Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Elements of neoliberal Euroscepticism: how neoliberal intellectuals came to support Brexit

  • Original Article
  • Published:
British Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

This article examines the complex relationship between neoliberalism and the Brexit campaign. It proposes to move beyond simplified explanations that see in Brexit a ‘populist’ revolt against the neoliberal status quo by drawing attention to neoliberal ideas surrounding Europe and the free market. The article contends that from the 1990s onwards, many prominent neoliberal thinkers came to see the European Union as a threat to free trade and individual liberty, prompting them to support Brexit as a means of subverting the growing influence of European federalism. In building this argument, the article maps and analyses the key theoretical elements of neoliberal Euroscepticism, focusing in turn on the neoliberals’ interpretation of the European project, their critique of European Monetary Union, and their approach to the question of national sovereignty. It then documents how several neoliberal think tanks came increasingly to support and spread this neoliberal form of Euroscepticism. In closing, the article reflects on the influence of neoliberal Euroscepticism on the current Conservative government.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. I am grateful to Vanessa Tautter for feedback on an earlier draft of this paper, to the two blind reviewers for their generous and generative comments of that same draft, and to Robin Hansen for our many endlessly interesting conversations about politics and neoliberalism. I am especially grateful to the employees of the Liberas archive in Ghent, Belgium, for their help in accessing their archives.

  2. Elsewhere I have discussed earlier iterations of neoliberal Islamophobia. See Cornelissen (2020a).

  3. This does not mean, as noted previously, that there was no disagreement even amongst think tankers. Both the IEA and ASI also provided a platform for so-called Remainers in these years.

  4. As I noted at the outset of this essay, Borwick referred to Hannan as a fellow member of the MPS in his January 2020 paper. What is more, Hannan himself delivered several addresses at MPS meetings, for example at the Society’s 2011 meeting in Istanbul, where he spoke about the EU, and its 2018 meeting in Gran Canaria, where he spoke about national identity.

References

  • Bailey, David J. 2019. Neither Brexit nor Remain: Disruptive Solidarity Initiatives in a Time of False Promises and Anti-Democracy. Contemporary Social Science 14 (2): 256–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry, Norman. 2004. Editorial: Constitutional Deliberations over Europe. Economic Affairs 24 (1): 2–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biebricher, Thomas. 2019. The Political Theory of Neoliberalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boettke, Peter. 2017. “The Reconstruction of the Liberal Project.” Foundation for Economic Education, November 7, 2017. Accessible at: https://fee.org/articles/the-reconstruction-of-the-liberal-project/.

  • Borwick, Jamie. 2020. “Brexit: Taking a Good Idea into Action.” Paper presented at 2020 MPS Meeting. Accessible at: https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/mps_borwick.pdf.

  • Brown, Wendy. 2019. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, James. 1990. “Europe’s Constitutional Future.” In: Europe’s Constitutional Future. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

  • Buckle, Ralph, Tim Hewish, John C. Hulsman, Iain Mansfield, and Robert Oulds. 2015. Brexit: Directions for Britain Outside the EU. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callison, William, and Zachary Manfredi, eds. 2020. Mutant Neoliberalism: Market Rule and Political Rupture. New York: Fordham University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, John, and Janet Newman. 2017. ‘People in this Country Have Had Enough of Experts’: Brexit and the Paradoxes of Populism. Critical Policy Studies 11 (1): 101–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelissen, Lars. 2020a. Neoliberalism and the Racialized Critique of Democracy. Constellations 27 (3): 348–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelissen, Lars. 2020b. ‘There Can Be No Room for a Sovereign Body’: The Philosophical Roots of F.A. Hayek’s Hostility to Democracy. History of Political Thought 41 (4): 648–668.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, Will. 2017. [2015]. The Limits of Neoliberalism: Authority, Sovereignty and the Logic of Competition. Revised. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, Niall, and Laurence J. Kotlikoff. 2000. The Degeneration of EMU. Foreign Affairs 79: 110–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, Niall. 2004. Colossus: The Rise and Fall of American Empire. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, Niall. 2015. “The Degeneration of Europe.” Prospect Magazine October 15, 2015. Accessible at: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-degeneration-of-europe.

