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Serfdom and Freedom, part 4
Jun. 9th, 2024 03:23 pmOkay, it was actually 4 chapters left plus assorted back matter.
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So, to recap: Hayek's argument is that central planning necessarily leads to the state granting monopolies, the reduction of individual freedom, governmental gridlock, and a yearning among the populace for a strongman who will just make things happen, opening the way for a dictator. He and his intellectual allies became absolutely focused on stopping anything that looked like collectivist economic planning in the belief that that would preserve freedom.
And yet, here we are, after decades of their diligent work toward keeping the US government from doing anything at all, and we have monopolies, governmental gridlock, and a wannabe dictator anyway. Which means one of two things: either the knob of government action has to be carefully tuned (remember, Hayek wanted vigorous government involvement in keeping the free market free), or that high school history class was right, and the rise of totalitarianism has nothing to do with economic ideology.
Either way, it must be adding insult to injury that the very political party that the neoliberals cultivated for so long has dropped them for the new charismatic demagogue. I expect that Joseph Stiglitz will have some interesting things to say in The Road to Freedom, but I think the last laugh here belongs to Donald Trump.
( Read more... )
So, to recap: Hayek's argument is that central planning necessarily leads to the state granting monopolies, the reduction of individual freedom, governmental gridlock, and a yearning among the populace for a strongman who will just make things happen, opening the way for a dictator. He and his intellectual allies became absolutely focused on stopping anything that looked like collectivist economic planning in the belief that that would preserve freedom.
And yet, here we are, after decades of their diligent work toward keeping the US government from doing anything at all, and we have monopolies, governmental gridlock, and a wannabe dictator anyway. Which means one of two things: either the knob of government action has to be carefully tuned (remember, Hayek wanted vigorous government involvement in keeping the free market free), or that high school history class was right, and the rise of totalitarianism has nothing to do with economic ideology.
Either way, it must be adding insult to injury that the very political party that the neoliberals cultivated for so long has dropped them for the new charismatic demagogue. I expect that Joseph Stiglitz will have some interesting things to say in The Road to Freedom, but I think the last laugh here belongs to Donald Trump.
