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A review by mascha_blue
The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A. Hayek, Bruce Caldwell
3.0
Hayek described himself as a libertarian and this book is his attempt to describe why totalitarianism and authoritarianism are bad and why central planning of economies doesn't work well. While I agree with that premise, this book is filled with vague terms such as "liberty" and "individual freedom" that are not defined or set into a framework of practice.
What we get instead are broad claims against the general ideology of socialism. There is an amazing lack of nuance in this book and no details about how democracy or democratic institutions should look or operate. Some of the claims he makes against totalitarian regimes could be placed against many of today's Western societies, such as the rise of opportunists and the manipulation of truth. There is a case for limited government and free markets, but specifics would have made a more convincing argument.
What we get instead are broad claims against the general ideology of socialism. There is an amazing lack of nuance in this book and no details about how democracy or democratic institutions should look or operate. Some of the claims he makes against totalitarian regimes could be placed against many of today's Western societies, such as the rise of opportunists and the manipulation of truth. There is a case for limited government and free markets, but specifics would have made a more convincing argument.