In and out of neoliberalism: Reconsidering the sociology of Raymond Aron

Abstract

This article reconsiders the work of Raymond Aron in order to explore the fracture lines that existed (and in many ways continue to exist) between conservative forms of political liberalism, as advocated by Aron, and neoliberal ideas of economic or market freedom associated with Hayek and his followers. These tensions between Aron and Hayek are analysed by assessing Aron's involvement in the Mont Pèlerin Society and the Congress for Cultural Freedom through the 1950s, and then considering the arguments of his 1962 review of Hayek's Constitution of Liberty and his 1963Jefferson Lectures. While Aron has been largely neglected in the existing literature on neoliberalism, it will be argued that he was the key sociological figure to engage critically with neoliberalism in its formative years and, beyond this, that the value of his work today lies in its defence of the social basis of democracy and freedom against the raw economism of neoliberal thought.

Competition: A Critical History of a Concept

“…The 'neo-' of this term signifies an attempt to respond to and, in key ways, break from the tenets of classical liberalism, which itself is far from homogeneous in basis. Where exactly these lines of continuity and departure should lie has been the source of disagreement between neoliberal thinkers that can be traced back to the Walter Lippmann Colloquium that was held in Paris in 1938 (see Gane, 2016;Foucault, 2008: 160-1). The concept of competition is important because it can be used to illuminate the differences and tensions within and between the trajectories of neoliberalism outlined by Foucault in his biopolitics lectures.…”

Edição completa

“…As pegadas e os caminhos dependem da mistura de ar e terra com o organismo. Conforme aponta Ingold (2015), o chão, longe de ser uma superfície inerte, trata-se de fractal que passa por contínuos processos de mistura de materiais. As marcas que ele apresenta dependem da ação simultânea de chuvas, ventos, animais e afins.…”

The organization of markets for collective concerns and their failures

“…x Also relevant in this context is the work at the intersection of history of economics and the history of sociology recently developed by Gane (2014Gane ( , 2016.…”