  • Friedman, Milton. 1997. “The Euro: Monetary Unity to Political Disunity?” Project Syndicate, August 28, 1997. Accessible at: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-euro--monetary-unity-to-political-disunity?barrier=accesspaylog.

  • Hannan, Daniel. 2016. Why Vote Leave. London: Head of Zeus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmes, Adam. 2012. The Rise of Neoliberal Nationalism. Review of International Political Economy 19 (1): 59–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F.A. 1984. “The Future Unit of Value.” In: Currency Competition and Monetary Union, edited by Pascal Salin: 29–41. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff

  • Hayek, F.A. 2007 [1977]. Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

  • Hayek, F.A. 2011. [1960]. The Constitution of Liberty. Definitive. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hindley, Brian. 1997. Does British Economic Policy Have a Future? Economic Affairs 17 (1): 4–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hindley, Brian, and Martin Howe. 2001. [1996]. Better Off Out? The Benefits or Costs of EU Membership. Revised. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkin, Jonathan, and Mark Blyth. 2019. The Global Economics of European Populism: Growth Regimes and Party System Change in Europe. Government and Opposition 54 (2): 193–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacques, Martin. 2016. “The death of neoliberalism and the crisis in western politics.” The Guardian, 21 August 2016. Accessible at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/21/death-of-neoliberalism-crisis-in-western-politics.

  • Johnson, Boris. 2020. “PM Speech in Greenwich: 3 February 2020.” Accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-in-greenwich-3-february-2020.

  • Jones, Bryn. 2020. EU Neoliberalism at Bay: Social Democratic Renewal or Populist Economic Nationalism? Alternate Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research 31 (1): 67–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klaus, Václav. 2012 [2011]. Europe: The Shattering of Illusions. Trans. O. Hejma. London: Bloomsbury.

  • Klaus, Václav. 2014. “Careless Opening Up of Countries (without Keeping the Anchor of the Nation-State) Leads either to Anarchy or to Global Governance: Lessons of the European Experience.” Accessible at: https://www.klaus.cz/clanky/3623.

  • Klaus, Václav. 2017. “New Threats that the MPS Should Deal with.” Accessible at: https://www.klaus.cz/clanky/4099.

  • Klaus, Václav & Jiří Weigl. 2017 [2015]. Europe All Inclusive: A Brief Guide to Understanding the Current Migration Crisis. Trans. O. Hejma. Prague: Václav Klaus Institute.

  • Lal, Deepak. 2005. The Threat to Economic Liberty from International Organizations. Cato Journal 25 (3): 503–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, Deepak. 2016. “The Migrant Crisis and ‘Europe’.” Accessible at: https://www.nassauinstitute.org/article1374/.

  • Lal, Deepak. 2017. “Nationalism? What’s that got to do with Trump and Brexit?” Accessible at: https://www.rediff.com/news/column/uspoll-nationalism-whats-that-got-to-do-with-trump-and-brexit/20170203.htm.

  • Lal, Deepak. 2018. War or Peace: The Struggle for World Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lisiewicz, Paweł. 2007. British Euroscepticism: A View from a Classical Liberal in New Europe. Economic Affairs 27 (3): 96–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, Iain. 2014. A Blueprint for Britain: Openness not Isolation. London: Institute for Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migué, Jean-Luc. 1999. National Governments under the Discipline of Global Forces. Economic Affairs 19 (4): 26–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minford, Patrick, Vidya Mahambare, and Eric Nowell. 2005. Should Britain Leave the EU? An Economic Analysis of a Troubled Relationship. Cheltenham/London: Edward Elgar/Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minogue, Kenneth. 2008. Are the British a Servile People? Idealism and the EU. London: The Bruges Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirowski, Philip, and Dieter Plehwe, eds. 2009. The Road From Mont Pèlerin: The Making of the Neoliberal Thought Collective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mondon, Aurelien, and Aaran Winter. 2020. Reactionary Democracy: How Racism and the Populist Far Right Became Mainstream. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe, Chantal. 2018. For a Left Populism. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Rourke, Kevin. 2019. A Short History of Brexit: From Brentry to Backstop. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen, David. “The New Europe.” Economic Affairs 19, no. 4: 10–16.

