The Road to Serfdom

by Friedrich A. Hayek

The Road to Serfdom is a book written by the Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek (1899-1992) between 1940-1943, in which he -warned of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning.- He further argues that the abandonment of individualism and classical liberalism inevitably leads to a loss of freedom, the creation of an oppressive society, the tyranny of a dictator, and the serfdom of the individual. Significantly, Hayek challenged the general view among British academics that fascism (and National Socialism) was a capitalist reaction against socialism. He argued that fascism, National Socialism and socialism had common roots in central economic planning and empowering the state over the individual. Since its publication in 1944, The Road to Serfdom has been an influential and popular exposition of market libertarianism. It has sold over two million copies. The Road to Serfdom was to be the popular edition of the second volume of Hayek's treatise entitled -The Abuse and Decline of Reason-, and the title was inspired by the writings of the 19th century French classical liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville on the -road to servitude-. The book was first published in Britain by Routledge in March 1944, during World War II, and was quite popular, leading Hayek to call it -that unobtainable book-, also due in part to wartime paper rationing. It was published in the United States by the University of Chicago Press in September 1944 and achieved great popularity. At the arrangement of editor Max Eastman, the American magazine Reader's Digest published an abridged version in April 1945, enabling The Road to Serfdom to reach a wider popular audience beyond academics. The Road to Serfdom has had a significant impact on twentieth-century conservative and libertarian economic and political discourse, and is often cited today by commentators.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, Nonfiction, Classics

Paperback

First published April 20, 2013

About the author

Friedrich August von Hayek CH was an Austrian and British economist and philosopher known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought. He is considered by some to be one of the most important economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century. Hayek's account of how changing prices communicate signals which enable individuals to coordinate their plans is widely regarded as an important achievement in economics. Hayek also wrote on the topics of jurisprudence, neuroscience and the history of ideas.

Hayek is one of the most influential members of the Austrian School of economics, and in 1974 shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with Gunnar Myrdal "for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena." He also received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 from president George H. W. Bush.

Hayek lived in Austria, Great Britain, the United States and Germany, and became a British subject in 1938.

Reviews

[Martin Hare Michno · Rating 1 out of 5]

UPDATE 30/01/22:
A random libertarian, whose top authors are genuinely Ayn Rand and JK Rowling, has identified a potential bias in my original view. Please proceed with caution.

Obviously bad. Joseph Hansen's Marxist critique of Hayek is all I have to say: https://www.marxists.org/archive/hans...

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven." Thus, on an ominous note, the author begins his warning. Democracy & socialism have zero in common but one word: equality. But notice the discrepancy: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint & servitude. Fascism is the stage reached after communism has proved a delusion, & it has proved as much a fantasy in Russia as in pre-Hitler Germany.

Sacrificing personal liberty perpetually in the interests of a planned economy is a big no. Such adaptation is the start of the plots of multiple great fiction books such as 1984 & We. Drooling to fabrications of some presumed Shangri-la is merely a pipe dream.

Advancement in a totalitarian party depends on a readiness to resort to depravity & barbarity, e.g. Idi Amin & Adolf Hitler. Once one believes that the individual is merely a means to serve some higher entity, the ends begin to justify their means.

To build a more satisfactory world, we must have the intrepidity to make a new start. We must shed away the impediments with which human folly has recently encumbered our path & unleash the creative energy of individuals. We must create conditions auspicious to progress rather than planning progress. "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin

[David Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely of relevance still today, as one observes differing approaches of governments to handling the coronavirus pandemic, the way in which the Chinese Communist People runs China, as well as more personal topics about how one thinks about being stuck in a job that one does not like.

[Guy Hochstetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happened to find a condensed version in a book sale. It was a sloppily edited version. A bit of a rambling. It was good enough to get a sense of Hayek’s positions and his background, which clearly influenced him. For me, there are elements of sound advice here, but I’m not of an extreme capitalistic or libertarian mindset. My aim in reading this was to get a sense of a well known libertarian perspective.

[ltghuy · Rating 5 out of 5]

English
It's short, but it seems to have stated what needed to be mentioned. Hayek himself also acknowledged that this shortened version did well. Personally, I find it a bit difficult to read, maybe I'm not smart enough:). I will definitely read the full version.

Vietnamese
Ngắn thôi nhưng có vẻ đã nêu lên được những cái cần nêu. Chính Hayek cũng công nhận bản rút gọn này làm tốt. Bản thân thấy hơi khó đọc chắc chưa đủ trình, nhất định sẽ tìm đọc bản full.

[Mehmetcan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It might be an interesting book for any one who is conceptually new to the discussion on free market vs. planned economics. Yet for some one with sufficient background, digest version is week on supporting the arguments it presented essentially degrading the book to an ideological handbook. If you previously researched on this field I would recommend to try the original work.

[Ben Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need this more than ever

[Avin · Rating 5 out of 5]

need to read the whole thing

[Callum S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most ideas and beliefs still ring true today…

[Top Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

My preferred choice of this Hayek Classic. A must read for those interested in economics. Will change the way you think.

[Wenyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Shall read the full version further.