Books

VG+/VG-. 8vo. original black cloth gilt (a little rubbed & nicked, slight toning and spotting to paperstock) in dustwrapper (price-clipped, a little toned and frayed with some chipping at extremities, small piece detached, but mostly complete and presentable); pp. viii, 184. A very good copy of a significant first edition in the rare jacket. The title was inspired by the writings of the 19th century French classical liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville on the "road to servitude". In the book, Hayek "[warns] of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning.". He further argues that the abandonment of individualism and classical liberalism inevitably leads to a loss of freedom, the creation of an oppressive society, the tyranny of a dictator, and the serfdom of the individual. Hayek challenged the view, popular among British Marxists, that fascism (including Nazism) was a capitalist reaction against socialism. He argued that fascism, Nazism and state-socialism had common roots in central economic planning and empowering the state over the individual. A highly influential book popular amongst post-war conservative thinkers, it was initially produced in a small print run under wartime economy measures, leading Hayek himself to describe it as "that unobtainable book".

"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.