Transcription of F. A. Hayek - IU
1 ~\Lf():I~~LondonandNewYork( <IS 5 \Firstpublished1944byGeorgeRoutledge&Son sFirstpublishedinRoutledgeClassics2001by Routledge2 ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OX144RN27 0 MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016 Reprinted2001,2002,2003,2004,2006 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylorCJ(Franci sGroup,aninformabusiness ,Bungay,SuffolkPrintedandboundinGreatBri tainbyTJInternationalLtd,Padstow, ,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorherea fterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrec ording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrie valsystem, cataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefro mtheBritishLibraryISBN10:0-415-25543-0(h bk)ISBN10:0-415-25389-6(pbk)ISBN13:978-0 -415-25543-1(hbk)ISBN13:978-0-415-25389- 5(pbk)CONTENTSPREFACEviiIntroduction1 TheAbandonedRoad102 TheGreatUtopia243 IndividualismandCollectivism334 The"Inevitability"ofPlanning455 PlanningandDemocracy596 PlanningandtheRuleofLaw757 EconomicControlandTotalitarianism918 Who,Whom?1 ,butquiteopenlybeganasa reactionagainsttheliberalismoftheFrenchR evolution, "terminatetherevolution"bya deliberatereorganisationofTHEGREATUTOPIA 25societyonhierarchicallines,andtheimpos itionofa coercive"spiritualpower".))
2 Wherefreedomwasconcerned, ,andthefirstofmodernplanners,Saint-Simon ,evenpre-dictedthatthosewhodidnotobeyhis proposedplanningboardswouldbe"treatedasc attle". "demo-craticsocialism"a :Democracyextendsthesphereofindividualfr eedom[hesaidin1848], ;socialismmakeseachmana mereagent, :whiledemocracyseeksequalityinliberty,so cialismseeksequalityinrestraintandservit ude.'Toallaythesesuspicionsandtoharnesst oitscartthestrongestofallpoliticalmotive s,thecravingforfreedom,socialismbeganinc reasinglytomakeuseofthepromiseofa"newfre edom". "economicfreedom",withoutwhichthepolitic alfreedomalreadygainedwas"notworthhaving ".OnlysocialismwascapableofeffectingI"Di scoursprononceaI'assembleeconstituanteIe 12 Septembre1848surIaquestiondudroitautrava il."CEuvrescompletesd'AlexisdeTocquevi11 ~ ,1866, ,freedomfromthearbi-trarypowerofothermen ,releasefromthetieswhichlefttheindividua lnochoicebutobediencetotheordersofa ,however,wastobefreedomfromnecessity,rel easefromthecompulsionofthecircumstancesw hichinevitablylimittherangeofchoiceofall ofus, ,the"despotismofphysicalwant"hadtobebrok en,the"restraintsoftheeconomicsystem" ,ofcourse,merelyanothernameforpower!
3 ,althoughthepromisesofthisnewfree-domwer eoftencoupledwithirresponsiblepromisesof a greatincreaseinmaterialwealthina socialistsociety,it ,whichweshallmeetagainandagainthroughout thisdiscussion,istoobiga ,itissocloselyalliedwithitthatalmostseve ntyyearsagoa Frenchscholar,discussingitsSaint-Simonia norigins,wasledtosaythatthistheoryoflibe rty"estaelleseuletoutIesocial-isme"CPoJa net,Saint-SimonetIeSaint-Simonisme,1878, ,note).Themostexplicitdefenderofthisconf usionis,significantly,theleadingphilosop herofAmericanleft-wingism,JohnDewey,acco rdingtowhom"libertyistheeffect-ivepowert odospecificthings"sothat"thedemandforlib ertyisdemandforpower"("LibertyandSocialC ontrol",TheSocialFrontier,November19 35, ). differentsensebythetwogroups, ,forblindingthemtotheconflictwhichexists betweenthebasicprinciplesofsocialismandl iberalism, :thereforeitisnotsurprisingthattothemthe ideashouldappearinconceivableofsocialism leadingtotheoppositeofliberty.
4 **Inrecentyears,however, ,inspiteofthecontraryexpectationwithwhic hheapproachedhissubject,hasbeenimpressed withtheextraordin-arysimilarityinmanyres pectsoftheconditionsunder"fas-cism"and"c ommunism".While"progressives"inthiscount ryandelsewherewerestilldeludingthemselve sthatcommunismandfascismrepresentedoppos itepoles, ,Lenin'soldfriend,whofoundhimselfcompell edtoadmitthat"insteadofbeingbetter,Stali nismisworsethanfascism,moreruthless,barb arous,unjust,immoral,anti-democratic,unr edeemedbyanyhopeorscruple",andthatitis"b etterdescribedassuperfascist";andwhenwef indthesameauthorrecognisingthat"Stalinis missocialism,inthesenseofbeinganinevitab lealthoughunforeseenpoliticalaccompani-m entofthenationalisationandcollectivisati onwhichhehadrelieduponaspartofhisplanfor erectinga classlesssociety", 'scaseis perhapsthemostremarkable, ,whointwelveyearsinRussiaasanAmer-icanco rrespondenthadseenallhisidealsshattered, summeduptheconclusionsofhisstudiestherea ndinGermanyandItalyinthestatementthat"So cialismiscertaintoprove,inthebegin-ninga tleast,theroadNOTtofreedom,buttodictator shipandcounter-dictatorships, meansseemsdefinitelytobelongtotheworldof utopias.
