 Cover of the first UK edition | |
| Author | Friedrich Hayek |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Political science, economics |
| Published |
|
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 266 |
| ISBN | 0-226-32061-8 |
| OCLC | 30733740 |
| 338.9 20 | |
| LC Class | HD82 .H38 1994 |
The Road to Serfdom is a book by the Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek. In the book, Hayek "[warns] of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning."[1] He further argues 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. Hayek challenged the view, popular among British Marxists, that fascism (including Nazism) was a capitalist reaction against socialism. He argued that fascism, Nazism, and state-socialism had common roots in central economic planning and empowering the state over the individual.
Since its publication in 1944, The Road to Serfdom has been popular among liberal (especially classical liberal) and conservative thinkers.[2] It has been translated into more than 20 languages and sold over two million copies (as of 2010).[3][4][5] The book was first published in Britain by Routledge in March 1944, during World War II, and was quite popular, leading Hayek to call it "that unobtainable book", also due in part to wartime paper rationing.[6] It was published in the United States by the University of Chicago Press in September 1944 and achieved great popularity. At the arrangement of editor Max Eastman, the American magazine Reader's Digest published an abridged version in April 1945, enabling The Road to Serfdom to reach a wider non-academic audience.
The Road to Serfdom was to be the popular edition of the second volume of Hayek's treatise entitled "The Abuse and Decline of Reason",[7] and the title was inspired by the writings of the 19th century French classical liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville on the "road to servitude".[8] Initially written as a response to the report written by William Beveridge, the Liberal politician and dean of the London School of Economics where Hayek worked at the time, the book made a significant impact on 20th-century political discourse, especially American conservative and libertarian economic and political debate.
- ^ Ebeling, Richard M. (May 1999). "Friedrich A. Hayek: A Centenary Appreciation". The Freeman. 49 (5). Archived from the original on 15 April 2013.
- ^ "How Covid paved the Road to Serfdom". thecritic.co.uk. 12 January 2021.
- ^ The Road to Serfdom. The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek. University of Chicago Press. 1944.
- ^ Paul Ormerod (16 December 2006). "The fading of Friedman". Prospect. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ "Bestsellers in Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
On 9 June 2010, the book became the #1 book sold at Amazon.com, achieving best seller status.
- ^ Ebenstein 2003:128
- ^ Ebenstein 2003:107
- ^ Friedrich Hayek: A Biography. University of Chicago Press. 2003. p. 116. ISBN 9780226181509.