The Road to Serfdom is a book written by Friedrich Hayek (recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974) and originally published by Routledge Press in March 1944 in the UK and then by the University of Chicago in September 1944. In April, 1945, Reader's Digest published a slightly shortened version of the book (still in print from the Institute of Economic Affairs), which eventually reached more than 600,000 readers. Around 1950 a picture-book version was published in Look Magazine, later made into a pamphlet and distributed by General Motors. The book has been translated into approximately 20 languages and is dedicated to "The socialists of all parties". The introduction to the 50th anniversary edition is written by Milton Friedman (another recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics [1976]). In 2007, the University of Chicago Press put out a "Definitive Edition". The Road to Serfdom is among the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism and libertarianism. Friedrich August von Hayek, CH (May 8, 1899 in Vienna – March 23, 1992 in Freiburg) was an Austrian-born British economist and political philosopher known for his defense of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought in the mid-20th century. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... Friedrich August von Hayek, CH (May 8, 1899 in Vienna – March 23, 1992 in Freiburg) was an Austrian-born British economist and political philosopher known for his defense of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought in the mid-20th century. ... The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economics, is a prize awarded each year for outstanding intellectual contributions in the field of economics. ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a London-based conservative think tank. ... ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... “Political Parties” redirects here. ... Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. ... The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economics, is a prize awarded each year for outstanding intellectual contributions in the field of economics. ... Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism[1] and laissez-faire liberalism[2]) is a doctrine stressing the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitations of government, free markets, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of Adam... For other uses, see Libertarianism (disambiguation). ...

This single book has significantly shaped the political ideologies of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and the concepts of 'Reagonomics' and 'Thatcherism'. It also led to the revival of Neoclassical economics in the West and lessening the Keynesian influence. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and to date only woman to hold either post. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... The term Reaganomics, a portmanteau of Reagan and economics, was used to describe, and decry, the economic policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. ... Margaret Thatcher Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. ... Neoclassical economics refers to a general approach (a metatheory) to economics based on supply and demand which depends on individuals (or any economic agent) operating rationally, each seeking to maximize their individual utility or profit by making choices based on available information. ... Keynesian economics, or Keynesianism, is an economic theory based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, as put forward in his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936 in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. ...

Main thesis and arguments

Hayek’s central thesis is that all forms of collectivism lead logically and inevitably to tyranny, and he used the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany as examples of countries which, in his view, had gone down “the road to serfdom” and reached tyranny. Hayek argued that within a centrally planned economic system the distribution and allocation of all resources and goods would devolve onto a small group which would be incapable of processing all the information pertinent to the appropriate distribution of the resources and goods at the central planners’ disposal. Disagreement about the practical implementation of any economic plan combined with the inadequacy of the central planners’ resource management would invariably necessitate coercion in order for anything to be achieved. Hayek further argued that the failure of central planning would be perceived by the public as an absence of sufficient power by the state to implement an otherwise good idea. Such a perception would lead the public to vote more power to the state, and would assist the rise to power of a “strong man” perceived to be capable of “getting the job done”. After these developments Hayek argued that a country would be ineluctably driven into outright totalitarianism. For Hayek “the road to serfdom” inadvertently set upon by central planning, with its dismantling of the free market system, ends in the destruction of all individual economic and personal freedom. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Hayek argued that countries such as the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany had already gone down the "road to serfdom", and that various democratic nations are being led down the same road. In The Road to Serfdom he wrote: "The principle that the end justifies the means is in individualist ethics regarded as the denial of all morals. In collectivist ethics it becomes necessarily the supreme rule." Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... “Serf” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation). ...

