To be sure, Hayek doesn’t accuse Hobbes and company, the precursors of the liberal theory, with modern-day liberal bias. Quite the contrary, he prefaces his introduction to “Individualism: True and False,” the first chapter of the featured selection, by saying:
The true individualism which I shall try to defend began its modern development with John Locke, and particularly with Bernard Mandeville and David Hume, and achieved full stature for the first time in the work of Josiah Tucker, Adam Ferguson, and Adam Smith and in that of their great contemporary, Edmund Burke – the man whom Smith described as the only person he ever knew who thought on economic subjects exactly as he did without any previous communication having passed between them.
Consequently, his true sentiments are expressed well in advance: each of these were in essence conservative thinkers. (Let it be a lesson to all modern-day, self-styled liberals!) One only wishes he had included Hobbes, the most important of them all, in that number.
Let’s highlight the points of similarity, all the important respects in which Hobbes’ own views and those of Burke and Hayek more or less coincided.
In the first place, Hayek argues for limited government and is dead-set against central planning: according to his lights, the best results are almost always most likely to obtain whenever each and every individual is left to their own devices to pursue their own interests; irrespective of how enlightened or unenlightened they may be, irrespective of their native abilities, talent, ambition, or less than even playing field. Hobbes’s view isn’t all that different since his conception of equality is grounded in equality based on insecurity: all were equally insecure, according to Hobbes, vis-à-vis the impersonal forces of the market.
This isn’t to say Hobbes regarded each and every one as commanding the exact same quotient of power. Far from it! The point rather was that no matter how powerful any one individual may be, she wasn’t powerful enough to overawe the rest (assuming, of course, that all those who had opposed him were equally intent on stripping him of their power). Which is why the inauguration of the state by those who felt so threatened by the forces about them was not only a dire necessity but also the most natural consequence. But let’s not mistake for the fact the scope of Hobbes’s project. His conception of the state was minimal, no less minimal than that of Burke or Hayek, the only purpose being to preserve the established social order. Once again, one fails to discern any significant difference here.
To properly understand the import of Hayek’s complaint, again we must fast-forward: beyond the minimal state envisaged by Hobbes et al, to the eventual formation of a totalitarian, welfare state; the true Leviathan. It’s not against the presumed deficiency of conservative thought or spirit on the part of the founders that Hayek registers his complaint but rather against the behemoth which, unbeknownst to all, arose in its wake. In this particular respect, insofar as Hayek’s critique is directed against statism, he’s right on target; it accords besides with the gist of the anarchistic thought. Where he errs, however, is in his narrative of how we got from point A to point B. His account is one dimensional, unduly beholden to the history of ideas and, in a sense, ahistorical.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - R�gis Servant
Dear Roger Nowosielski,
You wrote that "not only is Hayek guilty here of a glaring contradiction: of allowing individuals almost unlimited freedom to think and act as they will, whilst at the same time constraining them to be bound by custom; he's equally guilty of committing to the conservative mantra that change is less preferable than the status quo, that it's always to be resisted, never endorsed."
I think that Hayek's theory about social/cultural evolution was more nuanced, because even if he turned against drastic change of rules, Hayek also recognized the necessity of a (slow) evolution of cultural rules of conduct.
For example, in the 4th chapter of The Constitution of Liberty:
"evolution is possible only with rules which are neither coercive nor deliberately imposed-which, though observing them is regarded as merit and though they will be observed by the majority, can be broken by individuals who feel that they have strong enough reasons to brave the censure of their fellows. Unlike any deliberately imposed coercive rules, which can be changed only discontinuously and for all at the same time, growth of this kind makes gradual and experimental change possible."
"It may well be that a nation may destroy itself by following the teaching of what it regards as its best men, sometimes almost saintly figures who are unquestionably guided by the most unselfish ideals. There would be little danger of this in a society whose members were still free to choose their way of practical life, because in such a society such tendencies would be self-corrective: only the group dominated by such 'impractical' ideals would decline, and others, less moral by current standards, would take its place. But this will happen only in a free society in which such moral beliefs are not enforced on all."
