Books

London: Routledge & Sons, 1944. Friedrich August von Hayek's first edition personal copy of one of the most influential books of the twentieth century and the most popular exposition of classical liberalism ever published. Octavo, original cloth. Hayek's personal copy with his ownership name to the front free endpaper, "F.A. Hayek" and notation, "published March 10th, 1944" and list of 12 early critical reviews of the book to the verso of the rear endpaper, "Reviews: Tablet 11/3/44 (Douglas Woodruff); Sunday Times 12/3 (1 or 2 volumes) Harold Hobson 2. 9/4 (G.M. Young); Birmingham Post 14/3 (T.W.H); Yorkshire Post 29/3; Financial News 30/3; Listener 30/3; Daily Sketch 30/3; Times Literary Suppl. 1/4; Spectator 31/3 M. Polanzi; Irish Times 25/3; Observer 9/4 (George Orwell); Manchester Guardian 14/4 (W)." As a powerful challenge to the developing establishment consensus on both sides of the Atlantic for a proactive role for the state, The Road to Serfdom entrenched Hayek’s…

"The Road to Serfdom," written by Friedrich Hayek in 1944, is a seminal text that critiques centralized economic planning and collectivism. Hayek argues that state control over the economy inevitably leads to a loss of personal freedoms and the rise of authoritarianism. He emphasizes the importance of free markets and individual liberty as essential defenses against the encroachment of totalitarian rule. The book remains a powerful discourse on the relationship between economic systems and political freedom, warning of the dangers of surrendering too much power to the state.