Posted on 05/25/2009 2:12:52 AM PDT by Scanian
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 (Western) 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.' - F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom1 Friedrich Hayek was an Austrian economist, philosopher and intellectual considered to be one of the most important economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century. He shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics for his pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations.2 Hayek's work has influenced world leaders for decades however, at this present time in our history, it is more important than ever to remind the public about the lessons and logic he had to offer. Revisiting Hayek's work informs us of how the dramatic actions being taken by the current administration will lead us down a road that ultimately ends in the destruction of this democracy along with the freedoms and liberties we take for granted.
Hayek's central thesis in his sentinel work, The Road to Serfdom, is that through the inevitable mismanagement of resources and goods at the disposal of the state, all forms of collectivism lead eventually to tyranny.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Salma Hayek rocks
Can’t argue with that...
I have some stuff by Hayek downloaded, but not Serfdom, I really need that one
thanks.
Does she pronounce the same way, “High Eck, as in explosive.”?
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In honor of Milton Friedman, we are streaming the ground-breaking Free to Choose series as it originally aired in 1980 as well as an updated 1990 version. http://www.ideachannel.tv/
Volume 1 - The Power of the Market (1980)
America’s freedom and prosperity derive from the combination of the idea of human liberty in America’s Declaration of Independence with the idea of economic freedom in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Friedman explains how markets and voluntary exchange organize activity and enable people to improve their lives. He also explains the price system. Friedman visits Hong Kong, U.S. and Scotland.
Volume 2 - The Tyranny of Control (1980)
Government planning and detailed control of economic activity lessens productive innovation, and consumer choice. Good, better, best, are replaced by “approved” or “authorized.” Friedman shows how “established” industries or methods, seek government protection or subsidization in their attempts to stop or limit product improvements which they don’t control. Friedman visits India, Japan and U.S.
Volume 3 - Anatomy of Crisis (1980)
The Great Depression has been popularly viewed as a failure of capitalism. The stock market crash, the failure of the Bank of the United States, loss of personal savings, were visible symbols supporting this belief. As Friedman explains, the real cause was the unseen failure of government policy and action. Yet this crisis resulting from government failure leads to decades of government expansion.
Volume 4 - From Cradle to Grave (1980)
The welfare state arises from the attempt to do good with other people’s money. Such attempts always fail because: Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as his own. Welfare is supply driven. Those spending the money use force to collect it and to insure those receiving it use it for “right” purposes. Good intentions are corrupted by bad means. Friedman visits U.S. and Britain.
Volume 5 - Created Equal (1980)
The Declaration of Independence says, “all men are created equal.” Friedman explains that this did not mean all persons should or will have equal talents or income. Equal opportunity to better one’s self, and the right to personally benefit from the gains realized, are consistent with freedom. Equality of results requires force. Taking from some to give to others destroys freedom and removes the incentive for creating new wealth. Friedman visits India, U.S. and Britain.
Volume 6 - What’s Wrong with our Schools (1980)
Parental choice and parental responsibility in the education of children is the U.S. tradition and is consistent with a free society. Centralized government control has eroded freedom and adversely affected the quality of education. The poor help pay for education for the future rich. Friedman has long advocated using vouchers to solve the problem. He explains why. Friedman visits U.S. and Britain.
Volume 7 - Who Protects the Consumer? (1980)
Various government agencies have been created on the claim that they will protect the consumer. These agencies restrict freedom, stifle beneficial innovation, and become agents for the industries or groups they are intended to regulate. Friedman explains how the apparent chaos of the market place, the competition of many suppliers for business, is the best protection of consumer interests.
Volume 8 - Who Protects the Worker (1980)
Unions sometimes protect some workers - their members - but usually at the expense of other workers. Government protects its employees and special groups of workers at the expense of other workers. Both unions and government restrict freedom. Friedman explains how the competition of employers for the talents of workers leads to the highest wages and best working conditions.
Volume 9 - How to Cure Inflation (1980)
Inflation results when the amount of money printed or coined increases faster than the creation of new goods and services. Money is a “token” of the wealth of a nation. If more tokens are created than new wealth, it takes more tokens to buy the same goods. Friedman explains why politicians like inflation, and why wage and price controls are not solutions to the problem. Friedman visits Japan, U.S. and Britain.
Volume 10 - How to Stay Free (1980)
Democracies have only recently been considered desirable. Historically, it was feared that democracies always self destruct when citizens, forgetting that you cannot remove want and misery through legislation, insist on government actions that physically and morally bankrupt their nation. Friedman explains why the United States has so far avoided this outcome and how we can continue to do so. This program includes an interview of Dr. Friedman by Lawrence E. Spivak.
“The Road to Serfdom is probably his most influential work. It is concise and brilliant.”
Sadly, Obama is having to spend so much time cleaning up GWB’s messes and saving our nation to devote to reading this gem.
Perhaps the Teleprompter could read it, and give a summary to it’s talking human.
It is the undeniable, historically buttressed truth that socialism inevitably leads to tyranny.
If you look at what Barack does find time to read however...
Intellectually Barack appears to be a very weak reed and bends whichever way the wind is blowing. He does not seem very good at absorbing principles, rather he’s an improviser and corner cutter. Which is how we got the Chrysler debacle.
Get it, and read it. It might be the most important book you or anyelse will ever read. It's especially apropos in this day and age. He wrote it about sixty-five years ago, but it reads like it could have been written for last year. Because the message is timeless.
Ping
“Intellectually Barack appears to be a very weak reed and bends whichever way the wind is blowing.”
I concur. I really don’t understand why he’s viewed as so brilliant. He attended Occidental College, which US News ranks as #37 among liberal arts colleges. If you add in national universities, its rank would fall to #63. Its acceptance rate is 44%, which ain’t exactly highly selective. Occidental doesn’t even appear in the list of Top 50 colleges for African Americans:
http://www.blackenterprise.com/diversity/top-colleges/
So you have to be reasonably smart to attend, but not exactly a wunderkind. Yes, he ultimately attended Harvard Law, but based on his “performance” at Harvard Law Review, that has every appearance of being an affirmative action decision. He’s a “smooth talker” (so long as TOTUS is around, although even that is no guarantee against screw-ups), but delivering a speech crafted by someone else is a far cry from crafting and deftly defending one’s own intellectual arguments.
read this
And that is Obama's objective in a nutshell – government dependency. He is conditioning people to be dependent on government handouts in return for their votes. It's a vicious circle: the more dependency, the bigger the government, the bigger the government, the more the democrats stay in power, the more they stay in power, the more freedoms are lost and the government intrusion grows bigger, which leads to tyranny and totalitarianism. I see this as Obama's agenda.
Great article. Thanks much for the ping.
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