Books

First edition, first printing. 8vo. viii, 184 pp. Original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt (small amount of very faint spotting to endpapers and edges of text block, otherwise internally completely clean and unmarked; just a hint of rubbing to tips of spine and corners, a near fine copy). London, George Routledge & Sons Ltd. Hayek's classic polemic against centralization and collectivism, among the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism and libertarianism, was "far and away the most eloquent and straightforward statement of his political and economic outlook that Hayek ever achieved" (ODNB). Though in the short term the book failed to halt the rapid extension of government power into economic life, over the next few decades the book inspired countless proponents of economic liberty, became a foundation of the revival of liberal economics, and was adopted as a guiding text in the Thatcher and Reagan projects. An American edition of the book appeared later in the same year, published by the University of Chicago Press. Cody & Ostrem B-6.

"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.