The Road to Serfdom

I picked up this book the other week, so I have been reading it off and on as of late. I think the subject of the book is as relevant today as it was back then. Hayek discusses how central planning, particularly government with the economy, often leads to authoritarianism. Just food for thought, how can we entrust our elected officials to centrally direct our economy when they can't even balance their budget?

This also leads me to something else I saw recently. I recently youtube'd an interview that Elizabeth Warren did with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. In one instance she stated that without government, 'no one is going to invest in the basic research that flings off thousands of things that private industry can do with it.' I really hope that she does not believe that, but rhetoric like this is dangerous and disingenuous at the same time.

History shows that private industry can and will invest in research and technology that can fuel the future. Some people seem to forget that modern central economic planning is a relatively new idea, and like Hayek I can agree that some central planning is necessary for society, but the debate should be where we draw the line (for instance cutting some subsidies). I think maintaining our roads, police, fire departments, and schools are a good form of planning. Those are all things a society needs for commerce to take place. What we don't need is government promoting green energy with companies like Solyndra. As Hayek pointed out, we should not be planning at directing resources where they ought not to go, but instead be planning for the freedom of the marketplace.