And in the 3rd volume of Law, Legislation and Liberty (Epilogue):
"From that stage practically all advance had to be achieved by infringing or repressing some of the innate rules and replacing them by new ones which made the coordination of activities of larger groups possible. Most of these steps in the evolution of culture were made possible by some individuals breaking some traditional rules and practising new forms of conduct."
But, Hayek said that this cultural evolution must be slow, hence this statement:
"Though present morals evolved by selection, this evolution was not made possible by a licence to experiment but on the contrary by strict restraints which made changes of the whole system impossible and granted tolerance to the breaker of accepted rules, who may have turned out a pioneer, only when he did so at his own risk and had earned such licence by his strict observation of most rules which alone could gain him the esteem which legitimized experimentation in a particular direction."
Regards,
R�gis Servant.
2 - roger nowosielski
Point taken, Regis. And I thank you for your thoughtful commentary.
3 - Igor
None of these airy theories take account of the baleful influence of monopolies and the ascendancy of the most awful of characters to the centers of power.
4 - Cindy
I thought your points were excellent, Roger.
5 - troll
Roger - sick to death of the absurd US I'm opting out in favor of solitude for the winter and will be staying out of touch in the wilderness (yes there really is some of that still here) sans internet most of the time...I'm looking forward to this read and will comment when I come back into town which I do every week or so
glad to see you're still in the game
6 - roger nowosielski
Look forward to your participation, though. Cindy will be presenting a topic for group discussion, and I'll introduce it. No, I haven't given up on the idea. In fact, we're about to set up a dedicated website to that very end.
I understand why people are getting discourage. Cindy and Ana both seem affected so, but it serves no purpose. Besides, we have a responsibility to think globally. After all, we're citizens of the world.
We may not be able to change the world, but we can surely understand it better. And that serves a useful purpose.
7 - Les Slater
Two criticisms of the Hayek presented here. One is his insistence on gradualism, at least in general, and within a large scale, is short-sighted, anti-historical.
The other is that all states hitherto have represented a ruling minority. He seems to ascribe a universality.
8 - Cindy
Roger,
I will support your mission to my best ability. Everyone who has good ideas needs support.
9 - Cindy
Without that support, we may as well call it a day. I have a criticism of the anarchist community in that it lacks support. That makes it worthless to any change. It is as defunct to me as any other ideology.
10 - Cindy
Anarchists are worthless to anyone, unless they offer actual action--support and community activity. If we do not create it and we just talk about it, we are nothing but a "club".
Many visible anarchists are young people--and males with the same indoctrination as the dominant culture, as far as anarchist women are concerned.
That anarchists have not already established community services is turning me off to anarchism itself. And in so turning off I say "fuck the human race" there is nothing here worth doing any thinking for let alone any action.
I am only alive for the underdogs at the moment. The stroke victim who will never be given the best treatment from the outset. Not because we don't know what to do. But because we humans generally suck. We suck. We do.
11 - Les Slater
I find that theory is very important to practical everyday politics. The teacher's strike now unfolding in Chicago is, among other things, a battle of ideas. There are misconceptions that require very deep analysis to help dispel. Many are learning very quickly.
12 - Clav
We suck. We do.
I've been saying that for years on these threads, Cindy; most recently just a couple of weeks ago. Usually I'm dismissed with accusations of cynicism.
13 - Christopher Rose
Clavos, you ARE cynical! No definite idea why Cindy has turned so negative this year but she has had a difficult year and I just hope she starts to feel more positive before too long.
14 - Cindy
A new play: Preemptive Bombing of Nuclear Reactors --or Why are There 13-Year-Old boys Running the World?
15 - Glenn Contrarian
Cindy -
Cheer up - things simply ain't that bad. For all the tragedy we hear about day after day, things are better now for the human race as a whole than they've ever been - ever! Even given the Rwandan genocide and the American wars, the past twenty years have been (relatively speaking) the most peaceful in human history.
