Neither Rüstow nor Eucken was keen to repress or disguise their critique of the democratization of the economy and society following the events of 1918–1919 and encapsulated within the Weimar Constitution. Both blamed the introduction of parliamentarian democracy for destroying the dualism of state and society, which in the past had secured a balance between state authority and free individuals. They also contended that through its dependence on political parties and the popular vote the government lost authority and the ability to exert leadership in society. After 1919, government authority was based on the “principle of horse trading,” according to Rüstow ( 1959, 91). He regarded the search for political compromise in the context of the Weimar constitutional state as an effort to evade political responsibility, which deprived the state of its capacity to act.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 527