The Road To Serfdom Analysis

Nobel Prize winning economist, F.A. Hayek, in his book The Road to Serfdom, published in 1944 addresses the topic of the rise of socialism in the West, and argues that it must be stopped to keep the United States, United Kingdom, and other Western democracies from ending up like Nazi Germany. Hayek argues that many of the same developments and thought processes that opened the door for totalitarian socialism, be it “Right” National Socialism or fascism in Germany and Italy, or “Left” Stalinist communism in the Soviet Union can be seen in the West, but they are developing much slower and can still be reversed. He says that desire for economic collectivism, has risen in the West but its effects can be seen in these centralized totalitarian

One night at baseball practice, competition elevated my level of play to where it needed to be. That night, for the most part had not been my night. I had been missing routine ground balls and throwing the ball off target constantly. It felt like I could do nothing right, until coach called for a fielding contest. Even though I had been struggling, now that every play mattered I hit my stride. I tracked balls down and fired crisp and accurate throws on every play. As more and more people were eliminated, I became more and more stimulated by the competitive energy of the contest. Finally, I reached the point where I would win the contest if I fielded one more ball. I scampered across the field and snatched the ball as I ran into the netting that had been left from batting practice. I untangled myself and made the winning throw. Even though I had been down all night, a competition allowed me to refocus and harness my skills and allow me to reach a level I would have never gotten to without it. Competition makes people better and allows them to reach heights never thought possible, and heights that would never be reached if they were not forced to push themselves to be their best