5 "2 Similarlya Britishwriter, ,aftermanyyearsofcloseobservationofdevel op-mentsinEuropeasa foreigncorrespondent,concludesthat"Marxi smhasledtoFascismandNational- socialism ,b ecause,inallessentials,itisFascismandNat ionalSocialism". ,Stalin'sRussiaandtheCrisisofSocialism,1 940, ,AFalseUtopia,1937, ,UntoCcesar,1939, moreabundantlife,theymustin practicerenounceit;astheorganiseddirecti onincreases, positiontojudgemightbeselectedfrompublic ationsofrecentyears, [ ]hasforcedRussiatotravelthesameroadtowar dsatotalitarian,purelynegative, thestagereachedaftercommunismhasprovedan illusion, ,November1936, ,1939, (himselfanex-MarxistFascist),Sozialismus undFaszismus,Munich1925, , ,and3 ,fromMussolinidownwards(andnotexcludingL avalandQuisling), youngcommunistcouldbeconvertedintoa NaziorviceversawasgenerallyknowninGerman y, Universityteacherinthiscountryduringthe1 930shasseenEnglishandAmericanstudentsret urnfromtheContinent,uncertainwhetherthey werecommunistsorNazisandcertainonly ,ofcourse, ,therealenemy,themanwithwhomtheyhadnothi ngincommonandwhomtheycouldnothopetoconvi nce,is ,andtothecommunisttheNazi,andtoboththeso cialist,arepotentialrecruitswhoaremadeof therighttimber,althoughtheyhavelistenedt ofalseprophets, officialpropagandafromeitherside, "TheRediscoveryofLiberalism",ProfessorEd uardHeimann,oneoftheleadersofGermanrelig ioussocialism,writes.
6 Hitlerismproclaimsitselfasbothtruedemocr acyandtruesocialism,andtheterribletruthi sthatthereis a grainoftruthforsuchclaims-aninfinitesima lgrain,tobesure,butatanyTHEGREATUTOPIA31 rateenoughtoserveasa , 'Itshouldbeaddedthatthishatredhadlittleo ccasiontoshowitselfinpracticemerelybecau se,bythetimeHitlercametopower, wassocialismthathadkilledit.**Whiletoman ywhohavewatchedthetransitionfromsocialis mtofascismatclosequarterstheconnectionbe tweenthetwosystemshasbecomeincreasinglyo bvious, , ,soeasilydothemostirreconcilableidealsst illlivetogether,thatwecanstillhearsuchco ntradictionsintermsas"individualistsocia lism" ,noth-ingcanbemoreurgentthanthatweshould seriouslyexaminetherealsignificanceofthe evolutionthathastakenplaceISocialResearc h(NewYork), , , ,whatevermayhavebeenhisreasons,Hitlertho ughtit expedienttodeclareinoneofhispublicspeech esaslateasFebruary1941that"basicallyNati onalSocialismandMarxismarethesame"(CfThe BulletinofInternationalNewspublishedbyth eRoyalInstituteofInternationalAffairs, , , )
7 ,thereasonswhythisdevelopmentcannotbereg ardedasaccidentalwillnotappearwithouta ,thegreatutopiaofthelastfewgenerations,i snotonlyunachievable,butthattostrivefori t producessomethingsoutterlydifferentthatf ewofthosewhonowwishitwouldbepreparedtoac cepttheconsequences, ,wouldnotonlyloadhimselfwitha mostunnecessaryattention,butassumeanauth oritywhichcouldsafelybetrustedtonocounci landsenatewhatever,andwhichwouldnowhereb esodangerousasinthehandsofa ,ina phraseeverdeartosocialistsofallschools, "con-scious"directiontowardsa singleaim,thatitsactivitiesareguidedbyth ewhimsandfanciesofirresponsibleindividua ls, A DTOS E R , communism ,fascism,etc., , , "socialgoal",or"commonpurpose",forwhichs ocietyistobeorganised,is usuallyvaguelydescribedasthe"commongood" ,orthe"generalwelfare",orthe"generalinte rest".Itdoesnotneedmuchreflectiontoseeth atthesetermshavenosuffiCientlydefiniteme aningtodeterminea ,likethehappinessofa man,dependsona singleend,butonlyasa hierarchyofends,a singleplanpresupposesthateveryoneofourne edsisgivenitsrankinanorderofvalueswhichm ustbecompleteenoughtomakeit ,inshort,theexistenceofa completeethicalcodeisunfamiliaranditrequ iressomeeffortofimaginationtoseewhatit socialcodeprescribinghowweoughttochoose, doesnotsurpriseus, ,andaretobeusedinthenameofsocietyaccordi ngtoa unitaryplan,a "social" maymerelybepointedoutthatuptothepresentt hegrowthofcivilisationhasbeenaccompanied bya activities,whowaslimitedbyinnumerabletab oos,andwhocouldscarcelyconceiveofdoingth ingsinawaydifferentfromhisfellows, unitaryeconomicplanwouldmeana singleplanwouldraiseinnumerablequestions towhichtheanswercouldbeprovidedonlybya moralrule.
