Designing the institutions of international liberalism: some contributions from the interwar period

Between the two World Wars, liberalism was challenged under many respects. Many intellectuals and several economists took an active part in the attempt to found a new strategy for the survival of the liberal values. Among them, some participated into the reflections that led, after WWII, to the birth of the neoliberal project. The paper enquires into the history of economic theories and debates of the Twenties, Thirties and until the foundation of the Mont Pelerin Society to find out what concept of international economic order some of these Authors had and assess the contributions they gave to the birth of international neoliberalism. Particular attention is devoted to Mises, Hayek, Robbins and Einaudi because their peculiar approach to the design of international institutions is inspiring both to understand the complex and heterogeneous scenario that characterized the debate on neoliberalism before WWII and to provide new perspectives on neglected contributions to the liberal thought.