Marktfundamentalismus und Politik

Market fundamentalism and politics
Market Fundamentalist Argumentation Patterns and their Persistent Influence on Economic and Legal Policy
Supported by the funds of the Federal State of Styria

Funding: EUR 92,000.00

2015-2017

Market fundamentalist argumentation patterns have again become thoroughly established in political discourse at various levels since the 1980s. Market fundamentalists claim that an intervention-free, self-regulating market is necessary for efficient allocation, innovation and freedom. The argumentation is essentially based on the exaggeration as well as on the fading out of the application limits of some economic core theorems such as the free contract principle, Ricardian equivalence, the crowding out effect including the associated policy inefficiency thesis, as well as the Coase theorem. These form the basis for comparatively simple argumentation figures that have the potential to put opponents on the defensive with regard to quite different economic policy issues. This project empirically and historically reconstructs the development of these market fundamentalist argumentation figures in political discourse and analyses the reasons for their persistence in the political process.