gunsInger wrote : "'Economic planning was the cause of totalitarianism for Hayek, rather than the being just a feature of it.'
I would need a citation for this, as I haven't seen this be an argument that Hayek makes."
It is indeed correct to say that for Hayek economic planning was the primary cause of totalitarianism. For example, consider these two citations from The Road to Serfdom:
"But it would be a mistake to believe that the specific German rather than the socialist element produced totalitarianism. It was the prevalence of socialist views and not Prussianism that Germany had in common with Italy and Russia - and it was from the masses and not from the classes steeped in the Prussian tradition, and favoured by it, that National-Socialism arose." (Introduction)
"It is important to point out once more in this connection that this process of the decline of the Rule of Law had been going on steadily in Germany for some time before Hitler came into power, and that a policy well advanced towards totalitarian planning had already done a great deal of the work which Hitler completed." (Chapter 6).
Regards, Regis Servant.
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Date: 11/2/13 14:30 (UTC)"'Economic planning was the cause of totalitarianism for Hayek, rather than the being just a feature of it.'
I would need a citation for this, as I haven't seen this be an argument that Hayek makes."
It is indeed correct to say that for Hayek economic planning was the primary cause of totalitarianism.
For example, consider these two citations from The Road to Serfdom:
"But it would be a mistake to believe that the specific German rather than the socialist element produced totalitarianism. It was the prevalence of socialist views and not Prussianism that Germany had in common with Italy and Russia - and it was from the masses and not from the classes steeped in the Prussian tradition, and favoured by it, that National-Socialism arose." (Introduction)
"It is important to point out once more in this connection that this process of the decline of the Rule of Law had been going on steadily in Germany for some time before Hitler came into power, and that a policy well advanced towards totalitarian planning had already done a great deal of the work which Hitler completed." (Chapter 6).
Regards,
Regis Servant.