The Institute for Spatial and Social-Ecological Transformations (ISSET), the Institute for Law and Governance and the International Karl Polanyi Society (IKPS), cordially invite you to join our reading circle on “Socioeconomics and Law”. This reading circle will serve as a preparatory event for an upcoming international conference, titled “Socioeconomics and Law – From Hayek and Schmitt to Polanyi and Kelsen”, that is set to take place in Vienna from May 24^th to 26^th, 2027. At this conference and in the lead-up to this conference, we aim to engage in discussions about alternatives to the current radicalization of neoliberal thought, particularly its alignment with non-democratic and non-liberal political and legal ideologies.

To kick off our reading circle, rather than starting with Hayek’s seminal text, “The Constitution of Liberty”, we first contextualized Hayek’s significance in shaping the contemporary alliance between anarcho-capitalists and moral traditionalists. Our initial sessions focused on Wendy Brown’s (2019) “In the Ruins of Neoliberalism”, where she elucidates Hayek’s influence and the implications of the ongoing reinterpretation of law.

The first part of sessions on Wendy Brown’s book took place at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) on the following dates from 5pm – 7pm CEST:

• Thu, April 3rd, 2025, 5pm-7pm (chapter 1)

• Mon, May 5th, 2025, 5pm-7pm (chapter 2)

• Thu, July 3rd, 2025, 5pm-7pm (chapter 3)

• Tue, September 16th, 2025, 5pm-7pm (chapter 4)

• Thu, October 2nd, 2025, 5pm-7pm (chapter 5)

Venue: WU, Building D4, room D4.3.106.

The second part of sessions

The second part of sessions deals with texts by Friedrich Hayek and Carl Schmitt, diving into their understanding of freedom and democracy, of the state and markets, and of fascism and liberalism.