The Constitution of Liberty
by F. A. Hayek
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Book Summary Information
Author: F. A. HayekEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1978-10-15
ISBN: 0226320847
Number of pages: 580
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Book Reviews of The Constitution of Liberty
Book Review: Why liberty and freedom trump socialism and paternalism
Summary: 5 Stars
By ANDREW CLINE
RALEIGH, N.C.
? F.A. Hayek, The Constitution of LIberty: University of Chicago Press, $19.95, 568 pages.
Freedom is the rallying cry for everyone and every
thing these days, from brain-glazed generation X-
ers whining about society's social impermissiveness to authoritarian-minded socialists babbling that freedom for the masses can be achieved only by shackling the wealthy.
Immediately apparent in most people1s invocations of "freedom," is that the people using that word have only the foggiest notion of what it means, much less why it is important. They confuse liberty with liberties, the provision of benefits with the freedom from coercion, and the rule of law with the rule of the majority.
Alas, these democratic difficulties are not new. The authoritarian and socialist trends they caused inspired the Austrian immigrant and economics professor F.A. Hayek to pen what is now regarded as a classic distillation of liberal thought, The Constitution of Liberty, written in the late 1950s and published by Hayek's employer, the University of Chicago, in 1960.
By "liberal," of course, I mean classical liberal. The term that the Whigs of 17th and 19th Century England, that Tocqueville and Madison, used to describe themselves. That the once most singular compliment a man could give to another man in describing his political thought has now been appropriated by the rationalist progressives is a misfortune that has plagued true liberals for the past 100 years now.
It has plagued liberals not only in the sense that it has denied them the historical and intellectual legitimacy they so rightly deserve, but it has made the defense of those great political ideas and the defeat of their opposite nearly impossible.
Hayek knew this was the case, and The Constitution of Liberty was to be the M-1 rifle of the liberal army, a versatile and effective offensive and defensive weapon useful in almost any situation. Though not even many liberal troops may realize it, The Constitution of Liberty has worked as intended.
The book is at first striking in its eloquence. Most native English speakers could take lessons in lucid self-expression from this Austrian. After adjusting to the pleasant rhythms of Hayek's thought, the reader's sensibilities are struck a again, this time because of the familiarity of the words.
Immediately apparent is that the many phrasings and insights that seem familiar are those that have been echoed for the past few years by the leaders of modern conservatism, or liberalism as Hayek would call it. Hayek's words can be heard emanating from the throats of Newt Gingrich, Margaret Thatcher, and even former Soviet leaders. All over the world, the ideas that are driving young conservative politicians and intellectuals to reform the modern state are ideas taken directly from Hayek.
"If old truths are to retain their hold on men1s minds, they must be restated in the language and concepts of successive generations," Hayek wrote in the introduction to The Constitution of Liberty. Any brief perusal of the terms and concepts used by today's new conservatives will show that Hayek achieved his goal. For these men and women are not only using the words and phrases of Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville or Locke; they are using the very words that Hayek put on paper nearly 40 years ago. In fact, Thatcher noted in her autobiography that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian reformers confided to her that they had been converted to capitalism after reading Hayek.
The Constitution of Liberty begins with Hayek's explanation of why freedom is valuable. "Individual initiative" is, writes Hayek, "the necessary condition for a free evolution," and 3without that spirit, no viable civilization can grow anywhere.
"[T]he case for individual freedom rests chiefly on the recognition of the inevitable ignorance of all of us concerning a great many of the factors on which the achievement of our ends and welfare depends."
As a result, any attempt by authority to preserve current conditions or base progress on what is known to the individual expert will result in less progress. Because the progress of civilization is caused by the exchanges and experimentation that is only possible under free conditions, those conditions must be preserved.
After establishing this principle of government, Hayek explains why the rule of law, rather than arbitrary control of authority, is also a necessary condition of human progress because it provides the framework necessary for individual achievement.
His next section is a must read for all students of political theory because he demonstrates clearly and persuasively why opposition to the welfare state is the only principled position to take concerning that behemoth. An explanation of this section would be too complicated for a short review, but suffice it to say that Hayek's explanation is good enough make even the most die-hard welfare-state advocate reconsider his position.
Hayek concludes with an essay titled, "Why I am not a conservative," that should be read by all Americans, especially reporters. In it, Hayek explains the difference between conservative and liberal in their traditional definitions. Conservative, he notes means one who preserves the status quo, and that is exactly the opposite of his intention.
This book is such a complete and eloquent defense of political liberty that if the republic were ever to crumble to the point that Congress required a citizenship test for voters, The Constitution of Liberty would be the only non-founding document that need be read to spark the restoration of liberal democracy.
Andrew Cline is director of publications for the John Locke Foundation, a nonprofit think tank in Raleigh, N.C.
Summary of The Constitution of Liberty
"One of the great political works of our time, . . . the twentieth-century successor to John Stuart Mill's essay, 'On Liberty.'"--Henry Hazlitt, Newsweek
"A reflective, often biting, commentary on the nature of our society and its dominant thought by one who is passionately opposed to the coercion of human beings by the arbitrary will of others, who puts liberty above welfare and is sanguine that greater welfare will thereby ensue."--Sidney Hook, New York Times Book Review
In this classic work Hayek restates the ideals of freedom that he believes have guided, and must continue to guide, the growth of Western civilization. Hayek's book, first published in 1960, urges us to clarify our beliefs in today's struggle of political ideologies.
"A reflective, often biting, commentary on the nature of our society and its dominant thought by one who is passionately opposed to the coercion of human beings by the arbitrary will of others, who puts liberty above welfare and is sanguine that greater welfare will thereby ensue."--Sidney Hook, New York Times Book Review
In this classic work Hayek restates the ideals of freedom that he believes have guided, and must continue to guide, the growth of Western civilization. Hayek's book, first published in 1960, urges us to clarify our beliefs in today's struggle of political ideologies.
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