Contents

1. The Abandoned Road
2. The Great Utopia
3. Individualism and Collectivism
4. The "Inevitability" of Planning
5. Planning and Democracy
6. Planning and the Rule of Law
7. Economic Control and Totalitarianism
8. Who, Whom?
9. Security and Freedom
10. Why the Worst Get on Top
11. The End of Truth
12. The Socialist Roots of Nazism
13. The Totalitarians in Our Midst
14. Material Conditions and Ideal Ends
15. The Prospects of International Order
16. Conclusion

Positive reaction

John Maynard Keynes read The Road to Serfdom and said of it: "In my opinion it is a grand book...Morally and philosophically I find myself in agreement with virtually the whole of it: and not only in agreement with it, but in deeply moved agreement".^[1] Having said that, Keynes did not think Hayek's philosophy was of practical use; this was explained later in the same letter, through the following comment and prophecy: "What we need therefore, in my opinion, is not a change in our economic programmes, which would only lead in practice to disillusion with the results of your philosophy; but perhaps even the contrary, namely, an enlargement of them. Your greatest danger is the probable practical failure of the application of your philosophy in the United States." ^[2] John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, CB (pronounced cains, IPA ) (5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946) was a British economist whose ideas, called Keynesian economics, had a major impact on modern economic and political theory as well as on many governments fiscal policies. ...

Sir Winston Churchill was, according to Harold Macmillan, "fortified in his apprehensions [of a Labour government] by reading Professor Hayek's The Road to Serfdom"^[3] when he warned in an election broadcast in 1945 that a socialist system would "have to fall back on some form of Gestapo". The Labour leader Clement Attlee responded in his election broadcast by claiming that what Churchill had said was the "second-hand version of the academic views of an Austrian professor, Friedrich August von Hayek".^[4] The Conservative Central Office sacrificed 1.5 tons of their precious paper ration allocated for the 1945 election so that more copies of The Road to Serfdom could be printed.^[5] “Churchill” redirects here. ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Clement Attlee Winston Churchill The United Kingdom General Election of 1945 held on 5 July 1945 but not counted and declared until 26 July 1945 (due to the time it took to transport the votes of those serving overseas) was one of the most significant general elections of the 20th... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. ... Conservative Central Office (CCO) is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members. ...

George Orwell, a democratic socialist, responded to the book with cautious praise. "[A] return to 'free' competition," he argued, "means for the great mass of people a tyranny probably worse, because more irresponsible, than that of the state." He added, however, that "in the negative part of Professor Hayek's thesis there is a great deal of truth. It cannot be said too often--at any rate, it is not being said nearly often enough--that collectivism is not inherently democratic, but, on the contrary, gives to a tyrannical minority such powers as the Spanish Inquisitors never dreamt of". Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 [1] [2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... Democratic socialism advocates socialism as a basis for the economy and democracy as a governing principle. ...

The Road to Serfdom was placed fourth on the list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the twentieth century compiled by the conservative journal National Review. National Review (NR) is a biweekly magazine of political opinion, founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. ...

In Martin Seymour-Smith's list of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, The Road to Serfdom appears at number 90, whilst it made #1 on Human Events Top Ten Books Every Republican Congressman Should Read in 2006, just shading The Federalist Papers. Martin Seymour-Smith (b. ... The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Thought from Ancient Times to Today (Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ, 1998, ISBN 0806520000) is a book of intellectual history written by Martin Seymour-Smith (1928 - 1998), a British poet, critic and biographer. ... Human Events is a weekly conservative magazine founded in 1944. ... Title page of an early Federalist compilation. ...

Criticism

"The Road To Serfdom" has been criticized by some scholars, including Karl Polanyi, who considered Hayek's libertarian ideals to be unrealistically utopian.^{[citation needed]}
Karl Paul Polanyi (October 21, 1886 - Pickering, Ontario April 23, 1964) was a Hungarian intellectual known for his opposition to traditional economic thought and his influential book The Great Transformation. ...

Herman Finer, a Fabian socialist, published a rebuttal in his The Road to Reaction in 1946. Hayek called Finer's book "a specimen of abuse and invective which is probably unique in contemporary academic discussion".[1] Herman Finer (February 24, 1898 - March 4, 1969) was a British political scientist. ... The Fabian Society is a British socialist intellectual movement, whose purpose is to advance the socialist cause by gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary means. ...

