Is there any update? This was written in 1944.
Thanks, I've ordered it in any case, it looks like a necessary read. This review I found compelling:
This classic by one of the 20th century's leading libertarian thinkers has established itself beside the works of Orwell and others as a timeless meditation on the relationship between human freedom and government authority. Hayek argues that empowering government with increasing economic control leads not to utopia but to horrors such those seen in Nazi Germany.
Frankly, what I'd love to see is a scholarly exploration of the issue of government sponsorship of open and free flow of information, and the impact on society and the economy. IMO that will change things by an order of magnitude. Forget about crude cash payments or tax programs to influence social policy: information is the most powerful fuel, especially in the era of a national (ok, global) information system easily accessed by 60% of the population.
That's a quantum leap, better than extracting cash penalties from various groups that aren't agile enought to get out of the way, simply to pour through the dirty sieve of a national bureaucracy hoping a few dribs and drabs will irrigate worthy causes. Current policies spur everyone to create cynical ways to find loopholes, what a waste of productivity.
We've passed the point of sustainable economic support and have an incredibly rich information infrastructure, by reining in government's transfer payments and concentrating on the real wealth, knowledge, the economy will accelerate beyond any current paradigm. |
