The Road to Serfdom's Economistic Worldview

At the end of World War II, F. A. Hayek denounced the then-popular idea of central planning by arguing that, if pursued to its logical conclusion, it would entail totalitarianism. But there were at least two problems. First, judging by his example of Nazi Germany, state control over the economy appe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical review (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2013-12, Vol.25 (3-4), p.364-385
Main Author: Godard, François
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Europe
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Hayek, Friedrich A
Hayek, Friedrich A. von
Hayek, Friedrich August von
Monopolies
Nazism
Neoliberalism
Planning
Political Power
Prediction
Rule of law
Socialism
Totalitarianism
World War II
World War Two
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Summary:At the end of World War II, F. A. Hayek denounced the then-popular idea of central planning by arguing that, if pursued to its logical conclusion, it would entail totalitarianism. But there were at least two problems. First, judging by his example of Nazi Germany, state control over the economy appears to be a consequence, not a cause, of the monopolization of political power. Second, he conflated socialism and mere interference in the market with central planning. Therefore, history did not so much falsify Hayek's prediction as bypass it: Once the vogue for central planning faded in the West, Hayek's book became irrelevant-except, ironically, in Germany. There, it was read as a manifesto for "good planning" through the rule of law. Alongside other "neoliberal" writers, Hayek had a profound (if little acknowledged) influence on the shape of the emerging Federal Republic and, through it, on the whole European institutional framework.
ISSN:0891-3811
1933-8007
DOI:10.1080/08913811.2013.857468