The purpose of denialism in both cases has been not actually to influence the relevant science over the long run—recall that most neoliberals of a Hayekian persuasion have never been terribly enamored of neoclassical economic theory—but rather to sow doubt and confusion in the general public concerning the causes and significance of the crisis in question. The mantra here, from Ezra Klein to Andrew Haldane to Gary Gorton, is that it is just all too complex to understand. If tense issues are presented in a nominally “fair and balanced” manner as rife with uncertainty, then most of the tyro public will just tune out. The deployment of agnotology is a major hallmark of the neoliberal collective, as we have repeatedly argued throughout this volume.

Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis …, loc. 941