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ChapterI.Poland’smarketeconomyintheinterwarperiod(1918-1939)
cieties,AlexanderRüstowrecommendedrelyingon“thefamily,thecom-
munityandthechurch;allofwhichthestateshouldprovidespecialcare
for”.Eucken,inaddition,stressedthatitwasthechurchthathadalways
putforwardtheprincipleofsocialsolidarism,whileitssocialteachingshad
forcenturiestriedtoassessthevalueofeconomic,socialandpoliticallife
fromamoralperspective.Forthisreason,providingsocialsecurity,justice,
andeconomicmoralitywereregardedasthe“challengeofthetimesandthe
centraltaskofhumanity”.
Whileordoliberalismdidnotofferanyreadysolutions,itdetermined(quite
precisely)theobligationsofthestateandcreatedamodeleconomicsystem
whichcombinedthegoalsoftheindividualwiththegoalsoftheentireso-
ciety.Itisclear,however,thattheimplementationofsuchamodelwould
requirethestatetoworktowardsconvincingtheentiresocietyofthebenefits
oflivinginanordered,stableandsecuresystem.Thiscanbefacilitatedby
aneconomicandpoliticalorderinwhichclassdifferenceshavealreadybeen
eliminated,astheexistenceofsocialclasses-intheviewoftheordoliberals
-always[author’semphasis]leadstoconflicts.
Choosingthe“thirdway”asthebestsocio-economicdoctrinewasmotivated
bytheflawsseeninothersystems.AsEuckenwouldpointout,bothliberal
economyandexcessiveindustrialisationhadviolatedthelong-established
economicandpoliticalorderofindividuals.Thelaissez-fairesystem,which
hadbeenaroundfordecades,onlyappearedtobeindependent,forinprac-
ticeeconomicactivitywasrestrictedbylaw.Thismeantthatthestatewas
notinvolvedinorganisingeverydayeconomiclife(somethingordoliberals
wouldregardasafundamentalerror)orinpreventingharmfulphenomena
fromhappening.Hence,anyeconomicactivity,aslongasitfitwithinthe
generallegalnorms,eventhoughitmaynothavecompliedwiththeprin-
ciplesofethicsandmorality,wasallowedwithoutanylimitations.
Thecrisisoftheliberalstatecouldnothavebeenpreventedbytheeconomic
experimentsundertakeninWesternEuropeinthe1920s.Theexperiments
consistedofattemptstointroduceaplannedeconomyandweredescribedby
ordoliberalsas“economiccentralism”.Incidentsofstateinterventionshad
beentakingplacesincetheturnofthe20thcentury,buttheywerenotaccom-
paniedbyanyattemptsaimedatpreventinganincreaseofsocialconflict.
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