Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom – 28th Session

Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 28th session

The Road to Serfdom Reading Discussion, 28th Online Meeting: Kangyoung, Dandi, Mori, Unyoung, Naengi

Chapter 15. The Prospects of the International Order

The years 1940–1944, when this book was being written, were a period when, as the tide of war was turning, people were considering the establishment of an international organization to prevent the recurrence of world wars that had erupted one after another.

The conflict between national planning and the international order p.303

-International relations were the first area in which 19th-century liberalism began to retreat. Even now, the international order is still governed more strongly by the logic of power and survival of the fittest than by liberal relations.

-Hayek again points out that if competition in the market is replaced not by individuals but by “interstate negotiation,” it merely turns into armed competition among states unconstrained by the rule of law.

The political difficulties on an “international” scale caused by international economic planning p.305

-When planning is expanded to the international level, it becomes even more complex and increasingly requires reliance on physical force and coercion. Therefore, even if an international organization is created, it must not aim to become an international planning body.

Conflicts of ideals that can be resolved only by physical force p.309

“It is fairly certain that under an international planning system, more than under a free economy, rich and powerful nations would become the object of far more intense hatred and envy from poor nations. Rightly or wrongly, all poor nations would come to believe that if only they were free to do as they wished, their material position would improve much more rapidly. Once it is accepted that the realization of distributive justice among different nations is the duty of an international authority, the class struggle becoming a struggle among the working classes of different nations is nothing more and nothing less than the consistent and inevitable consequence of socialist doctrine.”

“To assume moral responsibility means that one must make one’s own view on moral questions prevail, if necessary by physical force, over the dominant views in other communities; and it also means placing oneself in a position in which moral action becomes impossible.”

-An international organization that seeks to realize distributive justice or moral responsibility will only provoke violent struggles among nations again.

The need for strong political power to control economic power p.316

-He says the ideal international political body should not have the power to command people what to do, but it should be able to restrain people from actions that could harm others.

-He proposes federalism as the ideal form of international government.

; A democracy with clearly limited powers. The only way to make the ideal of international law a reality. It limits not only the power of individual states but also the power of states as a whole.

The advantages of the federal principle p.320

“We must not attempt to rebuild civilization on a large scale.”

“Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of local self-government, serving as a school of political training not only for future leaders but for the ordinary citizen.”

“It is when awareness of my neighbor guides people’s conduct, rather than theoretical knowledge of the needs of others, that people truly participate in public affairs.”

-This is a passage that offers important ideas about what kind of state system should be established on the Korean Peninsula when it someday achieves unification after a long confrontation.

The danger of excessive ambition p.322

-He points out that the attempt to make the United Nations worldwide has instead weakened it. He says a smaller but stronger union is a better instrument for preserving peace.

-As regional federations are formed, the possibility of war breaking out among federations of different blocs will still remain. To reduce this risk, he argues that we must rely on a larger and looser union alongside them.

Conclusion p.325

-Rather than devising yet another apparatus to guide and command individuals, it has become more important to let individuals’ creative energies burst forth.

-We must not forget that those who believe in the inevitability of historical trends are people imbued with the ideas that caused wars to break out and produced the evils we have experienced.

-The younger generation does not really know what 19th-century liberalism is.

-Let us not forget that it was not the grandfathers of the 19th century but the people of the present generation in the 20th century who made a mess of the world.

-Let us not forget that the central principle—that a policy for individual freedom is the only truly progressive policy—was true in the 19th century and remains true today.

This brings to an end our reading of The Road to Serfdom, which lasted a full seven months. Our group has read this book three times so far.

Whenever new people join us to read The Road to Serfdom together, the response is enthusiastic. And after reading this book, we see people organize their own thoughts about how to understand the problems of this world and then arrive at their own conclusions about what they should do next.

Once again, we thank Hayek for leaving us a weapon that can be put to urgent use in this age of confusion.

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Original title: 하이에크 <노예의 길>-28차

Author: Ja-yujuui Ipmun Dokseo Toron Moim

Date: 2021-01-19

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=6&idx=23437