This post is a reflection on The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek. It was written immediately following World War II. Hayek saw first hand the fall of Germany from socialism to Nazism. This piece differs from other pieces on economics because Hayek does not say anything about government being a necessary evil. He even speaks positively of democracy saying that it is fundamentally an obstacle to socialism and planning.
Hayek also differs from other free market writers in that he acknowledges the good intentions of planners. He does this without condoning their efforts, but he does not demonize them as some other economic writers do.
One of the things that really stands out about Hayek's piece that I have not gotten from other works is that The Road to Serfdom is very practical and real. A lot of what we have read thus far has felt a lot like theory rather than anything tangible. It seems like economic theory just sort of generalizes everything until the author can just make general claims that are obviously true. The Road to Serfdom is my favorite thing that we have read so far because it is almost a case study. Hayek does not need to generalize to make his points because the world saw everything he talks about. He just organizes it and makes it clear. His piece almost reads like a case study rather than a paper on economic theory. Everything he writes about is something that happened in Germany, Italy, Russia and other countries that tried to get to some sort of planned society.
One of the more remarkable points Hayek makes is that planned societies work in a way that facilitates the rise of a dictator. All of the well-meaning planners will reach a point where they have to chose between coercion and failure. At this point, the dictators succeed where those with good intentions failed because the dictator is ok with using coercion in order to maintain their plan.
Another of Hayek's sections deals with security. He talks about security of a minimum quality of life and security of one class relative to another. He says the first can be guaranteed by the free market and even says that the government can have a role in insuring that security. Things go wrong however when classes become secure in their positions above other classes. It makes sense that though this is not the goal of most socialist promoters, it is a necessity of the system for power to be centralized and secured by a small group.
A nice touch to this particular version is an old cartoon series that describes the whole process in a few pictures and lines of text. It is an apt summary to a very easy to understand piece which effectively explains why socialism falls to fascism.
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