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Civil government, so far as it is instituted for security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all." --Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (Book 5) Hayek continually tries to prove that everything that is not classically liberal is socialism. Therefore, National Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Democratic Socialism and every other political/economic system is inherently the same: Totalitarian. Anything that is not the epitome of classical liberalism will gravitate, slowly at first and then more rapidly, towards totalitarianism. Western socialism (circa 1944) is, according to Hayek, one evolutionary step away from being Nazism. This conclusions is a ridiculous false dichotomy on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To Hayek your either with us or against us. YES, Hitler and Stalin were bad guys. Democracy is better than Totalitarianism. The free market is usually better then a state monopoly and/or regulation. That doesn't mean that we must submit to laissez-faire dogma. To Hayek Keynesianism, and anything else that doesn't agree with his philosophy, is on 'The Road to Serfdom'. (It is important to note that he doesn't present Keynes by name but only by policy) Anything that conflicts with his political theory is quietly not mentioned. To Hayek the 19th century was a bastion of wealth and good times for all. It is nearly comical when he talks about how Industrial progress helped everyone while forgetting to mention the drastic effect it had on millions of lives. It is even more comical when he talks about how bad centrally planned economies would be for international peace while forgetting about the atrocious history of Western colonialism due to Western capitalism. The last nail in the coffin is the complete failure of his predictions. Directly after this book was written a socialist government run by Clement Attlee governed for 6 years in Britain. Britain, even though it controlled employment and national output, did not become totalitarian. It democratically reverted back to the conservative party. In fact, nearly every 21st century nation would be considered by 'The Road to Serfdom' as being socialist. A far superior philosophical discussion on the development of Fascism and Leninism/Stalinism would be Albert Camus' 'The Rebel'. A far superior economic explanation of limited 'central planning' would come from John Maynard Keynes' 'The General Theory of Unemployment, Interest and Money'. This text is as tired as they get. It has no modern relevancy. Unfortunately, 'The Road to Serfdom' will live on as a reactionary defense of the wealthy.