The Road to Serfdom - Get Book Free at Amazon
The Road to Serfdom is a book written by Friedrich von Hayek (recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974) which transformed the landscape of political thought in the 20th century, shifting the terms of debate for millions of people across the political spectrum. The Road to Serfdom is among the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism and libertarianism.
The title refers to economic and political policies which the author believes to invariably lead to the socio-economic condition known as "serfdom."
The book was originally published by Routledge Press in March 1944 in the UK and then by the University of Chicago Press in September 1944. A condensed version of the book written by Max Eastman was then published as the lead article in the April issue of Reader's Digest, with a press run of several million copies. This condensed version was then offered as a Book of the Month selection with a press run of over 600,000 copies. In February 1945 a picture-book version was published in Look magazine, later made into a pamphlet and distributed by General Motors. The book has been translated into approximately 20 languages and is dedicated to "The socialists of all parties." The introduction to the 50th anniversary edition is written by Milton Friedman (another recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics 1976). In 2007, the University of Chicago Press put out a "Definitive Edition." In total the book has sold over two million copies.
John Maynard Keynes read The Road to Serfdom and said of it: "In my opinion it is a grand book...Morally and philosophically I find myself in agreement with virtually the whole of it: and not only in agreement with it, but in deeply moved agreement." Having said that, Keynes did not think Hayek's philosophy was of practical use; this was explained later in the same letter, through the following comment: "What we need therefore, in my opinion, is not a change in our economic programmes, which would only lead in practice to disillusion with the results of your philosophy; but perhaps even the contrary, namely, an enlargement of them. Your greatest danger is the probable practical failure of the application of your philosophy in the United States."
