Mrs. Thatcher used to pass out copies of Hayek’s Road to Serfdom as if she were passing out party favors. Then came the Crash of 2008, and the arrival of the Bail Outs and the appearance of ‘Austerity’, except for all but those who engineered and apologized for the Neo-Liberal Swindle! In the spirit of the ‘Public Good’ of ‘The Welfare of the Nation’ or just the welfare of Banks and Corporations, and corrupt politicians and their Think Tank minions. Is the irony of that blindingly obvious?
It’s an interesting story, but getting back to Hayek’s book, its easy to view that book’s title as a biography of the political/economic present, instead of intellectual hysterics about the poison of ‘Collectivism’. The response of ‘Western Governments’ to the 2008 Debacle was to put those Think Tank hacks in charge of the rescue of Capitalism, from its own mendacious practice. The Party Line was/is to dismantle the Welfare State, when it was most needed from the predations of Capitalist Collectivism: call this the bludgeoning of irony
Almost Marx
https://www.ft.com/content/9db2d1e8-002a-11e7-8d8e-a5e3738f9ae4