Freedom, the Common Good, and the Rule of Law: Lippmann and Hayek on Economic Planning

Abstract

This article examines the intellectual relationship between Friedrich Hayek and Walter Lippmann in the 1930s and 1940s, and argues that Lippmann's writings on economic planning were a neglected influence on the development of Hayek's political thought in this period. Lippmann's work provided a first approximation of arguments that Hayek would later make this own: that planning would destroy civil and political freedom; that a certain form of legal order was essential to the preservation of liberty; and that critics of planning should offer a positive liberal reform agenda that was compatible with this understanding of the law.

Partners in Progress? British Liberals and the Labour Party since 1918

“…He argued that liberals, unlike socialists, could not regard equality as the only barometer of progress; constitutional government, wealth creation and personal responsibility also mattered. This line of argument, which anticipated Hayek's The Road to Serfdom in important respects (Jackson, ), chimed closely with Dodds' thinking.…”

Ideas have Consequences: Eine vergleichende Analyse zur transformativen Rolle von Ideen

“…Lippmann nahm in den 1930er-Jahren eine bedeutende Rolle innerhalb der neoliberalen Bewegung ein. The Good Society verschaffte ihm innerhalb dieses Spektrums große Beachtung (Walpen 2004: 55 (Jackson 2012). Doch schon 15 Jahre bevor The Good Society erschien, schrieb Lippmann ein Werk, in dem er sich mit der Frage nach den Techniken zur Beeinflussung der breiten Masse beschäftigte und das bis heute als wichtiges Werk in der Stereotypenforschung gilt.…”

The Concept of Political Corruption

“…In addition, scholars noted that the Weimar Republic had collapsed in response to aggressive interest groups and a weak government (Stoke 1937). On the other hand, planning ceded discretionary power to public officials-power that might erode democracy (Jackson 2012). Accordingly, scholars wondered whether a planned economy would encourage governmental corruption, as Acton feared, or could it become the cure?…”