WELFARE AND LIBERTY : AN EXAMINATION OF FRIEDRICH A. VON HAYEK'S CRITIQUE OF SOCIAL PLANNING AND THE WELFARE STATE

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine Professor Friedrich A. von Hayek’s critique of social planning and the welfare state. In order to provide a meaningful appreciation of Hayek's objections to and indictment of these, his own social philosophy is first presented and critically examined. This task is undertaken in the first three chapters. Chapter I is devoted to a critical discussion of Hayek' s concepts of individual liberty, coercion, individualism, rationality and the inevitable ignorance of Man and the rule-of-law. The Hayekian ethics is also briefly discussed in connection with Hayek's concept of responsibility. In Chapter II the discussion of Hayek 's philosophical framework is extended to cover his Theory of the Spontaneous Social Order. This is essentially Hayek’s theory of the nature and the logical structure of a free society. A 'dissection' of this notion of 'spontaneous social order' reveals that it contains some conceptual ambiguities which cast some doubts on the soundness of Hayek's theory. Chapter III rounds off the discussion of Hayek's philosophical framework with a critical examination of his concept of justice. A good deal of discussion in this chapter is devoted to his indictment and criticisms of 'distributive justice'. Chapter IV deals with Hayek's celebrated objections to social planning. An attempt is made in this chapter to show that Hayek’s objections do not correspond to the modern rationale for social planning. Hayek's critique of the welfare state, which can be regarded as a form of social planning, is the subject of Chapter V. In this chapter Hayek's main general arguments against the welfare state are presented and subjected to a critical examination. The concluding chapter briefly shows the extent to which Hayek’s social philosophy and his ideals are relevant to current social problems which prevail in modern industrial soicieties. His philosophy is tested against such issues and problems as corporatism and alienation of Man in society.