Barbara Wootton wrote Freedom under Planning after reading an early copy of The Road to Serfdom and claimed "Much of what I have written is devoted to criticism of the views put forward by Professor Hayek in this and other books."^[6] Frank Knight, founder of the Chicago School of Economics, wrote in a scholarly review of the Wootton book: "Let me repeat that the Wootton book is in no logical sense an answer to The Road to Serfdom, whatever may be thought of the cogency of Hayek's argument, or the soundness of his position."^[7] Barbara Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger (1897 – July 11, 1988) was a British sociologist and criminologist. ... Frank Hyneman Knight (November 7, 1885 - April 15, 1972) was an important economist in the first half of the twentieth century. ... The Chicago School of Economics is a school of thought in economics; it refers to the style of economics practiced at and disseminated from the University of Chicago after 1946. ...

Hayek argues in The Road to Serfdom that central planning must of necessity be (or become) tightly-coupled, but others dispute this premise. In his review (collected in The Present as History, 1953) economist Paul Sweezy joked that Hayek would have you believe that if there was an over-production of baby carriages the central planners would then order the population to have more babies instead of simply warehousing the temporary excess of carriages and decreasing production for next year. The cybernetic arguments of Stafford Beer in his 1974 CBC Massey Lectures, Designing Freedom—that intelligent adaptive planning can increase freedom—are of interest in this regard, as is the technical work of Herbert Simon and Albert Ando on the dynamics of hierarchical nearly-decomposable systems in economics—namely, that everything in such a system is not tightly-coupled to everything else. Paul Marlor Sweezy (April 10, 1910 – February 27, 2004) was a Marxian economist and a founding editor of the magazine Monthly Review. ... For other uses, see Cybernetics (disambiguation). ... Anthony Stafford Beer (September 25, 1926 - August 23, 2002) was a theorist in operational research and management cybernetics. ... Herbert Alexander Simon (June 15, 1916 – February 9, 2001) was an American political scientist whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, computer science, public administration, economics, management, and philosophy of science and a professor, most notably, at Carnegie Mellon University. ... Albert K. Ando (1929 - 19 September 2002) was a Japanese-born economist. ...

Notes

1. ^ http://reason.com/hayekint.shtml
2. ^ Hoover, Kenneth R. Economics as Ideology. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers(2008) p. 152 ISBN 0742531139
3. ^ Harold Macmillan, Tides of Fortune, 1945-1955 (Harper & Row, 1969), p. 32.
4. ^ Hayek, life and times. libertystory.net. Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
5. ^ David Willetts and Richard Forsdyke, After the Landslide: Learning the Lessons of 1906 and 1945 (Centre for Policy Studies, 1999), p. 59.
6. ^ Barbara Wootton, Freedom under Planning, p. 5.
7. ^ Knight, Frank (1946). "Freedom Under Planning". Journal of Political Economy 54 (5): 451-454. 

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the West End actor, see Dave Willetts. ... Frank Hyneman Knight (November 7, 1885 - April 15, 1972) was an important economist in the first half of the twentieth century. ...

References

• The Road to Serfdom, 50th anniversary edition, University of Chicago Press, 1994 ISBN 0-226-32061-8
• The Road to Serfdom, 2001 edition in Routledge Classics, ISBN 0-415-25389-6
• The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents— The Definitive Edition, University of Chicago Press, 2007, ISBN 0-226-32054-5, ISBN 0-226-32055-3

See also

• Criticisms of communism
• Economic calculation problem
• Omnipotent Government

This article is on criticisms of communism, a branch of socialism. ... The economic calculation problem is a criticism of socialist economics. ... Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War is a book by influential Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises first published in 1944 by Yale University Press. ...

External links

• A condensed and abridged version, online
• Reader's Digest version from the IEA
• Mises.org The Road to Serfdom in cartoons - The cartoon-booklet version.
• The Road to Serfdom in Five Minutes - The above booklet, as a 5-minute movie.