logo
episode-header-image
May 2020
43m 45s

Hayek on the Market

TALKING POLITICS
About this episode

Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom (1944) was written during the Second World War but Hayek was really worried about what would come next. He feared that wartime planning would spill over into the peacetime economy and destroy hard won freedoms. David explores where Hayek’s fears came from and asks why he worried that democracy would only make the problem worse. He also considers what makes Hayek such a politically influential and divisive figure to this day.


Free online version of the text:

Recommended version to purchase: 

Going Deeper: 



See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Up next
May 2021
History of Ideas Q and A
A special episode in which David answers some of the audience's questions about the second series of History of Ideas. From how he chooses which writers and works to talk about, to whether Boris Johnson is the ultimate Benthamite and whether the idea of a pleasure machine isn't - ... Show More
39m 48s
Apr 2021
Shklar on Hypocrisy
Judith Shklar’s Ordinary Vices (1984) made the case that the worst of all the vices is cruelty. But that meant we needed to be more tolerant of some other common human failings, including snobbery, betrayal and hypocrisy. David explores what she had to say about some of the other ... Show More
46m 11s
Apr 2021
Nozick on Utopia
Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974) was designed as a rebuttal to Rawls but it was so much more than that. It offered a defence of the minimal state that appealed to the writers of The Sopranos and a vision of utopia that appealed to the founders of Silicon Valley. D ... Show More
45m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
The Hayek Puzzle
Long before Margaret Thatcher told her cabinet that The Constitution of Liberty was “what we believe”, neoliberal poster boy Friedrich Hayek had been denounced by his mentor as a socialist. Following his review of a new biography, Jonathan Rée speaks to Tom about Hayek’s celebrit ... Show More
40m 26s
Dec 2023
Sunak survives, plus the long wait for Grenfell justice
Rishi Sunak endured one his toughest weeks yet as Prime Minister, as he faced the Covid Inquiry and tried to placate rebellious MPs. But he lived to fight another day - as does his controversial Rwanda Bill. For Westminster watchers it was all about the mooted rebellion that didn ... Show More
57m 22s
Sep 2022
Feature interview: Scottish satirist Armando Iannucci
The UK has been swept up in a week of economic and political turmoil, with Prime Minister Liz Truss’s Conservative government coming under increasing pressure over its controversial tax cut plan. Financial markets are roiled, the British pound tanked, and the IMF issued a rare re ... Show More
55m 7s
Oct 2022
The Chancellor, the u-turn and a political meltdown
After nine days of political pressure, chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has u-turned on the government’s plan to abolish the top rate of income tax, saying he felt ‘humility and contrition’. So, what was the mood at the Conservative party conference as Kwarteng addressed his party? Plus ... Show More
31m 49s
Sep 2023
Chalk It Up to Experience
There’s no escape for Justice Secretary Alex Chalk as he faces questions over the state of our justice system. Daniel Khalife’s runner from HMP Wandsworth is only a small example of its decaying state. So why does a government with such a hardline stance on crime struggle to fund ... Show More
1h 6m
May 2022
Sinn Féin’s historic victory
Volkswagen chief Herbert Diess has called for the EU to pursue a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine War for the sake of Europe’s economy, Goldman Sachs has paused new Spac offerings, and an historic election victory by Northern Ireland’s Sinn Féin Party has overturned more than ... Show More
9m 26s
Feb 2023
The Gathering Stormont
Can Rishi Sunak sell his deal to Northern Ireland’s political parties?Adam is joined by Mark Carruthers, BBC Northern Ireland’s politics presenter, to trace the Prime Minister’s trip across the region. Meanwhile in Westminster, Chris has the latest on Rishi Sunak’s meeting with t ... Show More
30m 51s
Aug 2021
Checks and Balance: Bay botch
San Francisco avoided a heavy toll from covid-19, but may feel the virus’s impact longer than other places. The city’s economy is stuttering as tech workers stay home. Emigration, crime, and poorly-run schools need fixing, just as a series of recall elections are causing politica ... Show More
43m 45s