The Strong State and ‘The Taming of Freedom’

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on the Ordoliberal strong state and its theoretical conception as a precondition of free economy. It gives a brief account of the classical Ordoliberal notion of free economy with its focus on ‘complete competition’ and the establishment of an economic order. This is followed by an analysis of the Ordoliberal argument for the strong state, which reflects on the position of the state vis-à-vis the economy. It examines the Ordoliberals’ critique of mass democracy and their call for ‘a dictatorship within the boundaries of democracy’ and shows that there is a communality between this argument and Carl Schmitt’s concept of the political. This chapter, furthermore, assesses the connection between Ordoliberal governmentality and the depoliticisation of society which is focused on the generation of self-responsible entrepreneurs. It concludes with considerations about the authoritarian elements in Ordoliberal thought.