Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“In his 1944 book The Road to Serfdom, Fredrich Hayek, the future economics Nobel laureate, foresaw that as the state gains power, the worst people would become rulers, whether it be a single dictator adored by the majority or an omnipotent democratic majority. The regime would be supported by people with the lowest moral and intellectual standards and by the most gullible. They would embrace the principle that the end justifies the means and unite against scapegoats. People would lose any ‘respect for the individual qua man instead of merely as a member of an organized group.’ Cynicism and disregard for truth would spread. Tribal emotions and government propaganda would displace rational arguments. Hayek would not have been surprised if foreigners, immigrants, and pet-eating Haitians were among the scapegoats.” (12/12/24)