A curious feature of both right and left postliberals is their repeated claim that the governing philosophy of America’s elites reflects, however inchoately, the ideals of Hayekian liberalism (or “neoliberalism”). Left-wing postliberals focus their concerns on neoliberalism’s autonomous market (this despite Hayek’s embrace of governmentally provided social insurance). Right-wing postliberals develop a parallelism, arguing liberalism’s commitment to individual autonomy erases boundaries in both social and economic realms. The parallelism does not answer, however. While individual autonomy is surely the underlying commitment of the social philosophy of America’s governing elites, American economic policy is a classic example of a “mixed economy.” By design, the American economy nests markets within a robust system of regulatory and redistributive state management.
There actually is a liberal philosopher who more accurately articulates the governing ideal that combines philosophical commitments to social autonomy and a mixed economy. It is John Rawls, in his signature book A Theory of Justice. But it is because Rawls’ mixed-economy principles broadly, if controversially, reflect the ideological “pull” of elite governing opinion relative to Hayek’s market minimalism that Hayek proves the more convenient target for postliberals. Not because American economic policy is Hayekian, but because arguing with the current mix of markets and management in the U.S. mixed economy requires detailed policy arguments. In attacking the red herring of Hayekianism, one’s arguments can remain general and abstract, and avoid pulling the commentator into the tangle of discussing the merits of actual policy changes.
Read Full Article »