Remapping the 'Road to Serfdom'

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F.A. Hayek, one of the greatest liberals of the 20th century, wrote his classic book "The Road to Serfdom" 60 years ago to warn against the dangers posed by postwar socialism. He believed with David Hume that "it is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."

To stem the growth of big government and its accompanying erosion of economic and personal freedom, Hayek argued passionately for a liberal international order grounded in limited government, free trade and the rule of law. His message is as relevant today as it was in 1944.

Although Soviet-style central planning is no longer in vogue, governments around the world continue to envision and impose programs to suppress markets and enlarge the state. Today collectivist forces are softer, but they have not gone away.

Take the U.S., for example. Instead of being a beacon for free markets, the U.S. too often protects special interests and denies freedom of choice. During the last fours years, we have witnessed tariffs on imported steel, calls for unilateral tariffs on China unless the renminbi is revalued, and the creeping socialization of health care with the addition of prescription drugs to an already bankrupt Medicare system.

What we haven't seen is fundamental reform in Social Security to give individuals ownership rights to future benefits by allowing private accounts. Moreover, Republicans have failed to contain government spending: Nondefense discretionary spending increased 41.3 percent over the last four years.

Democracy, if not limited by what Hayek called a "constitution of liberty," will have government redistribute rather than protect private property and wealth. Politicians on both sides of the aisle seem more interested in equal outcomes than in protecting taxpayer's property rights and freedom.

The lapse of the U.S. from the liberal principles Hayek advocated appears minor compared to most countries. Corruption is endemic in many Third World countries today because economic life has not been insulated from politics: The force of law is used to plunder property rather than to protect it. As such, economic decisions are politicized.

This is especially evident in the former Soviet Union. The U.S., as leader of the Free World, needs to reinvigorate market liberalism and be a bulwark for private property, freedom of contract and limited government.

Countries like China that are striving to develop a market economy, as well as those that already have one, need to appreciate the wisdom of Adam Smith and other 18th-century liberals upon whose shoulders Hayek's vision rests.