Between neoliberalism and fascism: Louis Rougier, race, and the ends of neoliberal ideology

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ABSTRACT This paper argues that a shared investment in racial hierarchy has historically formed a key point of convergence between neoliberal and far-right ideologies. To make this argument, the paper develops a close analysis of the career and works of Louis Rougier (1889–1982). Known principally as a prominent early free-market advocate who helped to organize the neoliberal movement in the interwar period, Rougier stands out from many other neoliberals by his lifelong connections to the French far right. The paper maps out these connections, focusing in particular on Rougier’s links, first, to neo-fascist circles during and after the Second World War and, second, to the Nouvelle Droite as it emerged in the late 1960s. It then reconstructs Rougier’s views on race, showing that he saw racial variables as a decisive factor in the historical ascendancy of Western civilization. Late in his life he took a keen interest in a body of racialist pseudo-science to support this view. The final section of the paper explores the ideological affinity between far-right and neoliberal ideology, arguing that Rougier’s signally racialised conception of Western civilization was so closely aligned with both worldviews it was able to serve as a conceptual bridge. The paper concludes that this ideological affinity positions the far right as a more or less organic ally to neoliberalism.