[ExI] Hayek

[BillK]

On Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 8:02 PM, William Flynn Wallace  wrote:
> I was challenged to read a book by Hayek and show where he was wrong, and so
> I read The Road to Serfdom (well, until I got the ideas).
>
> Hayek outlined two forms of socialism:  those with central planning and
> those without (which I will refer to as social services governments).
>
> For both of these he predicted an eventual decline into totalitarianism, and
> certainly those governments with central planning have all failed and
> became, or were from the beginning, dictatorships, unless I am mistaken.
> You know them all.
>
> However, he seems to be wrong about the social services governments, like
> Sweden.  Hayek did say that it would take longer:  "In the latter type of
> socialism the effects I discuss in this book are brought about more slowly
> indirectly, and imperfectly.  I believe that the ultimate outcome tends to
> be very much the same, although the process by which it is brought about is
> not quite the same as that described in this book."  (from the preface page
> XX of the 1976 edition)
>
> I did not find the processes that he referred to in this book that he said
> affect the social services types.
>
> There are several social services types, like Sweden, that have not failed,
> have not drifted into totalitarianism by anyone's measure.
> These governments have their troubles, as do we, with increasing free riders
> and accumulating debt, but dictators they and we have none.
>
> Thus Hayek is wrong - so far.
>
>

Very gentle criticism!
For a really good rant, try -
<http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/06/bill-black-hayek-helped-worst-get-top-economics-ceos.html>

:)  BillK