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“The End of Truth”:
In my opinion, Hayek’s most impactful statement in this article is that “collectivism means the end of truth.” Hayek makes a point that a socialist system cannot function without the consistent use of propaganda and other truth-bending tactics. He goes on to explain one such tactic by saying that “the most effective way of making people accept the validity of the values they are to serve is to persuade them that they are really the same as those they have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before.” I strongly believe that this phenomenon takes place in today’s society, specifically in mainstream media. If a regime is able to change the perspective of the general public without being caught, then the public will be more complacent with the regime’s initiatives. This in turn allows for the actions of those who oppose a socialist regime to be shifted into supportive actions. For example, Hayek writes, “The supreme tragedy is still not seen that in Germany it was largely people of good will who, by their socialist policies, prepared the way for the forces which stand for everything they detest.” Hayek maintains that anyone involved in a socialist or totalitarian state “must be prepared to break every moral rule he has ever known.” To summarize, Hayek firmly believes that totalitarianism cannot reign without the reign of truth being brought to an end.
Maintaining Individual Freedoms:
Hayek argues that when the government controls economic activity, individual freedom is inevitably lost. For example, he writes that “individual freedom cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole of society is permanently subordinated.” If people are supposed to function under a centralized and controlling government, they are not able to function with individual freedom. In order to maintain individual freedom, Hayek urges people to fight the temptation to sacrifice their individual freedoms in the name of the fictional greater good put out by those in power.
The Concentration of Power:
One of Hayek’s main points in “The Road to Serfdom” is that socialism can lead to tyranny and oppression in society despite any good intentions that policymakers might have. He argues that it is simply in socialism’s nature that it leads to the concentration of power. This concentration of power is what inevitably leads to tyranny and oppression. Hayek strongly disagrees with any advocates of socialism who believe that a socialist system and centralized power will be beneficial to individual freedom. In fact, he thinks that “by concentrating power so that it can be used in the service of a single plan, [power] is not merely transformed, but infinitely heightened.” To expand more, Hayek writes that those who wish to create a socialist state “must create power – power over men wielded by other men – of a magnitude never before known.” As a quick note, this statement reminded me of a more interpersonal version of Frédéric Bastiat’s definition of plunder. Hayek goes on to say that a “competitive system is the only system designed to minimize the power exercised by man over man.” This reminds me of Dr. Trost’s arguments for a Universal Basic Income because competition and liberty in society allows for people to move and change freely. Hayek also argues that centralized power leads to inefficiencies, as the government cannot possibly know all the information necessary to make effective decisions. Instead, Hayek believes that only a decentralized system of individual decision-making, facilitated by the price system, can provide the information necessary for effective allocation of resources. Another negative of centralized power Hayek points out is that a centralized government simply cannot be impartial. According to Hayek, once government power is centralized, “the state ceases to be a piece of utilitarian machinery intended to help individuals in the fullest development of their individual personality.” Instead, it “becomes an institution which deliberately discriminates between particular needs of different people.” In other words, if power and decision-making is centralized, then decisions must be made that require specific people groups to be favored.
Keep a Watchful Eye:
In conclusion, we must be on the watch for any potential warning signs of a totalitarian regime coming to power in the United States and around the world. In the United States, we need to be aware of the level of power that large companies command over their respective employees and sectors. Even if we consider companies to be ran by groups of private individuals, power can still be centralized and given to a group of private individuals. Around the world, many governments adopted heavily authoritarian approaches to solving issues surrounding the pandemic and associated crises. While the intentions behind adopting those approaches may be in good will, we cannot let that cover up any attempts for totalitarianism to take hold.
