THE ROAD TO SERFDOM

Detail

Author

Friedrich A. Hayek (1899–1992)

Friedrich A. Hayek, one of the most influential thinkers of modern liberalism, was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1899. He earned degrees in both law and economics in 1921 and 1923, and later taught at leading universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Austria, and Germany.

Hayek was a leading scholar of the Austrian School, best known for his strong critique of socialism and government interventionism. In 1974, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

His major works include Individualism and Economic Order, The Sensory Order, Law, Legislation and Liberty, The Constitution of Liberty, and The Fatal Conceit. He passed away in Freiburg, Germany, in 1992.

---

Contents

• Translator’s Preface

• Preface to the 50th Anniversary Edition

• Preface

• Introduction

---

Chapter 1. The Abandoned Road

• The World We Have Created Today

• The Individualist Foundations of Modern Civilization

• Liberalism: A Non-Static Creed

• The Abandonment of Liberalism

• Germany as the Recognized Leader of a New Beginning

Chapter 2. The Great Utopia

• Socialism’s New Promise

• The Changing Meaning of Freedom

• Returning Doubts

• The Utopia of Democratic Socialism

Chapter 3. Individualism and Collectivism

• The Meaning of Socialism

• The Meaning of Planning

• Rational Competition as an Alternative to the Command Economy

• A Mixed System: Centralized Command and Competition

Chapter 4. The `Inevitability’ of Planning?

• Competition Not Rendered Impossible by Technological Change

• The Causes of the Growth of Monopoly

• New Problems Brought by Technological Change

• Claims of Technical Possibilities Unachievable Under Competition

• Experts’ Narrow Views and the Case for Planning

Chapter 5. Planning and Democracy

• The Command Economy and a Comprehensive Common Value System

• Individual Aims and Social Aims

• Agreement on Means and Disagreement on Ends

• Expansion of State Activity and the Decline of Possible Consensus

• The Illusion of Democratic Control

• The Ultimate Value Is Not Democracy but Freedom

Chapter 6. Planning and the Rule of Law

• The Rule of Law

• Formal Law and Substantive Law

• The Logical Foundations of the Rule of Law

• The Conflict Between Formal Equality and Substantive Equality

• New Threats to the Rule of Law

• The Rule of Law and Human Rights

Chapter 7. Economic Control and Totalitarianism

• Political Freedom and Economic Freedom

• Contempt for “Purely Economic” Problems

• Control of Production Means Control of Consumption

• Planning and Occupational Choice

• Command and Prohibition as the Only Alternative to the Price System

• The Myth of Plenty

• The Unprecedented Expansion of Totalitarian Control

Chapter 8. Who, Whom?

• Freedom and Property

• Planning and Income Distribution

• Distributive Justice and Absolute Equality

• “Just” Prices vs. “Fair” Prices: Conflicts Over Appropriate Status

• Totalitarian Controls Prepared by Socialism

• “Middle-Class” Socialism

• Rivalries Among Competing Socialisms

Chapter 9. Security and Freedom

• Two Types of Security

• Income Variability in a Free Economy

• Security of Status Possible Only in a Militarily Organized Society

• Security for One Group Means Insecurity for Others

• The Growing Demand for Security and What It Means

Chapter 10. Why the Worst Get on Top

• The Moral Effects of Collectivism

• The Smaller the Common Denominator, the Larger the “Homogeneous” Group

• Socialism’s Characteristic Self-Centeredness

• The Worship of Power

• Social Ends That Justify All Means

• Habits Encouraged in Citizens of a Totalitarian State

Chapter 11. The End of Truth

• The Role of Propaganda

• Coercion of Facts as the Basis of Planning

• New Values Introduced in the Name of Old Values

• The Disappearance of Uncontrolled Fields of Learning

• Freedom of Truth and Thought

Chapter 12. The Socialist Roots of Nazism

• Socialist Support Behind the Rise of National Socialism

• Sombart

• Plenge

• Lensch

• Spengler and Bruck: Socialism as a Weapon Against the Liberal West

Chapter 13. Totalitarianism Within Us

• The Spread of German Ideals

• A More “German” Historical Realism

• Scientists’ Totalitarianism

• Monopoly Trends in Capital

• Monopoly Trends in Labor

Chapter 14. Material Conditions and Ideal Ends

• The Economic Phobia of Our Generation

• The Permanent Dominance of a Single Aim Over All Others

• Economic Growth as the Condition for the Fulfillment of All Hopes

• The Decline of British Political Ideals

• The Urgent Need to Restore Confidence in British Traditions

Chapter 15. Prospects for the International Order

• Conflict Between National Planning and International Order

• Political Difficulties of International Economic Planning

• Ideals That Can Be Resolved Only by Force

• Power of International Organizations Not Limited to Economic Issues

• The Need for Strong Political Authority to Control Economic Power

• Advantages of the Federal Principle

• The Danger of Excessive Ambition

---

Conclusion

• Bibliography

• Index: Terms

• Index: Names