This book offers a groundbreaking philosophical investigation into the political logic of neoliberalism. Moving beyond policy analysis, Hubert Gabrisch uncovers the conceptual roots of neoliberal thinking in the long intellectual arc from classical liberalism to the Austrian School, ordoliberalism, the Chicago School, and Public Choice theory. He shows how the prioritisation of individual freedom over democratic sovereignty—central to neoliberal thought—produces inherently fragile political orders, often resolved through authoritarian or technocratic forms of state power. Through a sweeping genealogical analysis, the book reveals how neoliberal arguments about markets, governance, and risk have shaped modern statecraft, from Europe’s post‑war reconstruction to contemporary transformations in China and Russia.

Bridging political philosophy, intellectual history, and political economy, this compelling study illuminates the deep tensions at the heart of liberal‑democratic orders and explains why neoliberalism repeatedly survives crisis through adaptation.

Hubert Gabrisch is Senior Research Associate at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw). He previously served as Research Director at the Halle Institute for Economic Research and has held positions at leading economic institutes in Germany and Austria. A specialist in comparative economic systems, European political economy, and institutional change, he has authored over one hundred publications.