Hayek survived WW II to see his ideas temporarily triumph. Not sure I have that long.
Neither of us do. My regret is for the following generations.
As noted up thread, one of the critical tools for repression which previous totalitarian regimes lacked is the almost unlimited technological ability to track, monitor and even cut-off troublesome individuals from the ability to conduct their daily lives.
A few computer clicks here and there and your bank accounts and other assets can be frozen, your credit cards canceled, your utilities shut off, your conversations monitored and even your ability to travel freely denied.
What has happened is that our self-anointed ruling classes, the so-called elites/insiders/oligarchy, etc. have finally achieved their dream and have effectively severed the chains of the Constitution of which George Washington spoke and detached themselves from accountability to the people.
At least, that appears to be their calculation. Accordingly, they now feel free to drop all their pretenses about government “of the People, by the People and for the People” and simply enforce their will. Whether or not they have miscalculated, overreached and/or moved too quickly is yet to be seen, and that small uncertainly is pretty much the thread on which our last hopes hang.
The ironic aspect of this unfolding realization by millions of Americans that “the game has changed” is that the evidence has been there for a long, long time, but invariably those who tried to point this out and explain it were derided, ridiculed as “conspiracy wackos”, shunned and frequently banned from discussion venues. But hey, the Trojans locked Cassandra in a dungeon, so that’s nothing new... /g