[Little Bill]

The two outstanding books in my Library are, The True Believer, and The Road to Serfdom, I have several copies of each which I lend out.

[word_warrior_bob]

We're WELL on our way, look at the difference in the tax burden and hidden taxes in the last 50 years.

Unless you make SERIOUS money, the government pretty much will destroy your dreams.

[aberaussie]

bttt

[Sam Cree]

Thanks for your post. "Road to Serfdom" is easily my favorite political book and one that ought to be read by everyone.

What's surprising is that the principles of individual freedom that Hayek describes and champions so eloquently have not been abandoned by just the Left, but increasingly also the Right. While I am not exactly expecting freepers to come on this thread and attack Hayek, there can sometimes be on FR, and I suppose this must be a reflection of modern "conservatism," surprisingly little respect for individual freedom.

[tpaine]

"-- It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress.

In the process by which opinion is formed, it is very probable that, by the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point which the majority have reached.
It is because we do not yet which of the many competing new opinions will prove itself the best that we wait until it has gained sufficient support.

...it is largely because civilization enables us constantly to profit from knowledge which we individually do not possess and because each individual's use of his particular knowledge may serve to assist others unknown to him in achieving their ends that men as members of civilized society can pursue their individual ends so much more successfully than they could alone.

...the ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs.

Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that "the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of science." Unfortunately, the popular effect of this scientific advance has been a belief, seemingly shared by many scientists, that the range of our ignorance is steadily diminishing and that we can therefore aim at more comprehensive and deliberate control of all human activities.

It is for this reason that those intoxicated by the advance of knowledge so often become the enemies of freedom.

Conservatism, though a necessary element in any stable society, is not a social program; in its paternalistic, nationalistic and power adoring tendencies it is often closer to socialism than true liberalism; and with its traditionalistic, anti-intellectual, and often mystical propensities it will never, except in short periods of disillusionment, appeal to the young and all those others who believe that some changes are desirable if this world is to become a better place. --"


The Road to Serfdom, p xi.