Libertarianism
government.
The libertarian or “classical
liberal” perspective is that peace,
prosperity, and social harmony
are fostered by “as much liberty
as possible” and “as little
government as necessary.”
- Movement toward less
government
Some Key Concept of Libertarianism
-Individualism - Only individuals
make choices and are responsible for
their actions. Libertarian thought
emphasizes the dignity of each
individual, which entails both rights
and responsibility.
-Individual Rights – The life, liberty
and property are not granted by the
government; they are inherent in the
nature of human beings.
-Spontaneous Order- A great degree
of order in society is necessary for
individuals to survive and flourish.
-The Rule of Law - libertarianism
proposes a society of liberty under
law, in which individuals are free to
pursue their own lives so long as they
respect the equal rights of others.
-Limited Government - want to
divide and limit power, generally
through a written constitution
enumerating and limiting the powers
that the people delegate to
-Free Markets- To survive and to
flourish, individuals need to engage in
economic activity.
-Peace - They understood that war
brought death and destruction on
economic life and disrupted family
.
Friedrich August von Hayek
(1899-1992)
- The foremost philosopher of
libertarianism during the
twentieth century.
- Born in the pre-World War I
Austro-Hungarian Empire
- Economist
- Receive a Nobel Prize in
Economics.
The Road to Serfdom
(1944)
-Hayek most well-known book
-The title was inspired by the
writings of the 19th century
French classical liberal thinker
Alexis de Tocqueville
-The objective of this book is to
provide good argument to counter
communist trend and Hayek seeks
to convince everyone the merits
of liberal ideas.
- Hayek book argues that the road
to serfdom is through central
government planning or
managing the economy

First three Chapters:
The abandoned road - The present
state of the world may be the result of
a genuine error on our apart and that
some of our ideals produced results
different from those we expected.
-People are not aware that they were
losing their basic freedoms when
they embraced the ideals of various
totalitarian philosophies even though
they had been warned by great
philosophers about the evil of
socialism.
- Socialism is an entire abandonment
of the individualist tradition.
(Individualism – respect for
individual man and recognition of his
own views and taste as supreme in
his own sphere)
-The abandonment of individualism
and classical liberalism leads to a loss
of freedom, the creation of an
oppressive society, tyranny of
dictator and the serfdom of
individual.
The Great Utopia – Socialism
promise of new freedom has become
one of the most effective weapons of
socialist propaganda.
Democracy and Socialism in there
means of assuring equality.
Democracy- seeks Socialism- seeks
equality in liberty equality in
restraint and
servitude
Socialism promises greater freedom
than liberalism.
Liberalism- Socialism- freedom
freedom has always means freedom from
meant freedom necessity, release
from coercive from the compulsion
powers of other of circumstances
men and the which inevitably limit
government the rage of choices of
all of us.
Individual and Collectivism – Hayek
describes the concept of socialism as
a confusion that society has. It may
mean often as the ideals of social
justice, greater equality and security.
But it also means the abolition of
privatization and the creation of
“planned economy”
Planned Economy- entrepreneur
working for profit is replaced by a
central planning body.
The Constitution of Liberty
(1960)
• The core argument that runs
throughout The Constitution of
Liberty concerns freedom and its
value to the individual, to society and
to civilization at large. Without
freedom progress in these areas
would be impossible.
• Freedom requires that the coercion
of some by others in society be
reduced as much as possible. The
government’s power must be
constrained by a general rules that
apply equally to all individuals.
• Freedom and responsibility cannot
be separated. Responsibility means
that each individual must bear the
consequences of his actions.
• Social order develops through
spontaneous growth as well as
through some measure of deliberate
construction
• Hayek regards democracy as the
best practicable form of government,
so long as a majority of the
community is committed to
individual liberty, the Rule of Law
and limited government.
• The ‘ideal’ of the Rule of Law
requires: 1.Law must be general
2. It must be known and certain and
apply equally to all
3. It must provide for an independent
judiciary
4. It must limit the executive by
legislative and judicial rules
5. And it must safeguard fundamental
rights and civil liberties.