The Intellectual Context of F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom

The Journal of Private Enterprise, vol. 32, no. 1 (2017): 29-44.

16 Pages Posted: 20 Nov 2014 Last revised: 21 Apr 2018

See all articles by Peter J. Boettke

Peter J. Boettke

George Mason University - Department of Economics; Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Rosolino Candela

George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: March 1, 2016

Abstract

Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom is often read as a policy book and a political tract for its time. It is also often read as little more than a “slippery slope” argument, leading inevitably down a road from a free society to the gulag. In this paper, we counter the claim that The Road to Serfdom provides a slippery slope argument and explain that, while it was often read and used as a political tract for its time, Hayek's book is part of a broader project dealing with the institutional infrastructure within which economic activity takes place.

Keywords: Hayek, Road to Serdom, political economy of socialism

JEL Classification: B2, B3, B53, P51

Suggested Citation

Boettke, Peter J. and Boettke, Peter J. and Candela, Rosolino, The Intellectual Context of F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom (March 1, 2016). The Journal of Private Enterprise, vol. 32, no. 1 (2017): 29-44., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2527471 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2527471

Peter J. Boettke (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Mercatus Center at George Mason University ( email )

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Rosolino Candela

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

3434 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

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