#10 in Economics
The Road to Serfdom
- 248
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
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About the book
The Road to Serfdom is a book by the Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek. 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 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.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.0 across 76 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 33% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Economics average of 7.8. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.7 | 12 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 7.9 | 64 | 84% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“The Road to Serfdom is not an anti-government book, it's definitely not a libertarian or pro-laissez-faire capitalism or even a pro-democracy book. It's purely and simply an anti-socialism book. And, just to be clear, to Hayek, socialism primarily means central-planning. It's chapter after chapter of…”
“The book is a constant attack to the idea of a centralized government controlling the economy. My political bias make me love the ideas on It, but I feel kinda defaced on time, Hayek make a lot of references to the England and Germany of…”
Frequently asked
How long is The Road to Serfdom?
It has 248 pages — shorter than 92% of the ranked books in Economics.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Economics — with scores between 7.8 and 8.1, closest to this book.
