The congress attendees disagreed on many points: Is freedom an end in itself (a position defended by Etienne Mantoux and Louis Rougier) or merely a means (espoused by Louis Baudin, Robert Marjolin)? Is liberalism only the rigorous application of the laws of economics (Louis Marlio) or an ideology (Robert Marjolin)? Does liberalism have to take into account the provision of social security (Louis Rougier, Walter Lippmann) or not (Jacques Rueff)? Clear oppositions surfaced several times. With regard to the question of industrial concentration, it was criticized by the economists, whereas the industrialists defended the trusts. Confronting the problem of money, Jacques Rueff or Louis Baudin did not want to see it “directed,” whereas Walter Lippmann preached its management and condemned the legal statute of companies. Thus, the backers of the Colloque Lippmann were not of one mind along many dimensions.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 278