The Constitution of Liberty (Routledge Classics) Paperback – 4 Sept. 2006

I've read Hayek's polemics against socialism like The Fatal Conceit and The Road to Serfdom and found them very disappointing, he is a great writer and I find his style and content in some ways similar to another english writer, the socialist, George Orwell but these books seemed very negative.This book is divided into three sections and post script, the first The Value of Freedom outlines Hayek's views on liberty, reason, responsibility and progress and politics, the second section on Freedom and The Law outlines Hayek's views on the relationship between individual freedom and the state, the final section is on Freedom and The Welfare State and begins with an essay on the decline of socialism and the rise of the welfare state.This book is a lot more complete and holistic, you get a much clearer idea of what Hayek's proposing aswell as opposing, even if you dont necessarily agree.In reading it Hayek does appear to be a lot less dogmatic than many of his supporters or popularisers and he's a great writer besides, the very simple introduction which seeks to link Hayek with contemporary wars of religion with the islamic world and the rise of neo-conservatism in America is over shadowed by the main work (infact it reads a lot like Trotsky paying homage to Marx or any other political pundit who tries to bask in reflected glory).I would seriously recommend the chapter on the decline of socialism and the rise of the welfare state to anyone but to socialists in particular.This chapter accurately forecasts many of the developments within socialist or left parties, like the rise of new labour, the attempts to conjour a political third way, there's fair comment making the distinction between socialism and the welfare state that is seldom made by anyone left or right, apart from forgotten books from American socialists writting in the seventies.Market libertarians have been among the few people to really grapple with the issues of appartniks and the unintended consequences of growth of state machinery.

I was really looking forward to read this book after reading The Road to Serfdom. I believe Hayek explains really well the concept of liberty and why it is so important to preserve it. I would recommend to anyone looking to learn more about liberty.

Either you know about this great masterwork or you don't. Perhaps Professor Hayek's most known work along with The Road to Serfdom. If you want to study what Hayek became famous for after he more or less put pure economic theory aside, this is the book you need to read. A classic in political theory ("right wing" classical liberalism, not liberal "leftism").

Only book to read by the master writings on economics

Hayek presents his arguments very thoroughly, but also demonstrates considerable insight into the issues covered. This book provides valuable background to the entire argument about liberty, the free market and capitalism.

An insightful book, a must-read for anyone interested in politics and economics.

I bought this book for my son who is studying A Level Economics. It is a bit of a classic reference book for this subject.

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