Road to Serfdom, The

I found this book to good, but also a bit underwhelming considering how highly regarded it is among libertarians and conservatives.  I would recommend that others read it, but only after they've read the more important works out there.

Hayek holds nothing back in his critique of central planned economies. His prose is that of a passionate defender of liberty who sees no justification for central planning. Still very relevant today.

This book was amazingly great. It is somewhat of a slow read, but once in it i couldn't put it down. The only thing I don't really I guess like in the book is his excessive love of democracy.  I understand why he promotes it, because he is a liberal and he also constantly promotes a liberal state. The parts where he did promote those things i found myself going through slowly. So a definite read, but anarchists beware this is not a document against the state just state planning in the economy. 

A vital instrument of any totalitarian regime is the thought police. Hayek understood this very well and the logical consequences of that understanding has been clearly expressed in this book. That alone makes this book a worthy read.

Hayek falls short of the Misesian ideal however, and this book shows it. Hayek's argument stems from the false premise that central planning fails due to impossibility in centralization of thought, not impossibility in centralization of resource distribution as was later realized.

You can check out for the cartoon form of this book on YouTube.

Definite Classic

I’m an armchair economist, with a minor in Econ from college. Recently, I’ve decided to restart working on my knowledge of economics, instantly drawn to the Austrian school. This was mostly due to a talk at University Of West Indies in Trinidad about Sir Arthur Lewis (pretty much opposite of Austrian school).  So energized, that I started my pathway to my own masters in Economics, this book was a must read aside Keynes and Smith (3 books purchased as of yet still reading just this one).  What I thought would be a quick read, has instead me savoring every chapter, my favorite is “Why the worst get on top.” 

Each sentence that Hayek writes would be a paragraph or chapter in other’s books. It’s a power mix of poetry, history, facts, observations, and conclusions.  My Father and I have had conversations about the items in his book for years previous to reading it, however, I believe that Dad has never formally read the book.  Nonetheless, Dads and Hayek’s agreement is a powerful endorsement for reading the “Road to Serfdom”. 

Caldlwell does a good job of footnotes and explanations for the more nescience readers like myself, nonetheless found myself using Internet search to look up terms, words, and historical references.  I love aphorisms and Caldwell’s introduction that they might have not been in the original reading if not due to the absolute defiant response of Hayek made these snippets all the more enjoyable.

It’s a short book, enthralling and delectable like a good steak, I read it slowing, digesting each paragraph like juicy morsel.  I find myself quoting passages regularly.  In these times of single party rule (blurring of quote “right” and “left”) this book is an unapologetic conviction of collectivism, government coercion for good, or socialist policies that current US leaders seem to be hell-bent on continued pursuit.  

“Road to Serfdom” is a truly provocative and crucial reading assignment, given the current historical parallels to the time that Hayek wrote this book.  

A must read.