With all the depressing crap we see in the news, it's so easy to lose hope, to lose oneself in bitter cynicism...but as a whole, humanity's better of than it's ever been, and all indications are that (as a whole) it's going to get better. So relax, sit back with a glass of chardonnay (that two generations ago was out of reach of Joe and Jane Doe), and think of the one-on-one good that you can do.
Chin up, stiff upper lip, and all that, girl - while there's good reasons to worry, there's a lot more (and better) reasons to hope, to be confident of a better future for all of us.
16 - Anarcissie
Most of the anarchists I know about are providing services of a sort: Food Not Bombs, Books Through Bars, foreclosure resistance, Copwatch, and so on. Of course, there aren't very many of them, so these efforts are largely symbolic or provocative, rather than substantive. Others are off doing commune things, which some activists sniff at but I think are valuable experiments in discovering how to scale up the anarchy of daily life while avoiding domination and hierarchy.
I notice OWS became somewhat active again on the anniversary of their initial appearance. Some of them are anarchists. I regard their experiments in politics as interesting, but I suppose the main effect of OWS has been to rebuke the Democrats' habit of caving in on every issue, and to put the 1% versus 99% meme in circulation. Thus they saved Social Security and Medicare -- for a year or so. (The hammer will come down after the election no matter who wins.) But that is a social-democratic project, not an anarchist thing.
Generally speaking, I'm pretty tired of discussing liberalism and capitalism, unless someone is going to come up with directions for operating the escape hatch.
17 - roger nowosielski
So am I, tired of discussing either, but troll insisted on the worthiness of the project, of puncturing through the reasonableness of liberalism, and sway thereby some of the more astute of the reasoners, such as Dr. Dreadful.
In any case, I am about to close this series with an upcoming article, and then get on to brass-tacks, which is to say, reinventing a new political paradigm to replace the old one.
18 - Zingzing
Best of luck, and I do mean that with sincerity.
19 - roger nowosielski
I don't doubt it for a minute. I do believe, however, I shall manage to drive in the final nail.
So stay tuned. Meanwhile, thanks for encouragement.
20 - Dr Dreadful
Are you keeping the nails in reserve, Roger, in case the brass tacks don't suffice? ;-)
21 - roger nowosielski
We want to do it artfully, Dreadful (derivation).
You haven't been on the threads lately. What gives?
22 - Dr Dreadful
New job, Roger, and generally just too darn busy for more than just the occasional leg-pull. :-)
23 - Cindy
No offense intended to anarchists trying to work at whatever they can do or are willing to do. My lament, Anarcissie, is that in almost 200 years, there should have been some other society taking place right under the nose of this one. There should already have been anarchist organizations addressing human needs worldwide. I could start such in a few hours in my neighborhood, it is not inspiring that there is no network. There should be much more than food not bombs and books to some prisoners.
24 - roger nowosielski
I'm certain you prefer your new situation. As for me, I too have positive things to report.
My move to the Bay Area has proven a success in more than one way. Not only am I living now in a civilized part of the country. My living conditions have also took a turn for the better. Technically, I'm still homeless, but through VA Administration, I've been able to secure a luxurious 3-bedroom apartment in Alameda Point (the old naval base), for under $250 a month rent, including utilities. And it's good for 18 months.
25 - Glenn Contrarian
Roger -
Alameda? Hm. My ship pulled in there once. And I didn't know you were a veteran - where did you serve?
But I do have to take issue with something you said:
Not only am I living now in a civilized part of the country. My living conditions have also took a turn for the better.
Why is it that you consider the Bay Area - perhaps the most liberal part of America - a civilized part of the country when you've had nothing but ill to say about liberals? If we're so terrible for society, wouldn't it stand to reason, then, that the Bay Area would be one of the worst places in America to live?
Don't get me wrong - I'm honestly happy for you, especially considering some of the rough times you've had. I wish you nothing but the best. I'm only suggesting that maybe your present situation would speak against some of your strongly-held political philosophy.