired Austrian-British

and philosopher

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Hayek ...

in the postwar creation of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders. Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the ...

in Switzerland.

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...

's 1978–1979

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ...

lectures, published a quarter of a century later as '' The Birth of Biopolitics'', drew attention to the importance of the Walter Lippmann Colloquium.

Ideological cleavages

The participants were divided into two primary camps; one, represented by

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. He is ...

Jacques Rueff Jacques Léon Rueff (23 August 1896 – 23 April 1978) was a French economist and adviser to the French government. Life An influential French conservative and free market thinker, Rueff was born the son of a well known Parisian physician and st ...

, and Étienne Mantoux, which advocated a strict adherence to Manchester liberalism and ''laissez-faire''; the other camp, represented by

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his ...

Wilhelm Röpke Wilhelm Röpke (October 10, 1899 – February 12, 1966) was a German economist and social critic, best known as one of the spiritual fathers of the social market economy. A Professor of Economics, first in Jena, then in Graz, Marburg, Istan ...

, Auguste Detoeuf,

Robert Marjolin Robert Marjolin (27 July 1911 – 15 April 1986) was a French economist and politician involved in the formation of the European Economic Community. Early life and education Robert Majolin was born in Paris, the son of an upholsterer. He left ...

, Louis Marlio, and

, opted for a kind of

social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

which was more favorable to state intervention and regulation and

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output ...

solutions.

Participants

Participants of the Colloquium included: *

, French philosopher, sociologist, journalist and political scientist *

, Austrian and British economist and philosopher *

, American writer, reporter and political commentator *

Auguste Detœuf Auguste Alburt Prudent Detœuf (6 August 1883 – 11 April 1947) was a French economist, essayist, and industrialist. Biography Early life and education Auguste Detœuf studied at Polytechnique University (class of 1902), then became a ge ...

, French economist * Étienne Mantoux, French economist *

, French economist and politician * Louis Marlio, French economist * Ernest Mercier, French industrialist *

, Austro-Hungarian born economist *

Michael Polanyi Michael Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism supplie ...

, Hungarian-British

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

* Stefan Thomas Possony, Austro-Hungarian born economist and military strategist *

, German economist *

, French philosopher *

, French economist *

, German sociologist and economist Walter Eucken was invited to the colloquium, but he was not given permission to leave Germany by the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

References

External links

Beacon of Liberty Amid Depression
{{neoliberalism History of liberalism Neoliberalism Conservatism in France 1938 in France 1938 conferences