The emergence of neoliberalism as an intellectual network is partly due to a French initiative. Organized by the philosopher Louis Rougier in 1938, the Colloque Walter Lippmann—an international congress held in Paris, consisting of twenty-six businessmen, top civil servants, and economists from several countries—contributed to the rise of this intellectual agenda. It also led to the creation of a nonprofit organization, the Centre international d’études pour la rénovation du libéralisme (CIRL), which attracted members of the ruling elite seeking an answer to “the crisis of capitalism.” Established against advancing notions of the planned economy and collectivism, the CIRL disappeared when France entered World War II. Nevertheless, this institution provided the model for the Mont Pèlerin Society (MPS), which Friedrich Hayek and Wilhelm Röpke created in 1947.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 272