KEV67 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 This is a book about economics and politics written in 1944 by Friedrich Hayek. I think he was an Austrian Jew. At the time he wrote the book he lived and worked in Britain, and I think later he moved to the USA. It is quite a hard read. In the book he argues that Socialism leads to autocracy, because economic decisions are taken out of individuals' hands and put into the purview of experts appointed by the government. Quote
KEV67 Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 I still have about 100 pages to read. It is not particularly easy to read. One thing that surprised me was that Germany had considered itself a socialist country for decades before WW2. Nationalism was a later modification to their socialist outlook. That surprised me. Maybe by socialism Hayek meant a tendency for central planning by the government and its agencies. I thought Germany was a monarchy until the end of WW1, when the kaiser abdicated. I thought under hard socialism all companies were nationalised, but I am pretty sure there were private companies in Germany before WW2 and before the Nazis took over. In the chapter I read today, Hayek wrote that the Germans reviled English liberalism. Liberalism seems to have changed its meaning. Liberalism in the old sense is everyone being free to run their businesses as they see fit without state intervention. Another thing that surprised me is that I thought Hayek and John Maynard Keynes were economic opponents. Keynes believed state intervention was crucial, particularly during economic recessions. However the Road to Serfdom seems to be more about politics than economics. I do not see what Hayek wrote has to contradict what Keynes wrote. I am not an expert on Keynes. Quote
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