THE ROAD TO SERFDOM

Reader's Digest, April 1945 edition ^ | 1945 | FRIEDRICH A. HAYEK

[ScratInTheHat]

There is, in a competitive society, nobody who can exercise even a fraction of the power which a socialist planning board would posses...Who can seriously doubt that the power which a millionaire, who may be my employer, has over me is very much less than that which the smallest bureaucrat possesses who wields the coercive power of the state and on whose discretion it depends how I am allowed to live and work? ... Our generation has forgotten that the system of private property is the most important guarantee of freedom. It is only because the control of the means of production is divided among many people acting independently that we as individuals can decide what to do with ourselves. When all the means of production are vested in a single hand, whether it be nominally that of 'society' as a whole or that of a dictator, whoever exercises this control has complete power over us.

To many who have watched the transition from socialism to fascism at close quarters the connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but in the democracies the majority of people still believe that socialism and freedom can be combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different - the very destruction of freedom itself. As has been aptly said: 'What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven. ... 'Conservative socialism' (todays liberal) was the slogan under which a large number of writers prepared the atmosphere in which National Socialism succeeded.

[american colleen]

BTW - Olasky’s “The Tragedy of American Compassion” is well worth the read. And I second Friedman's “Freedom to Choose” which is what made me cross over from liberalism (feelings) to conservatism (common sense) when I was in my early 20s.

[libbylu]

mark

[ScratInTheHat]

Another book that links great minds.

http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3492461.html

The Courage of Friedrich Hayek

By William F. Buckley Jr.

As we look back on the excitement caused by the publication of Friedrich Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, we wonder how it could have happened. It is a tribute to him, and to his small book, that we should be able to say this. The principal theses of the book are by now so very well known, even if they are not by any means universally accepted, that they appear almost self-evident.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Bump.

[Towed_Jumper]

““Road to Serfdom,” required reading.”

Yes for sure...this is one of the books that I make sure I read EVERY year and every time I read it I find more nuggets of truth and insight into the insanity called “socialism.”

[KPfromDerryNH]

How did I know you must be from Mass. just by your screen name American Colleen. It means American Girl in English.
Good for you, honey and keep thinking for yourself.

[jim-x]

ping for later

[aruanan]

This book should be read alongside C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. These are both two of the best, most prescient books I’ve ever read.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Bookmark

[wintertime]

ping

[J Aguilar]

This book changed me completely, helping to understand what was going on in my country, Spain.

A must read.

There are two more books that develop the same issue from a further technical point of view (not so easy to read):

Ludwig Von Mises' (Hayek's teacher): Omnipotent Government, The Rise of the Total State and Total War

Gotz Aly's: Hitler's "Volk"-State: Plunder, Racial War and National Socialism

[driftless2]

This piece is currently lying on the staircase bannister five feet to my left. It should be required reading in every senior high school in the country. Before the little ignoramuses get to college.

[Right Wing Assault]

Glenn Beck talked about this and some Lib called him a lair.

Lair, lair, pants on fair!

[bmwcyle]

The socialist have all the Sheeple. We are doomed.

[Tribune7]

This does not mean that the majority of people have low moral standards; it merely means that the largest group of people whose values are very similar are the people with low standards.

The secret of the Democratic Party.

[ovrtaxt]

Heck, the Republicans need to read it as badly as the Dems. Have you read some of the idiotic comments here lately?

[Sam Cree]

Thanks for the recommendation; I’ll have to acquire Buckley’s book.

I suppose the principle theses of RTS are well known by now by many of us, OTOH, even the majority here on FR don’t seem that well versed or accepting of them. I have no doubt also that as a nation we continue to move leftward.

I agree about them being self evident, though.

Reagan and Thatcher were followers of Hayek, interestingly, and as you probably already know.

Thanks for the original post, btw.

[Sam Cree]

"...this is one of the books that I make sure I read EVERY year and every time I read it I find more nuggets of truth and insight into the insanity called “socialism.”

I'm just rereading RTS again myself - I think it's more inspiring this time than when I first read it some 10 years ago. Also gave a copy to my 25 year old daughter, who wanted to know my thoughts on politics.

[Sam Cree]

should say “even more inspiring”

[ScratInTheHat]

Heck, the Republicans need to read it as badly as the Dems. Have you read some of the idiotic comments here lately?

I agree

But then again how many conservatives even claim to be republican now?

The Bush, Lott, Graham, etc. line of thought lost me a while back. It's like getting that bag of nuts (no pun intended here, well maybe a little LOL) and as you eat them you hit so many that are bad you just toss the whole pack away.

We just need a new bag of nuts! (OK the pun boomeranged on me and I couldn't resist LOL)