Their goal was not to give the state an active role in defending free enterprise, but on the contrary, to produce a full-bore reinstatement of laissez-faire economics. Whereas during the 1930s, the French neoliberals rejected the works of the classical liberals such as Frédéric Bastiat or Gustave de Molinari, because for many they meant “laisser souffrir,” these authors turned out to be central for the new generation, in conjunction with American libertarian spokesmen.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 300