Book Review Friedrich A. von Hayek: The Road to Serfdom
Abstract
The Road to Serfdom is the book written by the famous economist F. A. Hayek (1899-1992), the recipient of the US President’s Medal of Freedom in 1991 and co-winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974. Originally published in 1944, the book is among the most influential and popular expositions of market economy, selling over two million copies, and remaining a best-seller. F. A. Hayek warned of the danger of tyranny that may result from government control of economic decision making through central planning. He argued 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. A classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for over six decades.
REFERENCES:
1. Amartya Sen (reprinted 1984); Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Oxford University Press, UK.
2. Elton Rayack (1984); Not So Free to Choose: The Political Economy of Milton Friedman and Ronald Reagan Praeger Publishers.
3. Francis Fukuyama (reprinted 1993); The End of History and the last Man, Published by Harper Perennial.
4. Gertrude Himmelfarb (1996), the De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values, Vintage Publishers, and NewYork.
5. J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. (2004), “The Road to Serfdom and the world economy: 60 years later,” working paper, downloadable from internet.
6. Michel Foucault. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & Other Writings 1972-1977. Ed. Colin Gordon. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.
7. Peter Farkas (2001); “The Collapse of Russian Industry” The Institute for World Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Working Paper.
8. Zaman, Asad (2013); “Is Development Accumulation of Wealth? Islamic Views,” Afro Eurasian Studies, Volume 2, Issues 1 & 2, August.
[1] Hayek’s admirers consider the high rate of taxation in UK to be equivalent to Serfdom and a vindication of his prophecies. However, equating high taxes to serfdom can only be done by elitists who have never encountered poverty.