  • Peters, Michael A. 2018. The End of Neoliberal Globalisation and the Rise of Authoritarian Populism. Educational Philosophy and Theory 50 (4): 323–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phelan, John. 2015. The Road Not Taken: A Comparison Between the Hard ECU and the Euro. Economic Affairs 35 (3): 397–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirie, Madsen. 2019. “The Meaning of Maastricht.” Adam Smith Institute blog. Accessible at: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-meaning-of-maastricht.

  • Pirie, Madsen. 2020. “Happy Brexit Day.” Adam Smith Institute blog. Accessible at: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/happy-brexit-day.

  • Plehwe, Dieter, Quinn Slobodian, and Philip Mirowski, eds. 2020. Nine Lives of Neoliberalism. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portillo, Michael. “Britain, the EU and the Global Economy.” Economic Affairs 19, no. 4: 17–21.

  • Price, Victoria Curzon. 1983. “The European Community—Friend or Foe of the Market Economy?” ORDO: Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 34: 85–95.

  • Price, Victoria Curzon. 1997. Britain’s Future in Europe: A Personal View. Economic Affairs 17 (1): 16–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radnitzky, Gerard. 1990. European Integration: Evolutionary Competition Against Constructivist Design. Ghent, Belgium: Archival source consulted at Liberas Archive.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, Colin. 1997. Editorial: Britain and Europe. Economic Affairs 17 (1): 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosamond, Ben. 2019. Brexit and the Politics of UK Growth Models. New Political Economy 24 (3): 408–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryner, J. Magnus., and Alan W. Cafruny. 2017. The European Union and Global Capitalism: Origins, Development, Crisis. London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salin, Pascal, ed. 1984. Currency Competition and Monetary Union. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, Pedro. 1997. Back from the Brink: An Appeal to Fellow Europeans over Monetary Union. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, Pedro. 2004. The Euro as Politics. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, Pedro. 2014. “Europe in Disarray.” The Library of Economics and Liberty, September 1, 2014. Accessible at: https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/Schwartzdisarray.html.

  • Schwartz, Pedro. 2016. “Brexit!” The Library of Economics and Liberty, September 5, 2016. Accessible at: https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2016/Schwartzbrexit.html#note_6.

  • Slobodian, Quinn & Dieter Plehwe. 2020. “Neoliberals Against Europe.” In: Mutant Neoliberalism: Market Rule and Political Rupture, edited by William Callison & Zachary Manfredi. New York: Fordham University Press.

  • Slobodian, Quinn. Forthcoming. “Demos Veto and Demos Exit: The Neoliberals Who Embraced Referenda and Secession.” Journal of Australian Political Economy.

  • Smith, Roland. 2016. “The Liberal Case for ‘Leave’.” Adam Smith Institute blog, March 20, 2016. Accessible at: https://www.adamsmith.org/the-liberal-case-for-leave.

  • Vaubel, Roland. 1997. The Importance of Being at the Margin. Economic Affairs 17 (1): 23–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaubel, Roland. 2013. Secession in the European Union. Economic Affairs 33 (3): 288–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watrin, Christian. 1996. The European Union: Source of Conflict or Cooperation? Ghent, Belgium: Archival source consulted at Liberas Archive.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watrin, Christian. 1999. “Will the European Union Survive the 21st Century?” Paper presented April 24, 1999. Accessible at: https://phillysoc.org/watrin-will-the-european-union-survive-the-21st-century/.

  • Wood, James D.G.., and Valentina Ausserladscheider. 2020. Populism, Brexit, and the Manufactured Crisis of British Neoliberalism. Review of International Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2020.1786435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worth, Owen. 2017. Reviving Hayek’s Dream. Globalizations 14 (1): 104–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zielonka. 2018. Counter-Revolution: Liberal Europe in Retreat. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Lars Cornelissen

Authors
  1. Lars Cornelissen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lars Cornelissen.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cornelissen, L. Elements of neoliberal Euroscepticism: how neoliberal intellectuals came to support Brexit. Br Polit 17, 44–61 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-020-00155-3

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-020-00155-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation