This is the road we have been traveling down. I hope everyone takes time to read this….
To many who have
watched the transition from socialism to fascism at close quarters the
connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but
in the (Western) democracies the majority of people still believe that
socialism and freedom can be combined. They do not realize that
democratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations, is
not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something
utterly different – the very destruction of freedom itself. As has been
aptly said: ‘What has always made the state a hell on earth has been
precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven.' – F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom1
Friedrich Hayek was an
Austrian economist, philosopher and intellectual considered to be one
of the most important economists and political philosophers of the
twentieth century. He shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics for his
pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations.2
Hayek's work has influenced world leaders for decades. However, at this
present time in our history, it is more important than ever to remind
the public about the lessons and logic he had to offer. Revisiting
Hayek's work informs us of how the dramatic actions being taken by the
current administration will lead us down a road that ultimately ends in
the destruction of this democracy along with the freedoms and liberties
we take for granted.
Austrian economist, philosopher and intellectual considered to be one
of the most important economists and political philosophers of the
twentieth century. He shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics for his
pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations.2
Hayek's work has influenced world leaders for decades. However, at this
present time in our history, it is more important than ever to remind
the public about the lessons and logic he had to offer. Revisiting
Hayek's work informs us of how the dramatic actions being taken by the
current administration will lead us down a road that ultimately ends in
the destruction of this democracy along with the freedoms and liberties
we take for granted.
Hayek's central thesis in his sentinel work, The Road to Serfdom, is that through the inevitable mismanagement of resources and goods at the disposal of the state, all forms of collectivism
lead eventually to tyranny. Hayek used the Soviet Union and Nazi
Germany as examples of countries that had progressed through the phases
of collectivist governments and reached the point of tyranny. Hayek
argued that disagreement regarding the practical implementation of any
economic plan combined with the inadequacy of the planners' resource
management would necessitate coercion in order for anything to be
achieved. According to Hayek, the failure of central planning would be
perceived by some in the public as an absence of sufficient
power by the state to implement an otherwise good idea. This would lead
the public to vote more power to the state, assisting in the rise of a
"strong man" perceived to be capable of getting the job done. Following
these developments, a country will be driven into outright
totalitarianism. For Hayek, this journey, inadvertently set upon by central planning, ends in the destruction of all individual economic and personal freedoms.3 MORE>>>>>>>>>>>
lead eventually to tyranny. Hayek used the Soviet Union and Nazi
Germany as examples of countries that had progressed through the phases
of collectivist governments and reached the point of tyranny. Hayek
argued that disagreement regarding the practical implementation of any
economic plan combined with the inadequacy of the planners' resource
management would necessitate coercion in order for anything to be
achieved. According to Hayek, the failure of central planning would be
perceived by some in the public as an absence of sufficient
power by the state to implement an otherwise good idea. This would lead
the public to vote more power to the state, assisting in the rise of a
"strong man" perceived to be capable of getting the job done. Following
these developments, a country will be driven into outright
totalitarianism. For Hayek, this journey, inadvertently set upon by central planning, ends in the destruction of all individual economic and personal freedoms.3 MORE>>>>>>>>>>>