F.a. Hayek ( 10 of 33 )
The mind cannot foresee its own advance.
The mind cannot foresee its own advance.
The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. read more
The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. The ideal of democracy rests on the belief that the view which will direct government emerges from an independent and spontaneous process. It requires, therefore, the existence of a large sphere independent of majority control in which the opinions of the individuals are formed.
...if we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular read more
...if we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion.
Humiliating to human pride as it may be, we must recognize that the advance and even the preservation of civilization read more
Humiliating to human pride as it may be, we must recognize that the advance and even the preservation of civilization are dependent upon a maximum of opportunity for accidents to happen.
Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and read more
Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and the only equality which we can secure without destroying liberty. Not only has liberty nothing to do with any other sort of equality, but it is even bound to produce inequality in many respects. This is the necessary result and part of the justification of individual liberty: if the result of individual liberty did not demonstrate that some manners of living are more successful than others, much of the case for it would vanish.
All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the read more
All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest in that they include among the ignorant themselves as well as the wisest.
The part of our social order which can or ought to be made a conscious product of human reason is read more
The part of our social order which can or ought to be made a conscious product of human reason is only a small part of all the forces of society.
...the argument for liberty is not an argument against organization, which is one of the most powerful tools human reason read more
...the argument for liberty is not an argument against organization, which is one of the most powerful tools human reason can employ, but an argument against all exclusive, privileged, monopolistic organization, against the use of coercion to prevent others from doing better.
What a free society offers to the individual is much more than what he would be able to do if read more
What a free society offers to the individual is much more than what he would be able to do if only he were free.
Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the read more
Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the deliberate treatment of men by other men.
