Chapter Four, Freedom, Reason, and Tradition; The Constitution of Liberty

ISBN 0-226-32084-7, University of Chicago Press | 1960 | Friedrich A. Hayek

[KC Burke]

I have taken of late to damning "Totalitarian Rationalistic Democracy". I have taken of late of popping off to other posters with, "you haven't read the fourth chapter of Hayek's Constitution of Liberty." I have taken of late the habit of finding I am more concerned with a compadre's principles than their "ideology", that short-hand magic answer thing I love to deride.

We hurl around the names and snippets of these giants of conservative thought and sadly, allow commentators of today's political media to invoke them as well, all without knowing the depth and breadth of their very thought.

So the next time that someone tells you about the famed "libertarian" F. A Hayek's condemnation of "statism", his belief in pure ideology and contempt for tradition, his reliance upon Mill's simple principle and such other simplistic stuff meant to reinforce his position, link them to this thread.

Likewise, when condenming those who stridently talk of non-coercion, mention libertarian principles with a fond tone or who fail to say the word "conservative" with the right tone of reverence, you might want to observe that often classified among them is a great friend to "custom, convention" and all that.

Hey, I didn't know that Thomas Sowell (one of my heros), equally condenming of ideology, the Unconstrained and rationality in A Conflict of Visions descibes himself to interviewers as a "libertarian"

Names then, aren't all that important; princples are.

[KC Burke]

Your posting of the essay The Liberalism/Conservatism Of Edmund Burke and F. A. Hayek: A Critical Comparison by Linda C. Raeder some years back was formative in my searching out much of Hayek's thoughts in these areas.

Thanks

[KC Burke]

Likewise, your posting of Nisbet's: CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERTARIANS: UNEASY COUSINS has been a good guide as well.

[cornelis]

!

[Sam Cree]

I have read that Margaret Thatcher was an admirer of this work by Hayek.

[KC Burke]

Often, there are those who use a short snippet, or even nothing but the title of the appendix/essay to The Constitution of Liberty entitled Why I am not a Conservative (which you were so good to post in full) and fail to point out that he ends by calling himself an "old Whig" as the only suitable classification.

[KC Burke]

When Maggie was listening to formative talks about what the new conservative party was going to claim as their principles, prior to the time of her becoming the leader, she came to the podium, in her turn, after listening to others drone and dither and slammed a book upon it saying "THIS is what we believe!"

That book was The Constitution of Liberty.

[KC Burke]

the usual suspects are summoned

[Bonaparte]

I'm glad it was helpful, KC.

[KC Burke]

I mentioned that I would ping you after putting this up...give it some time to digest.

[cornelis]

all without knowing the depth and breadth of their very thought

You say it with earnest and you say it well.

[cornelis]

“natural selection,”

Marbles.

[KC Burke]

Just a little light reading for the nightstand.

[KC Burke]

I have to get a scanner and OCR software at home....my pinkies are tired...I would have put in the balance of Cahpter Four, and may later on, but this was enough typing for a long while.

[cornelis]

It would hardly be unjust to say that the rationalistic approach is here opposed to almost all that is the distinct product of liberty and that gives liberty its value

It takes a while for people to recognize this. They are obliged to read European writers, including the oldest of them, if not because our thought world is by and large their product. I read Levinas and learned from his struggle against rationalism.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[KC Burke]

getting past your screen-name, I like your tag line...R Weaver was another who doesn't fit easily outside of both camps due to the giant stature of his thought.

[KC Burke]

how's youse doin'?

[cornelis]

It would hardly be unjust to say that the rationalistic approach is here opposed to almost all that is the distinct product of liberty and that gives liberty its value

Whew!

[cornelis]

this was enough typing for a long while

Thanks for doing so. For too long I've put off typing two articles, one from a Protestant (H. Dooyeweerd, The Roots of Western Culture) and another from a Catholic (F. Wilhelmsen, Christianity and Political Philosophy).