8 Becauseinthefreesocietyinwhichwehavelive dtherehasbeenno62 THEROADTOSERFDOM occasiontothinkaboutthemandstilllesstofo rmcommonopinionsaboutthem.**Notonlydowen otpossesssuchanall-inclusivescaleofvalue s:itwouldbeimpossibleforanymindtocompreh endtheinfin-itevarietyofdifferentneedsof differentpeoplewhichcompetefortheavailab leresourcesandtoattacha ,orwhethertheyincludetheneedsofhiscloser oreventhoseofhismoredistantfellows-thati s, isimpossibleforanymantosurveymorethana limitedfield,tobeawareoftheurgencyofmore thana ,orwhetherhetakesawarminterestinthewelfa reofeveryhumanbeingheknows, doesnotassume,asis oftenasserted,thatmanisegoisticorselfish , impossibletoincludeinourscaleofvaluesmor ethana sectoroftheneedsofthewholesociety,andtha t,since,strictlyspeaking,scalesofvalueca nexistonlyinindi-vidualminds,nothingbutp artialscalesofvaluesexist, ,withindefinedlimits,tofollowtheirownval uesandpreferencesratherthansomebodyelse' s,thatwithinthesespherestheindividual' isthisrecognitionoftheindividualastheult imatejudgeofhisends,thebeliefthatasfaras possiblehisownviewsoughttogovernhisactio ns, ,ofcourse.
9 Excludetherecognitionofsocialends,orrath erofa coincidenceofindividualendswhichmakesit instanceswhereindividualviewscoincide;wh atarecalled"socialends"areforit , ,peoplearemostlikelytoagreeoncommonactio nwherethecommonendisnotanultimateendtoth em,buta meanscapableofservinga jointefforttorealiseendstheyhaveincommon ,theorganisations,likethestate,thattheyf ormforthispurpose, thusformedremainsone"person"amongothers, inthecaseofthestatemuchmorepowerfulthana nyoftheothers,itistrue, ; ;therewillbeothersonwhichtherewillbeagre ementofa substantialmajority;andsoon,tillwecometo fieldswhere,althougheachindividual64 THEROADTOSERFDOM mightwishthestatetoactinsomeway, ,inwhichthestatecontrolsallthemeans,exce edsa certainpropor-tionofthewhole, ,theeffectsofitsdecisionsontheremainingp artoftheeconomicsystembecomesogreatthati ndirectlyitcontrols ,aswas,forexample,trueinGermanyasearlyas 1928,thecentralandlocalauthoritiesdirect lycontroltheuseofmorethanhalfthenational income(accordingtoanofficialGermanestima tethen,S3percent.)
10 ,then,scarcelyanindividualendwhichisnotd ependentforitsachievementontheactionofth estate,andthe"socialscaleofvalues"whichg uidesthestate'sactionmustembracepractica llyallindividualends.**Itisnotdifficultt oseewhatmustbetheconsequenceswhendemocra cyembarksupona systemofdirectedecon-omybecausetheyhaveb eenconvincedthatit ,thegoalofplanningwillhavebeendescribedb ysomesuchtermas"com-monwelfare" is a mechanismwhichcanbeusedonlyforacommonend ;andthequestionoftheprecisegoaltowardswh ichallactivityistobedirectedwillariseass oonastheexecutivepowerhastotranslatethed emandfora singleplanintoa ,withoutagreeingontheends,willberatheras ifa groupofpeopleweretocommitthemselvestotak ea situationinwhichit isnecessaryforustoagreeonamuchlargernumb eroftopicsthanwehavebeenusedto,andthatin a plannedsystemwecannotconfinecollectiveac tiontothetasksonwhichwecanagree,butarefo rcedtoproduceagreementoneverythinginorde rthatanyactioncanbetakenatall,isoneofthe featureswhichcontributemorethanmosttodet erminingthecharacterofa comprehensiveeco-nomicplan, "talkingshops", ,thedirectionmustbe"takenoutofpolitics"a ndplacedinthehandsofexperts, willsoonbehalfacenturysincetheWebbsbegan tocomplainof"theincreased66 THEROADTOSERFDOM incapacityoftheHouseofCommonstocopewithi tswork".
